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Rating: For us who are slowly approaching the threshold of 30 years, the 80s were a magical, unique, and unrepeatable period! A decade when the PlayStation didn't exist, there was no internet, almost nothing (except for that legendary Commodore 64 that I miss so much as if I had lost a relative!). We kids at the time used to escape into those low-budget American B-movies, snubbed by critics and audiences, with few TV broadcasts, but for us young dreamers, they were absolute masterpieces that could transport us to parallel worlds! Thanks to that "tough period" (can I say it? Or will someone be offended?) we kids had a happy childhood! Of course... there were also the true masterpieces, like "The Goonies," "The NeverEnding Story," "Flight of the Navigator." Those a bit inferior but still beautiful "Explorers" (gorgeous!!), then there were the bottom-tier B-movies that made us fall in love! Today I would like to talk about that grandiose film called "Howard the Duck"!! A milestone of my childhood! I believe that if today I'm not normal, it's also thanks to this movie that as a kid literally damaged my brain! But do you remember this Duck named Howard who lives in the world of ducks and is suddenly dragged to planet Earth because of a laser beam from a mad scientist? Oh my god... it's unbelievable! We all must have seen it!
Howard is indeed a great duck of business, he deals with music and commercials, he has his credit card, his life, his world is the same as ours except for the primary race... we evolved from the monkey, they from the duck! Two similar worlds but with this little difference...
And here's our Howard, while peacefully watching a TV show, gets hit by a laser beam and is dragged into deep space to Earth (the opening scene of Howard's screaming flight through space is incredibly ridiculous and brilliant!!). Landed on our planet, the young duck befriends rock singer Beverly (I was in love with Lea Thompson for years as a kid!) with a sweet (and depraved) little love story! In fact, after making countless attempts to have a normal life, our Howard almost ends up making out with Beverly on a "hot" night... but... suddenly the mad scientist finds the duck again and proposes a trip back to his world... & from this moment onwards the film suddenly turns into a cult movie! That dumb scientist indeed launches the laser into space again, but this time instead of a duck, he pulls down some sort of hideous monster named "Dark Overlord of the Universe," the absolute protagonist of the film! Unforgettable Jeffrey Jones as Doctor Genning possessed by the dark! The cross between the mad scientist and the ferocious beast brings life to a kind of space preacher-messiah surrounded by electricity and scales! Outstanding! Among the most beautiful scenes, the dark overlord going berserk in a Chinese restaurant, electrocuting everyone with its powerful electric shocks! The inevitable final clash between Howard and the monster! The film offers everything, car chases worthy of the worst B-movies of the time, hang glider flights, various romantic episodes, hilarious comedy, and the legendary Tim Robbins at his beginnings! Seen through my eyes, "Howard the Duck" is a masterpiece on par with Ben Hur!!! Let's analyze the movie through others' eyes:
- George Lucas, one of the producers of the film, disowned the movie after the first viewing!
- Howard was the greatest winner of the anti-Oscars of the time given to the worst films of the year!(the Razzie Awards) Howard won various awards and a ton of nominations including: worst film, worst actors, worst soundtrack, worst actor Tim Robbins (but then he made up for it with Mystic River hehehe), worst.... Oh well... worst EVERYTHING!
And yet... a tear rolls down my cheek every time I watch this movie! And every time I can't help but remember the chilling episodes of my childhood that took place after the first viewing of this film:
- I wanted to build a spaceship with a garbage can to go to the world of ducks to compliment Howard on his performance!
- I wanted to build a flying stroller to go to Hollywood to ask for Lea Thompson's hand!
- I argued with my mother and refused to speak to her for more than three months because she didn't want to believe in Duckburg!
- For a while, I felt possessed by a dark overlord of the universe! One day I had so identified with the role that... I hit a friend of mine!!!
Now tell me if I could ever give this film a low rating! I love it, I adore it, I worship it.
Howard is a carefree, simple film, without too many pretensions, fun and genuine... today, unfortunately, we rely only on technical wonders and visual beauty... but there is no longer that lightheartedness and I would almost say "innocence" that characterized the cinema of the 80s!
This film, for better or worse... is a symbol of that small great cinema that will never return!
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