Movie Music Archives #019: “Howard The Duck”
Do you know why this movie is shit upon so much? I don’t. It’s actually both funny and entertaining. In it, Jeffrey Jones gives the most fevered, frenetic and brilliant performance of his career, and Tim Robbins also checks in, portraying the first of what would be several great “goofy” roles for him throughout the ’80s (see also “Tapeheads”, “Bull Durham”, “Erik The Viking” and “Cadillac Man”.) Also, the special effects are pretty top-notch.
So why does “Howard The Duck” have such a terrible reputation? Perhaps it’s because George Lucas’ name was attached to it as producer, and everyone was expecting another “Star Wars”/”Indiana Jones”-like spectaulcar, but instead got a huge mouthful of duck jokes. Or perhaps it’s the only PG-rated film ever to have multiple jokes about beastiality. Bad Movie Planet sums it up like this:
“The ‘Howard The Duck’ from the comics was a witty, satirical character that had strange adventures with even stranger foes (the Kidney Lady, Dr. Bong, Status Quo). This movie wasn’t witty….the jokes all boiled down to ‘Hey! He’s a duck! Get it!?’. Man, there’s only one or two times that’s going to funny…and even then it ain’t that funny.”
Okay, so maybe the movie does suck after all. Here’s the soundtrack by John Barry and Thomas Dolby.
April 22nd, 2007 at 8:35 am
Thanks, Bret! I like the dichotomy — I wonder if this isn’t a too pretentious word in this context — between John Berry’s opulent score and Thomas Dolby’s pop (with typical 80s jackhammer drum sounds).
Wikipedia says:
“Despite the fact it flopped in theaters, the film alongside its soundtrack remains a cult 80s classic with music composed by synth wizard Thomas Dolby. It is considered a cult classic and highly collectable.”
Oh, and since I’m at it (I suppose you’re not totally averse to reader suggestions): I’d very much like to see Egg City Radio “Spotlight On” installments with notable Science Fiction and Horror soundtracks, if this isn’t a too broad outline because when you do specials you seem to focus more on individual musicians than whole genres.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
I’d completely forgotten about this film…crikey!
September 1st, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Is it me, or did Barry completely recycle the love theme from this movie (”You’re the Duckiest”) for Dances With Wolves? Yikes.
April 24th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
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July 4th, 2008 at 7:39 am
i just spent 2 weeks in portland, seattle and vancouver diggin in the soundtrack crates.. found a few nuggets but nothing really satisfied the fix.. this blog is saving my life. great job on the whole site. email me @ toneski@gmail.com, maybe i might have some scores or soundtracks for you.