Howard The Duck

Howard The Duck, released in 1986, was produced by George Lucas, and starred Lea Thompson (from Back To The Future), Tim Robbins, and Jeffery Jones. The film was a box office flop, and has been considered one of the worst movies ever made, and one of the biggest failures in the box office in film history. The film is based on the Marvel comic book of the same, making it the first Marvel "superhero" movie. Nearly every critic gave this film negative reviews, though there are a few fans out there who believe that this film was treated unfairly. Though the director William Hyuck tried to separate himself from the film after it's terrible release, producer George Lucas, as well as cast members Lea Thompson, Jeffery Jones, and Ed Gale (who played Howard on screen, and also played Chucky on screen in Child's Play) stood by the film. Ed Gale was famous to say that the role on screen on Howard The Duck helped him to get cast in Mel Brooks' film Spaceballs, Mel Brooks having been quoted as saying, "anyone who has been in Howard The Duck, has a part in my film". George Lucas always believed that the film would later find a cult following, and he was not wrong. So is Howard The Duck, really THAT bad? In short, no. I have seen worse films, and I have seen far worse films be huge box office hits. Howard The Duck is cheesy, it has some one liner's that are quite cringe worthy, and it struggles to figure out who its target market actually is. I watched this film as a kid and loved it, though re-watching it now, and considering all of the other films I saw as a kid, I question my parent's judgements on what they felt was appropriate for a kid to watch. I thought the movie was funny as a kid, and saw some similarities in films that would come later like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Though unlike Ninja Turtles this film definitely has some adult themes in it. For example there is a love story between a human and a duck, though is that really bestiality when the duck is an alien from another planet, and is intelligent? Who knows, and honestly, who cares. This movie is fun, it is silly, it is cartoonie, and just over the top fun. The cast actually played their roles really well, I especially loved Lea Thompson in this film, she was so perfectly cast in her role. Tim Robbins did so well playing the bumbling, goofball, he felt like he would have fit in perfect in a film like weird science, he was the stereotype of the science nerd which was so common in films of this era. Then of course you have Jeffery Jones playing the scientist who was possessed by a demon from space, and he plays that transition so well, I actually quite loved him in this film, and felt that this may have been a forerunner for what we would later see from him in his role in Beetlejuice. The cast is silly, they are caricatures of people and groups leading to this comic book or cartoon feel to the film. Speaking of cartoons, the film was originally planned to be an animated film. The special effects are also quite well done, which should come as no surprise considering the film was produced by George Lucas. I love the stop motion animation that was used in the climax of the film, it is very reminiscent of the style of effects done by Ray Harryhausen. The film from a technical aspect actually has some quite groundbreaking effects used, and honestly looks really good. I love the great practical effects, and it was great seeing Howard done as a mix of animatronics and a person in a duck suit. The film does however struggle to find a target market, with the adult humour and sexual situations the film seems like it is targeting the adult market, but with the cartoonish humour, look, and cheesy one-liners it seems like it might be going for more of a kid appeal. I think that really hurt the film. However the story itself is actually a pretty entertaining one, it is silly, but it actually has a decent sci-fi story going on. I can't honestly say that this is a bad movie, quirky, and not for everyone yes, but is it actually one of the worst films ever made? No, not at all, it actually has even stood up pretty decently when re-watching now after all of the years since I saw it last, it actually looks good (cheesy, over the top 80s, yes, but good). I will say wholeheartedly that watching this film today was really a lot of fun. Would I recommend this film? Yes, I really would. Don't go into it expecting high-brow art, go into it expecting a goofy 80s sci-fi film and you might get what you expect. This is a comic book movie, and it is a comedic film, it does have elements of horror, sci-fi, comedy, and a very sexy over-emphasized 80s look to it. And I honestly love all of those things. Yes, go watch this film, judge for yourself is it as bad as the critic say, I personally say that it isn't, and I personally love that this film has a cult following. There is some dumb humour in this film, but for some reason it works here, where it wouldn't in other films, because of the absurdity of the whole thing. The truth is I find amazing beauty in the absurdity of this film, and am so excited to have added it to my collection recently.