"Duck is a magical word. Both a noun and a verb".

Boy, this is one strange film. It's so off-color that I wasn't even sure I wanted to write a review of it. That said, I took the time to rent it, the time to watch it, and the time to give it some thought -- so I guess it's only fair I take the time to write about it.

Duck is basically the amalgamation of Boy and his Dog and About Schmidt -- if you can imagine that. It's the story of an old, lovable grandpa-type fella who's lost everyone dear to him that's set to a backdrop of a dystopian future where he befriends a trusty animal companion -- his duck. We watch as they travel together, meet heroes and villains, experince trials and tribulations, and effectively discover the meaning of life. No ... seriously.

The amazing thing is that most of the time, it seems to work. I found, to my surprise, I really wanted the old man and the duck to make it. When they stumble into a drunken Halloween party, I kept getting that "oh no" feeling in my throat. It also does a pretty good job of forcing to viewer to ask themselves questions about loneliness, love, attachment, and ... the environment.

At the end of the day though, this movie is trying way too hard. And come on -- a duck? There had to be an animal that inspires more empathy than a duck. And to say that the ending (not to mention some of the preposterous situations along the way) was less than compelling is gross underestimate.

I've seen better films. I've seen worse movies. Take the 10 awards wreaths adorning the dvd cover with a grain of salt -- I think that's where I went wrong. Why am I such a sucker for indie films? I'm thinking next time i should just -- wait for it -- duck the cover.