The ‘Back to the Future’ star who filmed “the most obscene sex scene” with a duck
'Howard the Duck' is one of Marvel's first live-action films and also one of its most infamous; what was Lea Thompson thinking?
Marvel’s first live-action feature film, aside from the 1940s Captain America serials, was an absolute fiasco. Released in 1986, Howard the Duck aimed to bring the adventures of Marvel Comics’ irreverent anthropomorphic duck to the big screen, with major names attached, including George Lucas, creator of Star Wars, as executive producer.
However, both critics and audiences rejected it. The film earned barely more than its production cost at the box office and even took home four Golden Raspberry Awards. To make matters worse, Howard the Duck also carries the dubious distinction of featuring what may well be “the most outrageous sex scene” in mainstream cinema, involving Lea Thompson and Howard himself.
George Lucas thought Howard the Duck would be a major hit
Howard is an adult duck living a quiet life on Duckworld, a planet much like Earth populated by anthropomorphic ducks. One day, he is suddenly transported to Earth by a mysterious laser beam and, of course, lands in the United States, specifically in Cleveland.
There, he meets Beverly Switzler, a rock singer who is constantly mistreated by her manager. Feeling sorry for the stranded duck, Beverly takes Howard back to her apartment, and as she begins to develop feelings for him, the two become tangled in a bizarre and supposedly hilarious plot that could end with humanity’s destruction.
Throughout the movie, beyond Howard’s rebellious personality, the anthropomorphic duck is repeatedly, and rather strangely, sexualized. “Well, sex appeal. Some guys got it - and some guys don’t,” Howard remarks in one scene.
Later, as Beverly approaches him in bed wearing lingerie, he exclaims, “I’ve given up trying to assimilate. I’ve got to get back to my own kind!” He then adds, “Although… I’ve developed a greater appreciation for the female version of the human anatomy. ArooOOO!” before the scene reaches its absurd climax.
Zoey Deutch, Lea Thompson’s daughter and an actress herself, addressed the deeply awkward and surreal scene in an interview with Conan O’Brien:
“There’s a particular scene in the film in which my mother makes love to a duck, and I saw it. So, what’s the next step? I go to my father, and say like my mother, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I know the duck’s name was Howard. Dad, your name is Howard. This is complicated. Dad will love you more than this duck will.’ I was like really making a case for […] I thought my mom [was going to leave my dad] for a duck.”
She added jokingly: “So eventually they’re like ‘it’s for grown-ups. You don’t need to watch that. You weren’t supposed to see that.’ So at school, when people would ask me what my mom does for a living, I would say, ‘She’s an actress... in adult movies.’”
That was how the actress humorously summed up her mother’s infamous scene with Howard the Duck.
Howard the Duck, is currently available on platforms such as Prime Video and Apple TV to rent.
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