Trailer:
“Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No it’s…..a duck.”
Many people look at the star wars prequels and think, how far as George Lucas fallen. Little do they know, he was actually on the rise at that point because THIS is George Lucas’s all time low. Or was it? Because in all honesty, Howard the Duck is no where near being deserving of the comic book whipping boy it’s become. Then again, maybe I’m just feeling forgiving after the horrific Supergirl.
In 1986 Marvel finally made the scene on the primarily DC dominated market. And who did it bring up to bat first? Not Spider-Man, not the Hulk, not any of the larger more recognizable characters. No, for whatever reason Howard the Duck was the pick out of the lot. It’s not really the most orthodox choice, but maybe Lucas was trying to go for his own kind of E.T. story. In the same sense that it could be enjoyed by children and adults.
The comic of Howard the Duck has been seen by many as leaning almost to the side of a parody, most notably mocking Superman as they are both about aliens from another world who are exiled to earth. I’m not sure how accurate that statement is because, again, I’ve never taken the time to check out a Howard the Duck comic. But in the film I can see the similarities, even if they are faint.
In the movie Howard is yanked out of his world by a weird transporting device they were testing on earth. Lost, confused, the duck wonders the street worried about being shot by hunters (even though most people just assume that he is a kid in a costume [which is probably the truth]). After using some crazy “Quack Fu” he saves a young aspiring rock star named Beverly Nolastname (Lea Thompson). She takes him in and tried to recruit him as their band manager, but Howard has no time for a bunch of female rockers. He has to go stop a Dark Overlord, who has also come to earth, planning to bring an invasion to the entire planet.
The character of Howard is very much a “player” but his costume looks like a Muppets reject. He is relatable really only on the level of a fish out of the water looking to get home. He’s a man dissatisfied with his life before he ends up on earth. Other than that he is alien both literally and figuratively. His semi romantic scenes with Lea Thompson are kind of more awkward than they are touching. It’s like what one of the characters in the film says when she claim he’s her boyfriend. “That’s just gross”.
But that is really where the film falls apart. I’m talking more about how they adapt the property in terms of target audience less than the idea of a human chick and a duck getting it on. The movie has no idea who it was meant for. There is so much adult humor in it mixed with childish potty jokes that many times it made me wonder “who WAS this for?” It is completely uneven in tone.
That does not mean the film is the garbage many critics make it out to be. The effects are actually very well done for the time. The stop motion they did for some of the creatures was even better than what would later be seen in the Robocops movies. The airplane chase scene near the end actually looked pretty spectacular.
The villain was also well done, so well done I think Green Lantern might tried to steal him. Doctor Jennings, the scientist possessed by the Overlord was certainly more creepy and entertaining to watch. Rather than being melodramatic, Jeffery Jones plays the character in a gloriously over the top fashion which makes him pretty damn funny on screen while still seeming like a threat.
The music, composed by John Barry was also very good, probably too good for this movie. He manages to make it both jazzy and feature elements of the 80’s stadium rock.
In the end the film has many redeeming qualities to it. It’s concept was solid and I could easily see an animated Howard the Duck working (provided that it was more kid targeted). But it still is almost painfully inconsistent in quality and tone. It was a movie made for everyone, but ended up being for no one.
FINAL RATING: 4/10- (40%)
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