Review of Howard the Duck (1986) by Troy F — 14 Dec 2013

I remember beginning my conquest years ago to begin watching bad movies with a few friends. We'd take films that had been notoriously received and trashed, and trashed on the films ourselves. After years of seeing trash, and even growing a soft spot for some of them, I thought it was a good idea to return to the film that began my streak: Howard The Duck.

First of all, it's not a terrible movie. Howard The Duck is a silly, cheesy concept that isn't bad on paper, and probably makes for a fun comic book. But seeing it on film... doesn't translate so well. The result is an extremely awkward film where really, all that happens is... a duck from a world of ducks is transported to Earth by accident, people freak out and react like "OMG! It's a talking duck!", and a random plot about a dark overload taking over the world sneaks its way into the film probably to give the film something to do after the duck matter ran its course. The acting only makes it more awkward too. Lea Thompson has that "What the hell am I doing in this movie" look, her eyes often wandering off in absolute confusion which is reflected in her performance too, almost seemingly drunk. Jeffrey Jones is Dr. Jenning, an average scientist who randomly turns into a possessed overload. This guy is our main villain, and well... I can see they were trying to go for a terrifying, psychotic character, but he ends up acting like a jacked up, pedophilic Albert Einstein-ish looking freako. Jeffrey Jones, you played a good asshole as the principal in Ferris Bueller, but the over-the-top villain role on ya just looks forced out, sorry bud. Tim Robbins is probably the most conscious human actor in this film, his dialogue is a bit lame, same with his QUACK! jokes, but at least he's trying to have fun with it, and he gave me a bit of a laugh.

The main character to focus on however, is Howard himself. Its hard not to overlook that he's a funny looking puppet-like duck with the same DERP face on him most of the time. He's not necessarily a character we invest in, but neither is he unlikable. He's alright enough. Still, this here presents one of the films problems... the acting is out of whack and we don't have any readily identifiable characters. The rest of the film is filled with extravagant adventure/action scenes that certainly look good in production value for the time, but can't save a disjointed story with disjointed performances. For christ sakes, you couldn't make the film anymore awkward until the almost-to-be love scene between Beverley and Howard happens. That's another thing, this film is a bit violent and (on a tame level) adult-themed for kids, but too silly and incredibly lame for adults. No matter the audience, its an awkward experience. I've overused the 'awkward' term now, but that just describes the movie as a whole. It's awkward as hell. When someone asks what I just watched, and I describe what this film is about, their reaction would very well justify nearly everyone's reaction to the film.

Criticism aside, its not terrible as I said. If you dig in and look past its major flaws, it can be fun at few moments and the action scenes do enough to hold a bit of your attention, and Tim Robbins and Howard's scenes together (not very many) were the most enjoyable. But that's all it has going for it, and that's not a lot. Howard The Duck is not a misunderstood gem and is easy to see why it failed in the box office, but if you choose to watch it, avoid its criticism and watch it with your own eyes to experience its awkwardness for yourself. I know it has its fans.