If writer-director Sam Hoffman’s charming, well-performed tale feels at all familiar, it’s territory worth revisiting.

Clement channels his wry hangdog humor into a slightly more grounded performance than he often gives. His charm and absurdist tendencies help elevate Nate from a potentially self-centered man-child to a lost soul who is genuinely compelling.

Humor Me is never much more than a comfort food comedy — funny people, given mildly funny situations and just enough funny things to say, find a few laughs and a lot of grins.

The movie never gets too deep, which is half of its charm. The other half involves the low-key comic performances by a stellar cast including Annie Potts and Bebe Neuwirth.

Humor Me manages to earn its audience’s indulgence, if never its full affection.