This would have been better as an animated film

there actually WERE duck boobs.
sex violence and drugs wouldn't have helped this flick... what would have helped is to make the movie NOT dated. It's horribly stuck in the 80's, the clothes the gangs... sad to say it's very faithful to the comic EXCEPT for the look of the animatronic duck puppet they used was just AWFUL. it looks nothing like Howard the duck does in the comic.

I agree because the whole time I was thinking a lot of these unbelievable consequences and reactions and all the illogical behavior is acceptable in cartoon's and comics but in live action movies gets dismissed as lazy.
Although with so many throw away lines and the iffy staging during action sequences and a real laziness in so many set ups (like the 'busted' gas line on the plane that just had to be reconnected, or the cop car with no screen between the front and back seats) I think even as a cartoon they would have had to put a little more time into the script and execution.

The other thing were the performances. At times they were over the top and at other times more nuanced and realistic. In a cartoon it would probably be easier to just commit to going over the top. Staging would be a lot easier and the tone would feel more even. With those problems corrected and an improved script it probably could have been something a lot more critically pleasing.
it's cool that they were trying to bring comic's to life though way before it had become the norm in movies. they just didn't work out all the kinks. I still think the movie is a fun novelty. I'm glad it exists as a live action movie.