Howard the Duck (1986)
42%RT Audience Score: 35%
Awards & Nominations: 5 wins & 4 nominations
While it has its moments, Howard the Duck suffers from an uneven tone and mediocre performances
Howard the Duck is a movie that’s so bad, it’s almost good. Almost. The puns are the highlight of the film, and even they can’t save it from being a disaster. Howard himself is irritating and unconvincing, with the glassy eyes of a doll. The plot might have worked with cartoon characters, but with live actors, it just falls flat. The only thing fascinating about this movie is its blissful perversity. It’s a wack!-wack!-wacky comedy-adventure that’s not worth watching unless you’re in the mood for a good laugh at its expense.
Production Company(ies)
Film4 Ingenious Film Partners Special Treats Production Company,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Petaluma, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1986
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2009
Genre(s)
Action/Adventure
Keyword(s)
starring Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins, Paul Guilfoyle, Liz Sagal, Dominique Davalos, directed by Willard Huyck, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz, PG, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, box office gross $15.0M, reviewed by David Stratton, Michael Burkett, Michael Shmith, David Robinson, Bob Thomas, Nigel Andrews, Bill Chambers, Peter Sobczynski, Matt Brunson, Joe Leydon, Octavi Marti, produced by Gloria Katz, Robert Latham Brown
Worldwide gross: $37,962,774
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $105,183,011
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 987
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 11,470,339
US/Canada gross: $16,295,774
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $45,150,509
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,120
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,070,136
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $14,047,766
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 825
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $37,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $102,515,465
Production budget ranking: 398
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $55,204,578
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$52,537,031
ROI to date (est.): -33%
ROI ranking: 1,586
Jeffrey Jones – Dr. Walter Jenning
Tim Robbins – Phil Blumburtt
Paul Guilfoyle – Lieutenant Welker
Liz Sagal – Ronette
Dominique Davalos – Cal
Director(s)
Willard Huyck
Writer(s)
Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz
Producer(s)
Gloria Katz, Robert Latham Brown
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
5 wins & 4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (81) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (70)
There are a few good jokes along the way, but the final effect is that we’ve been here rather too many times before.
December 15, 2020
David Stratton
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Sound the horns, light the speakers, and cue the marching band, because Howard the Duck is here — and bad movie historians could not ask for a more mallard-droit venture than this.
December 15, 2020
Michael Burkett
Orange County Register
TOP CRITIC
This creature with a mobile bill, scrawny body, and with a voice like Humphrey Bogart proves irritating beyond belief. Also, Howard has the glassy eyes of a doll and an artificiality that even his brusque, wise-quacking manner cannot quite conceal.
December 15, 2020
Michael Shmith
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
There must have been a terrible moment, many millions of collars into the production of Howard, when everyone realised it was not going to work either as comedy or thriller, as kid’s stuff or sophisticated fore.
December 15, 2020
David Robinson
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The plot might have provided a pleasant little fable if done with cartoon characters. But with live actors and a star duck that is not terribly convincing, the film just doesn’t make it.
December 15, 2020
Bob Thomas
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
The sophisticated tone of the project is set early on by its array of puns. Our hero reads Playduck magazine and has a wallet bursting with credit cards like Mallardcard and Bloomingducks. The problem is that these are the funniest things in the film.
December 14, 2020
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
For me, the real hell of Howard the Duck is that I actually feel represented by it.
March 3, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/4
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central
The team’s most disastrous move in a film filled with them though was dramatically softening Howard, sanding down his trademark sarcasm in a doomed attempt to invoke the lovable charm of E.T.
August 5, 2021
Peter Sobczynski
The Spool
The overall movie is often fascinating in its blissful perversity.
July 11, 2021 | Rating: 1.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
It’s a wack!-wack!-wacky comedy-adventure.
July 8, 2021
Joe Leydon
The Moving Picture Show
George Lucas, who is one of the kings of fairy tale fads, seems to have lost his ingenuousness or the ability to simulate it. [Full review in Spanish]
December 15, 2020
Octavi Marti
El Pais (Spain)
Car crashes, explosions, chases. But nothing resembling a real plot or genuine characters.
December 15, 2020 | Rating: 2/4
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star…
Plot
A scientific experiment unknowingly brings extraterrestrial life forms to the Earth through a laser beam. First is the cigar smoking drake Howard from the duck’s planet. A few kids try to keep him from the greedy scientists and help him back to his planet. But then a much less friendly being arrives through the beam…
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny comments were found in the Fresh Kernels review for Howard the Duck.
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