Lucasfilm, 1986
starring: Lea Thompson, Tim Robbins, Jeffrey Jones, Ed Gale and Chip Zien
directed by: Willard Huyck

the plot: During a quiet evening at home on Duckworld, Howard the Duck (Gale/Zien) is plucked from his easy chair by a mysterious laser from space and beamed to Earth. He lands in Cleveland and, after some violent encounters with the natives, Howard meets Beverly Switzler (Thompson), front-woman for the band Cherry Bomb. After Howard rescues Beverly from a pair of would-be attackers, the two become close friends, despite Howard’s improbable duckiness. In order to figure out how Howard wound up on Earth, the plucky duck and his girl consult Phil Blumburtt (Robbins) a lab assistant/museum janitor who’s helping with an advanced space laser experiment conducted by Dr. Walter Jenning (Jeffrey Jones). Jenning reveals a malfunction with the laser accidentally beamed Howard to Earth, a mistake that Howard believes can be corrected by throwing the laser into reverse. But things go awry (as they often do with space lasers) when it malfunctions again and beams one of the Dark Overlords of the Universe into Jenning’s body. It’s up to Beverly, Howard and Phil to stop the Dark Overlord from re-activating the laser and using it to bring the other Dark Overlords to Earth.

why it’s good: “Howard the Duck” was doomed from the start, and not just because it was George Lucas who got the ball rolling on the project. Adapted from the Marvel comic created by Steve Gerber, director Willard Huyck and his wife/writing partner Gloria Katz jettisoned all the elements that made the comic version of Howard great (surrealistic humor, a noir atmosphere, experimental narratives and near constant mockery of everything) and opted for a big-budget action/comedy/romance that never knows what direction it wants to take. Is it a family film? Well, not really—there are two instances of duck boobs and a strange scene in which Beverly pretends to seduce Howard. Is it a comedy? Sort of, if you like your duck puns half-baked and your slapstick broad. The only area where “Howard” makes some decent headway is in the sci-fi-action territory, and that’s only because Lucas brought with him the combined might of Industrial Light and Magic’s effects department. The effects are bloated and excessive, but the doctor’s transformation into the Dark Overlord is cool, and the giant monster Howard must fight at the end (a combination of the Sarlacc from “Return of the Jedi” and a scorpion) is neat. Mostly, though, “Howard” remains a confused mess that’s entertaining only because of how hard it tries to be so many different things.

why you should own it: After years of obscurity on VHS, “Howard the Duck” made it to DVD earlier this year, though whether this is a blessing or a curse remains unclear. Universal’s tricked-out disc features commentary by Huyck and Katz, as well as two making-of featurettes, in which cast and crew fondly reminisce about everything that went wrong (strangely, duck boobs are not mentioned). —Larry Clow