Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Howard the Duck (1986) – Review

            I’m going to abuse my own “No Swearing,” rule once and only once… Duck Tits… No, no, you read that right. Duck Tits… They Exist! And oh my god are they disturbing!

            Here’s the problem with Howard the Duck…

            You have a three foot smart-mouthed talking Duck from another planet who gets sucked to earth through a vortex. For kids right? But then there are all of these odd scenes sprinkled throughout that feature mild sex and nudity. Uh… Fetish porn? No, it also has other various monsters, aliens, and special effects that rival anything else that came out that year.
            Over the years Howard the Duck was once considered to be perhaps the world’s worst film ever made. Then it gathered a cult following after so many years. Kids today, they hear somethings awful and they’ll just flock to check it out… Wait a second!

(Shameless self-advertisement, check out my YouTube channel, its atrocious!)

            Honestly, Howard the Duck is a movie that had award winning talent behind it, like George Lucas. No seriously, the Star Wars guy made this happen! And it shows in the visuals. The animatronics used to create the emotions on Howard’s face were ahead of their time for 1986! Take a look at some other animatronics in any other film that year. Howard himself still holds up incredibly well even by today’s standards. If you ask me this point is one of many that can do nothing but help you believe the world of the film.
            Then there’s the science fiction edge of the film that comes into play with the inclusion of the idea of scientists, aliens, and other planets besides ours and Howard’s. When you take a look at the bigger picture of this film, the fact that it’s meant to be a science/fiction/comedy with some action thrown in where needed, it kind of fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe of today. Think of how strange entries into that universe such as, Thor, or Guardians of the Galaxy have been. (Which by the way happens to feature Mr. T. Duck in its post credits scene)
            Yes Howard is a Marvel property, a comic book series that was meant to be cartoony, and poke fun at film noir and detective stories. Some of Howard’s earlier comics featured tag lines that would read something like, “A real hardboiled detective,” or something like that. So he was never meant to be taken all that seriously and it was all meant for fun and a good time just as his movie was.
            The film itself is worth a watch. And this has nothing to do with anything but it’s one of my all-time favorite pop-corn flicks! Today Howard’s partially back on the scene with a new line of comic books published by Marvel. Interestingly enough, Howard's "modern' design is a bit of a throwback to the 1986 film! He's also had a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy that had tons of MCU fans scratching their heads over its meaning. Although the makers of that film have stated the scene means nothing, and was meant to tease fans for taking every bit of information so seriously, I’ll accept that, but I hope I see Howard again real soon.


(Make him a character in, “Guardians of the Galaxy 2,” James Gunn! Please! At least a scene! Make Howard a bar tender on Nowhere! How funny would it be to see Howard trade insults with Rocket Raccoon! I’m giving you gold here!)

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