Queer Duck: The Movie (DVD)

Starring: JM J. Bullock, Tim Curry, David Duchovny, Estelle Harris, Billy West
Director: Xeth Feinberg
Running Time: 69 mins
Certificate: 15

Seymour Duckstein, aka Queer Duck, leaves his lover, Openly Gator, and attempts to become straight with the help of a Christian fundamentalist preacher horse, becoming entangled with the Norma Desmond-esque Ms. Buzzard in the process.

The brainchild of Emmy-winning ‘Simpsons’ writer Mike Reiss, Queer Duck was initially designed as short skits for the Internet. After proving a hit on icebox.com it migrated onto the US cable TV, Showtime. Despite getting relatively little exposure in the UK, it still made it to number 94 on Channel 4’s list of the Top 100 Animations a couple of years ago. However translating a show that originally ran in four-minute bursts into a 70-minute movie was always going to be tough.

While designed as a satirical look at gay culture and stereotypes, Queer Duck: The Movie’s problem is that it doesn’t have anything new or interesting to say about those stereotypes. While the film aims its barbs at Christian fundamentalists and the ex-gay movement, so have everything from ‘Will & Grace’ to But I’m A Cheerleader. The result is that while each of the characters has some very funny moments and some of the jokes are hilarious (and you’ve got to love something that features a character called Bi-Polar Bear), the plot isn’t strong enough to keep things motoring for 69 minutes, particularly as there’s an episode of the original Queer Duck series that said just as much about gay deprogrammers as this film does, but it did it in four minutes. That said, Queer Duck: The Movie is worth a watch once, but it’s unlikely you’d want to see it again.

Reviewer: Tim Isaac

Related