{"id":17769,"date":"2012-03-23T07:09:50","date_gmt":"2012-03-23T12:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/?p=17769"},"modified":"2012-09-10T22:00:54","modified_gmt":"2012-09-11T02:00:54","slug":"history-of-the-comic-book-film-lame-duck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/2012\/03\/23\/history-of-the-comic-book-film-lame-duck\/","title":{"rendered":"HISTORY OF THE COMIC BOOK FILM: Lame Duck"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>In a multi-part series, Comic Book Film Editor William Gatevackes will be tracing the history of comic book movies from the earliest days of the film serials to today\u2019s big blockbusters and beyond. Along with the history lesson, Bill will be covering some of the most prominent comic book films over the years and why they were so special. This time, he continues to wade through the muck that were comic book films in the 1980s by covering one of the worst\u2014Howard the Duck. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>George Lucas being involved with a comic book movie should have been solid gold. After all, he created <strong>Star Wars<\/strong>, the fundamental sci-fi event of a lifetime that changed many a comic book fans\u2019 life forever. Also, he was a comic fan. If there was anyone in Hollywood who could do comic book films right, it would be him.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Howard-the-Duck-01-00-FC.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-17773\" title=\"Howard the Duck 01 - 00 - FC\" src=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Howard-the-Duck-01-00-FC-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>So when it was announced that he would be producing the <strong>Howard the Duck <\/strong>film, the first Marvel Comics film adaptation to hit the big screen, people were\u2026well\u2026cautiously optimistic. After all, he was only producing the film, not writing or directing it. And <em>Howard the Duck<\/em> was one tough comic book property to adapt.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s almost impossible to properly describe \u00a0Howard the Duck, either the comic book or the character. At its best, the comic was a multilayered satire. And what I mean about multilayered is that Steve Gerber would poke fun at the comic book medium, the conventions that lied within, the acceptable methods of writing and story structure, politics and society in general. And this usually was done all in one scene. He pointed out the absurdity in all things yet didn\u2019t invalidate anything. A person getting superpowers from a dying alien with a wish granting ring is just as silly as someone getting powers from a sentient and horny space turnip, but great stories could be obtained from both origins.<\/p>\n<p>Gerber\u2019s Howard was irascible. He was neurotic. He was sarcastic and constantly angry. He might have been a duck from another dimension mistakenly trapped in a world he didn\u2019t make, but he was also a fully formed, complex character.<\/p>\n<p>The tone and flavor of the book and character is hard to capture on film. The powers that be behind <strong>Howard the Duck <\/strong>didn\u2019t even appear to try.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SzI-ZbcK_sw\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"550\" height=\"349\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>There is a quote on a number of sites from Gloria Katz, co-writer and another producer on the film, supposedly taken from bonus features of the recent DVD release of the film, where she says the following:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>It&#8217;s a film about a duck from outer space&#8230; It&#8217;s not supposed to be an existential experience&#8230; We&#8217;re supposed to have fun with this concept, but for some reason reviewers weren&#8217;t able to get over that problem.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If you want to hear it from the horse\u2019s mouth, fast forward to about 4 minutes and 30 seconds on the following clip:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7iXixv0OptM\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"560\" height=\"349\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/howard_the_duck_film-poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-17774\" title=\"howard_the_duck_film poster\" src=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/howard_the_duck_film-poster-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>This is pretty much a loaded statement from the co-writer and producer of one of the worst films of all time, comic or otherwise. It is especially inflammatory to any fans of the comic book, because it can be interpreted any number of ways. I\u2019m fairly sure Katz didn\u2019t give as much thought to the statement as Howard fans have given to analyzing it, but maybe she should have.<\/p>\n<p>Because it appears that she had no clue as to what made the character work, and wasn\u2019t all that bothered by that fact. There are several statements on the bonus features of the DVD that kind of back this up. Director, co-writer and Katz\u2019s husband, Williard Huyck makes casual mention that they tried to change the location of the film to Hawaii instead of Cleveland simply because they wanted to shoot there. The downtrodden reputation of Cleveland is an important part of the Howard mythos. Changing the setting to a tropical paradise is a BIG sign that Huyck and Katz missed the point.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/HowardTheDuck-jeff-jones.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-17775\" title=\"HowardTheDuck jeff jones\" src=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/HowardTheDuck-jeff-jones-300x220.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" \/><\/a>There are other examples to back up what appears to be a cavalier attitude by Huyck and Katz\u2014the film itself and their characterization of Howard. If they used the \u201cduck out of water\u201d plot point to satirized human behavior, the world of 1986, or filmmaking in general, it would have made a pretty good movie. All we got was a Z-grade sci-fi story with lame attempts at humor thrown in. And Huyck and Katz\u2019s Howard might be angry and neurotic in the film, but he wasn\u2019t acerbic and combative, he was a whiny complainer. It may be a subtle difference to some, but it essentially became a bastardization of Gerber\u2019s awesome characterization.