We’re all about comics here at Panels on Pages, but a geek cannot live on comics alone. Outside the Longbox is our chance to spotlight something outside our typical four-color realm - be it movies, music, TV or whatever.

How many movies have you seen that can boast a scene wherein Woody from Cheers throws a jar of wasps at Casey Jones? That’s what I thought.

It’s understandable if you’ve never heard of Defendor. Written & directed by Peter Stebbings, it was never theatrically released in the U.S., getting dumped to DVD earlier this year. Starring Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Elias Koteas, Sandra Oh and Michael Kelly, it’s a small film with some big ideas.

It opens with psychiatrist Dr. Park (Oh) conducting an evaluation of Authur Poppington (Harrelson), who is being held by police for assault. It then flashes back to establish what’s going on, and for a majority of the film goes back and forth; scenes play out, then we cut back to Park’s reactions and analysis. Arthur spends his nights as the super-hero Defendor, using whatever he has handy to search for his arch-enemy Captain Industry. His transport is a big telephone-repair rig (with a dashboard toy dog labeled “Defendog,” of course), his insignia is a duct-taped “D” on his outfit, and his weapons are his grandfather’s World War I trench club, marbles, and jars of wasps. He soon has a run in with corrupt undercover cop Dooney (Koteas) and a drug-using prostitute named Angel (Dennings). She ends up staying with him for awhile back at his headquarters, the construction depot where he works by day for his friend Paul (Kelly). It’s clear that while Arthur is somewhat disturbed and not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, he’s also a totally honest, caring person who genuinely believes in doing the right thing. Sort of a Kick-Ass by way of Forrest Gump. With Angel’s (who soon reveals her real name is Kat, in a moment of unintentional comedy) help he focuses on Dooney and the criminal he works for, who Arthur believes him to be Industry himself. This inadvertently leads to Defendor interrupting a police investigation, and his later attack on Kat’s father (who had molested her before she ran away) led to him being arrested and sentenced to the evaluation we’ve seen throughout. Arthur is released into Paul’s care, but only under court order that he’s to stop his activities as Defendor. Meanwhile, his heroic persona has captured the hearts of the city, who praise Defendor’s actions against crime. Crushed by his lack of heroics, Arthur only comes out of his stupor when Dooley abducts Kat so she and Arthur won’t reveal information about his boss’s dealings to the police. He once again becomes Defendor, and heads to the docks for a showdown…

I’m not going to spoil the ending here, because I really encourage everyone to watch the flick. I can see why the studio didn’t want to release it in theaters, as it would probably not appeal to a wider audience with it’s mixture of drama, humor and vigilantism, but I highly enjoyed it. The script is excellent (”He dresses up in tights and he calls himself Defendor, with a big D on his chest and on a cape.”  ”No. Capes are for flying. I don’t… I don’t fly.”) and Woody Harrelson once again shows what a talented actor he is. His scenes with Denning are especially good. They seem awkward at first, but that totally works, and their chemistry increases as the characters grow to care for each other. Defendor might not fit neatly into any one genre, but it’s an engaging film that deserves to be seen. I give it 4 out of 5 typewriters.