You might think a character from a 2007 teenage comedy and a dead Englishman might have absolutely no connection whatsoever - and you'd be right.
However, when Gary Fisher explains why he had his name legally changed to McLovin - one of the main characters from Superbad - it begins to make a little bit more sense. Not a huge amount of sense, but a bit more sense. As Mr. Lovin explains it, it's all about not taking life seriously.
A close friend of McLovin died suddenly in somewhat mysterious circumstances, prompting him to look and reevaluate his life. "There was a group of four of us together who were inseparable. Then he started to disappear, hang out with different people. Then one day they found him dead, with no shoes, no wallet, no phone. The police said it was not suspicious, saying he must have fallen and hit his head, but it just didn't make sense to me," explained McLovin to the Marlborough Express.
As McLovin explains it, he became depressed and his friend's death took him a lot of time to deal with and process emotionally. Although he doesn't advocate for everyone changing their name to a fictional comedy character, it worked for him as a reminder that life isn't to be taken so seriously. "It makes people happy, even if they are taking the piss. They always have to see my licence before they believe me," explains Lovin.
What's even funnier is that it wasn't even his first choice. McLovin had originally thought that Skeletor Overlord Evil might be a good name, however his partner persuaded him against being called Mr. Evil.
As it turns out, having a name like McLovin has helped him out both with depression and meeting new people - even police officers. As McLovin explains, he was stopped in his campervan on a routine checkpoint. "When I handed him my driver's licence, he couldn't believe it. He asked if he could take a photo to show the boys back at the station."
Really, if the police officer started playing Van Halen's Panama afterwards, then that would have been too perfect for words. As it stands, McLovin's name is a source of fun and amusement for him - and his girlfriend doesn't seem to mind too much either.
She did, however, state that she was unlikely to take his name if they got married. Makes sense, really.
