Movie Madness: Howard the Duck

Hello! I'm the Eternal Optimist!

Today, I'd like to talk to you about ducks. The history of cinema is full of the creatures. Especially anthropomorphic ones. Daffy Duck, Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck. For years, they've made us laugh with their funny voices and gruff demeanors. And then, on the heels of the success of Star Wars, George Lucas helped bring to the big screen one of the more... divisive ducks of the decade of punk.

Howard the Duck!

Is this madness? No, it's the 80's

So...what's the plot?

The titular Howard T. Duck (performed by Ed Gale, voice of Chip Zien), native of Duckworld, is pulled across the universe by an unknown force and dumped into the life of Beverly, nascent punk rock chick and songwriter. As it happens both of their lives are falling apart, for largely different reasons. Beverly's career is going nowhere, and Howard had a major change of address forced on him. Together they team up with Phil (Tim Robbins) to try and figure out how to return Howard to his home planet. Then an extradimensional evil force gets involved, and it's a race against time to save the world.

Truly, the plot is nothing that hasn't been done to death a thousand time before. What Howard the Duck has going for it is a wonderful, if somewhat esoteric sense of humor. Perhaps most importantly, and the biggest stumbling block for enjoyment, is the plethora of duck related puns. If bad puns are not your taste, then you will find yourself hating this movie within the first ten minutes. Likewise, Howard's constant wise-cracks can grate on those who don't have a taste for zingers and sitcom style one-liners. Luckily, there are two pieces of humor that never fail to deliver.

Each character plays the scenes in a deliciously straight, yet hammy way. Outside of the odd wisecrack, there are very few "*wink* *wink* look how clever we are" moments. It's this tendency to play everything straight in an over-the-top manner that allows the movie to get away with some incredibly ridiculous situations.

Finally we have the Dark Overlord, our villain and the single best part of the movie. He only shows up at the halfway point possessing a friendly scientist named Dr. Jennings (Jeffrey Jones), but once he shows up the movie shifts from slow moving mystery melodrama, into a fast paced sci-fi comedy. Jeffrey Jones chews scenery with aplomb as the Dark Overlord, becoming more and more unhinged as he continues his monstrous transformation.

How about those special effects?

As a George Lucas production, the special effects are done by Industrial Light and Magic, and are generally very good, considering the time period. Energy effects, monster make-up, even a mystical (if scientifically inaccurate) starscape are delivered with a combination of practical effects, computer generated effects, and beautiful matte paintings.

There are, unfortunately, two major effects that fall somewhat short and date the movie. First, the lesser of two evils. In the final confrontation, the true form of the Dark Overlord is rendered with stop motion and blue screen. Good for the time period? Yes. Cheesy and dated by today's standards? Double yes. However, this can be forgiven.

Howard, on the other hand, fares a little worse. Characterized by a combination of puppetry and little people in suits. His facial expressions are just a little off. In terms of uncanny valley, he sits right there at the point where it starts to get a little unsettling. Luckily, close-up face shots are rare, and Chip Zien's vocal performance is full enough of personality to off-set the lack of emoting available for the Howard costume.

And the music?

There are two kinds of music in Howard the Duck. The background music, which switches between low grade orchestral bombast and smooth, slightly jazzy moments. These are serviceable, although the romantic theme is surprisingly quiet and beautiful.

Then you have the songs written specifically for Beverly's in movie band, Cherry Bomb, to sing. They represent the most typical of typical 80's songs from a slow ballad with a slow driving drumbeat, to hyperkinetic synth and guitar anthems. If you have an allergic reaction to 80's pop, or the rest of the movie just doesn't appeal to you, stay away.

Final Verdict:

Howard the Duck is completely and utterly not a movie for everyone. It is incredibly cheesy, the plot sometimes doesn't make sense, and the special effects fail in some small but very crucial areas. However, it does have a certain B-movie charm to it, and a lot can be said for how it plays the cheesiness for as little post modern "irony" as possible. If you like a little bit of ham and cheese, take a chance on it. If smart movies are more your thing, stay far away for sanity's sake.

And now the title song, in all it's 80's synth pop glory

To all you out there in the wild sea of the internet, I'm the Eternal Optimist.

Happy thoughts!