One of the weirdest movies of the 1980s was Howard the Duck, based on the supporting character in the comic book of the same name. TV writer Andrea Kail knew about the film’s terrible reputation, but was still amazed at how bad it was.
“I pretty much watched the whole thing with my jaw on the floor,” Kail said in episode 494 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy audio file. “It’s absolutely horrible in every possible way.”
Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy organization David Barr Kirtley miss love Howard the Duck when he saw it as an 8-year-old, but agreed that the movie was a train wreck. “It’s a really weird combination of a children’s movie, a Animal house– in the style of a sex comedy and a horror movie. “Some things can go together, but the kids and the sex comedy just don’t get along.”
Howard the Duck Made by George Lucas, surpassing the success of the original Star Wars trilogy of works. Humorous writer Tom Gerencer says that fame has clearly entered the director’s head. “[Howard the Duck] works like a comic book series,” he said, “but then thinking you can do it and it’s going to work like a real-life movie just gives the sense of freedom you only get after you just made the biggest hit movie of all time and you think, ‘I can do anything.’ “
Science fiction author Matthew Kressel was appalled by Howard the Duck, but note that the film has its defenders. “I know some people who love this movie,” he said. “If you continue Gen X Reddit Forums, they sometimes ask: ‘What was your favorite movie of the 80s?’ and Howard the Duck have issued. Some say, ‘I love Howard the Duck! Oh, that’s funny. ‘”
Listen to the full interview with Andrea Kail, Tom Gerencer, and Matthew Kressel in Episode 494 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (above). And check out some highlights from the discussion below.
Tom Gerencer on Strange science:
“I still like it as a story about two nerds who always yearn for the wrong thing and then almost learn to want the right. Having said that, I really want to get into politics. I feel like every movie from the ’80s that we discuss, we spend 10 minutes making excuses for conventional racism and sexism. ‘Of course they killed the puppies in this movie. That’s what we did back then. We killed the puppies. ‘ I think after a while I started to feel like I was doing something wrong by saying the same thing every time. … Every kid in my class quotes non-stop [jazz club] And we think it’s great. And considering it as an adult, I shrunk the whole thing. I was just like, “Ugh, this is horrible.”
David Barr Kirtley on Inner space:
“The character arc, I think, is supposed to be Dennis Quaid confident but disinterested — and that’s why he has this whole fight with Meg Ryan at first — and Martin Short is interested but not confident. They form this team, and later throughout the film, Dennis Quaid teaches Martin Short to be more confident and Martin Short teaches Dennis Quaid to be more caring. And it’s kind of like that in terms of Martin Short’s character development, but doesn’t really have any effect on Dennis Quaid’s character development. And I think that’s the biggest flaw that’s missing from this movie for me, which is that he ends up getting back together with Meg Ryan, and they get married, and it’s like, ‘Wait, no problem. in their relationship is resolved or resolved at all or even actually mentioned in this entire movie. ‘”
Matthew Kressel on Escape from New York:
“I think the staging of the film is great. I love this idea of: ‘Crime is so bad, let’s destroy Manhattan and put all the criminals in there and let them fend for themselves.’ … You know the scene in the movie where they say, ‘Oh, this is Broadway! Why are you driving down Broadway? ‘ And people just throw stuff in their cars. This actually happens if you drive down certain streets in the city. I remember people throwing stuff at our cars, like fireworks, and of course there were men with squeegees who would put stuff on your windshield, then wipe it off and ask for 5 dollars. The city is pretty bad. So I love it that John Carpenter like, ‘Yeah, we’re just going to take this to the extreme. The city was so bad that it is now a prison colony. ‘”
Andrea Kail on Comet Night:
“I think I saw it in the cinema, and I was – I’m pretty sure – the same age as the characters at the time. It really hit me exactly where it should be. I know those characters because I to be those characters – selfish, conceited, rebellious against parents. There’s a scene where she goes, ‘The shops are open. What do you want to do?’ And they go shopping. Everything about it is exactly who I am. … And looking back at it, I feel excited. There are some fallacies about the absurdity of science, but as with an adventure story, it plays out really well, the characters are hilarious and it’s funny. The scene in the mall with the bad stock boys is amazing.”
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