<\/p>\n<p>All of this explains why the film was a bad adaptation of this particular comic book. It doesn\u2019t really explain why it was a bad movie.\u00a0 And it was a very bad movie.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/l_91225_798dad65.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-17776\" title=\"l_91225_798dad65\" src=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/l_91225_798dad65-300x196.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" \/><\/a>The film reads like an AM radio station that isn\u2019t tuned correctly. There is something a bit off, something wrong in the translation. That is the main problem with the film. None of the characters speak like you or I speak. They don\u2019t behave in a realistic fashion. Every scene is awkward because everything in it alienates the audience. The pacing is all wrong. Nothing truly takes the time it needs to develop. For instance, after only the second meeting does Beverly, played by Lea Thompson, \u00a0hop into bed with Howard (Yes, I guess the 1980s were the decade of non-human comic book characters getting it on with hot actresses of the day. Sorry if you were born too late and missed it.) There was nothing in any of the scenes the characters shared prior that would indicate they were building towards that. The bedroom scene turns out to be a cocktease by Beverly, which also doesn\u2019t ring true because there was nothing in the film that showed that Beverly was the type of person to do this. They were unwilling to devote the time to make that scene logical, yet we get a fifteen minute Ultralight aircraft chase towards the end of the film which goes on waaay too long.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/leas-pretty-but....jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-17777\" title=\"lea's pretty, but...\" src=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/leas-pretty-but...-300x195.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"195\" \/><\/a>Another problem was the overall tone. \u00a0The film tried to be two things at once\u2014a ribald, boundary pushing comedy and a safe and saccharine, kid-friendly flick. It succeeds at neither because the two goals are diametrically opposed. Seriously, if a film takes pride in showing us naked, female duck breasts on two occasions and a longish scene of Lea Thomson cavorting in her skivvies, yet has an angry trucker say something is \u201ca load of bull-pucky,\u201d you are losing both of the audiences you are trying to reach.<\/p>\n<p>The cast is loaded with talent. Tim Robbins does the best by just playing up the absurdity of the role. Jeffrey Jones does well in his role as the possessed bad guy. But most of the cast struggle with the inane and unconvincing dialogue and lose.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/howard_the_duck_xl_01-film-b1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-17778\" title=\"howard_the_duck_xl_01-film-b1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/howard_the_duck_xl_01-film-b1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/howard_the_duck_xl_01-film-b1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/howard_the_duck_xl_01-film-b1-80x60.jpg 80w, https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/howard_the_duck_xl_01-film-b1.jpg 306w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Yeah, talking about this film over 25 years after it opened is a sign of some kind of mental instability. But the reason why it rankles me and other critics so much is the fact that it was such a huge missed opportunity. <strong>Howard the Duck<\/strong>, the comic book, was an absurdist gem that was the defining work of Steve Gerber\u2019s career. <strong>Howard the Duck <\/strong>the movie was just absurd, only not in a good way.<\/p>\n<p>The above quote from Katz also indicates a larger problem with the state of the comic book film in the 1980s. It portrays the general attitude of Hollywood that A)what they know is right and if people dislike what they do, it\u2019s just that they don\u2019t get it, and B) comic book properties are simplistic and are in no way the equal to what quality filmmakers do. This led to situations like <strong>Howard the Duck<\/strong>, where the creators of the film didn\u2019t feel the need to understand the property more than the first line of the description of it; they were so talented that whatever they did to the original subject matter would be genius. This, in this case and many others, was wrong.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s fairly telling that the only other major motion picture Huyck and Katz worked on since <strong>Howard the Duck <\/strong>was 1994s <strong>Radioland Murders<\/strong>, also produced by George Lucas. While Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones and Tim Robbins\u2019 careers were not that adversely affected by the flop (Robbins even went on to win an Oscar), the people who were most responsible for the content up on screen essentially disappeared from sight. Yet, everyone else didn\u2019t \u201cget it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Next up, we dance with the devil in the pale moonlight as we take a look at the controversy surrounding the casting of Tim Burton\u2019s <strong>Batman <\/strong>and how all of comic fandom was wrong.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">How did one of the best comic books of the 1970s&#8211;Howard the Duck&#8211;become one of the worst films of the 1980s, if not all time? It starts with two words: George Lucas.<\/div>\n<p> <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/2012\/03\/23\/history-of-the-comic-book-film-lame-duck\/\" title=\"HISTORY OF THE COMIC BOOK FILM: Lame Duck\">[click for more]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[106,3185,5636],"tags":[270,4593,3914,251,4594,4591,4595,260,4590,813,4592],"series":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17769","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-comicsandfilm","8":"category-featured-stories","9":"category-history-comic-book-film","10":"tag-george-lucas","11":"tag-gloria-katz","12":"tag-history-of-the-comic-book-film","13":"tag-howard-the-duck","14":"tag-jeffrey-jones","15":"tag-lea-thompson","16":"tag-radioland-murders","17":"tag-star-wars","18":"tag-steve-gerber","19":"tag-tim-robbins","20":"tag-williard-huyck"},"aioseo_notices":[],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":false,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17769"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=17769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}