Film

Howard the Duck

Name: Howard the Duck
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Science Fiction
Released: 1986
Cast: Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins, Ed Gale, Chip Zien

Howard the Duck is a gonzo 1986 sci-fi comedy about a wisecracking duck from another dimension stranded on Earth. It's genuinely weird—part slapstick, part rock-and-roll fever dream, with a tone that swings wildly between sincere and absurd. For fans of gloriously unhinged blockbuster misfires and anyone curious about what happens when a studio lets things get truly strange.

TMDb rating

2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like 80s sci-fi that is cheerfully daft, where a wisecracking, cigar-chomping talking duck is treated with total seriousness by everyone around him.

Skip it if you need your comedy sharp and your plotting tight, since this one is loose, goofy and wanders off its own premise more than once.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a brisk, lightly silly ride of 110 minutes, where you mostly need to go along with the premise rather than question it.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Gremlins1984

Another creature-feature comedy that gleefully mixes horror and slapstick with genuine invention. It's anarchic and weird without apologizing, and the Gremlin designs are genuinely imaginative—like Howard, it's a film that doesn't play it safe.

But The comedy is broad and sometimes lands awkwardly; the film can feel scattered in its tonal swings, which might grate if you want something more focused.

Big Trouble in Little China1986

Released the same year, it's equally audacious and unafraid to be ridiculous. Kurt Russell carries an insane premise with charm and self-aware humor. It's outsized adventure filmmaking that doesn't blink at its own absurdity.

But The genre mashups and rapid-fire plotting can feel chaotic; if you need a clear narrative through-line, you'll be frustrated by how much it prioritizes vibe over logic.

Explorers1985

A sci-fi adventure about kids building a spacecraft from scrap, mixing genuine wonder with comedy and oddness. It shares Howard's refusal to be cute or marketable in the expected way, with a similarly unpredictable energy throughout.

But It's deeply weird in ways that don't always land, and the special effects can look cheap; the tonal shifts might feel amateurish rather than intentional.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Howard the Duck

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Little Shop of Horrors1986

Both are 1986 creature-feature comedies where the weird protagonist becomes weirdly sympathetic; both trust their silly concepts completely and refuse to wink at the audience.

Released the same year, it's also a creature feature comedy with a non-human protagonist who steals the show. It's got the same pop-culture DNA and commitment to pure entertainment over plausibility, but the monster is funny and pathetic instead of anthropomorphic.

But It's a musical, and the romantic plot is genuinely earnest; if you want sci-fi chaos without Broadway production numbers and genuine pathos, this takes a very different tonal turn.

Galaxy Quest1999

A comedy sci-fi film that loves its genre while gently mocking it, with a cast clearly having enormous fun. It's got the same spirit of affectionate weirdness and unexpected heart lurking under the comedy.

But It's much more polished and conventional than Howard, so if you're seeking that raw, uncontrolled quality, this will feel safer and less interesting.

Beetlejuice1988

Tim Burton's comedy about an unruly freelancer causing havoc, with Alec Baldwin channeling a similar manic energy. It's a film that revels in its strangeness and treats its weird protagonist with genuine affection.

But It's also fairly meandering and tone-inconsistent; Burton's whimsy doesn't work for everyone, and some sequences exist solely because the idea amused the director.

Liquid Sky1982

A science-fiction film that's genuinely bizarre and low-budget, with surreal visuals and an utterly unwilling protagonist. It's proof that strange filmmaking without studio money can be more authentic and memorable than expensive chaos.

But It's deliberately difficult: slow pacing, experimental narrative structure, and a relentless mood that makes no concession to entertainment. It demands patience and tolerance for genuine strangeness.

The Hidden1987

A body-snatching sci-fi thriller that pairs an alien premise with genuine thrills and dark comedy. Like Howard, it's a film that trusts its own weird concept and commits fully to the bit.

But It's far more violent and serious-minded than Howard; if you want lighthearted zaniness, the body horror and graphic kills will be jarring.

Night of the Comet1984

A post-apocalyptic sci-fi comedy with charm and a willingness to be silly. It's unpretentious, quick-moving, and treats genre absurdity as a feature, not a bug, with genuine affection for its characters.

But The budget shows everywhere—cheap effects and modest action sequences might feel underwhelming if you expect spectacle.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension1984

An unapologetically strange sci-fi adventure that piles concept on top of concept without pausing to explain itself. It's a film that commits absolutely to its own weirdness and dares you to keep up.

But It's genuinely incoherent in places; the plot barely holds together, and if you need clarity and conventional narrative structure, you'll find it baffling rather than charming.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension poster

Phantom of the Paradise1974

Both films are unhinged genre mashups made in different eras that refuse to choose between sincerity and camp, treating both with equal commitment.

Brian De Palma's wild rock-opera horror-comedy that mixes genres with gleeful abandon. It's a film that understands the energy of musical spectacle and B-movie plotting in the same DNA as Howard, but channeled through pure cinema rather than a joke.

But It's genuinely dark—there's real violence and tragedy beneath the glam—and the tone shift from comedy to actual horror is severe; it's not a laugh riot like Howard, even though it's absurd.

The Lobster2015

Both center on a human-animal protagonist dealing with bureaucratic absurdity and human cruelty; both treat their ridiculous premises as philosophical problems rather than just setups for jokes.

A surreal sci-fi comedy about people turned into animals, played completely straight by everyone involved. It's deeply weird and genuinely funny, with a premise as bonkers as Howard's but executed through deadpan existential dread instead of slapstick.

But It's slow, deliberately artificial, and fundamentally bleak; the humor is dry and uncomfortable, and if you want warmth or likability, you'll find its detachment alienating.