Omission: Howard the Duck

[Johnny Unusual 525]

A fewof small omissions:

 

- I was hoping someone would point out that Disney now OWNS Howard, the character they sued for looking too much like Donald. When the original creator, Steve Gerber, returned to the character in the early 2000's, after having left the character for about 20 years (due to a dispute with Marvel over ownership rights), he did an R-rated version that poked fun of Disney by having Howard turn into a mouse.

 

- As Kirsten Schaal pointed out, it was an existential comic and though there was humour and satire, a lot of it was commenting on the human condition and, according to Gerber;"that life's most serious moments and most incredibly dumb moments are often distinguishable only by a momentary point of view." Screenwriter Gloria Katz rejected that notion saying, "It's a film about a duck from outer space... It's not supposed to be an existential experience".

 

- And just as an interesting tag to the existential aspect, the tagline for both the movie and the comic is "trapped in a world he never made," which is a bit of a joke since that's the human condition: WE ARE ALL TRAPPED IN A WORLD WE DIDN'T MAKE!

[PaulFrench 4]

Didn't hear a mention in the show that Ritchie from the bar fight is the actor who played Spike in Super Mario Bros.

[MotorboatJones 41]

The show brought up the beatnik bartender that cheers on Howard when he takes on Beverly's manager. That's actually Thomas Dolby.

[IMAHUGEHDTGMFAN 1837]

Didn't hear a mention in the show that Ritchie from the bar fight is the actor who played Spike in Super Mario Bros.

 

They mention that he was one of the guys who steals the Ferrari in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

 

[Joe Lerini 7329]

I've listened to every episode of HDTGM, and finally decided to sign up so I could talk about this movie. Jason briefly touched upon the idea of Howard the Duck as being a Christ-like figure, but he could have gone further into it. I mean, Howard came to Earth from "the Heavens" as we sometimes refer to outer space. Howard goes out amongst the sinners of the world (hanging out with that bestiality skank Beverly, working among the whores at the hot tub place). As Mantzoukas tells us, Tim Robbins is the apostle that denies Howard twice. And the film ends with Howard sacrificing himself to save mankind, only to miraculously come back to life and sing and play keytar with Beverly's band (much like Christians sing songs celebrating the Resurrection).

 

And the film features one line of dialogue from an omniscient narrator "In the beginning there was HOWARD THE DUCK" which mirrors Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth." Which is an Old Testament reference, sure, but I think it sets the groundwork for a religious reading of the overall film.

 

 

 

Also, not an omission but an aside: any time June says "fuck" on the podcast it is a treat. I loved it when she yelled "RIGHT THERE! RIGHT FUCKING THERE!"