If you grew up scanning the shelves of a local video store in the late eighties, you probably remember the cover. It was Howie Mandel, looking remarkably younger and considerably more "feral," crouched in a way that suggested he’d never seen a chair in his life. The walk like a man 1987 film is one of those cinematic artifacts that feels like it shouldn't exist, yet it occupies a very specific, slightly dusty corner of cult comedy history.
It's weird. Really weird.
Basically, the premise is a riff on the classic "feral child" trope, but instead of a gritty, National Geographic-style exploration of human psychology, we got Howie Mandel barking at mailmen. The story follows Bobo, a man who was raised by wolves after being abandoned in the wild as a toddler. Fast forward twenty years, and his long-lost brother—played by Christopher Lloyd, who was fresh off his Back to the Future fame—finds him. Why? Because there’s a massive inheritance on the line, and Bobo is the key to the cash.
What follows is a chaotic, slapstick attempt to "civilize" a man who thinks a leg of lamb is a toy and a fire hydrant is a social hub. Honestly, looking back at it through a 2026 lens, the movie is a fascinating time capsule of eighties comedy tropes, physical humor, and the industry’s brief, intense obsession with making Howie Mandel a leading man.
The Wolf-Boy Meets the Eighties: A Deeply Strange Premise
The walk like a man 1987 film wasn't exactly a critics' darling when it hit theaters. In fact, most reviewers at the time were pretty baffled by the tone. It’s a PG movie, but it has this underlying streak of absurdity that feels almost experimental. Directed by Herbert Ross—the same man who gave us Footloose and Steel Magnolias—the film has a pedigree that you wouldn't necessarily expect from a movie about a guy sniffing people’s butts.
Ross was known for his precision. He was a choreographer by trade.
Maybe that’s why the physical performance from Mandel is actually quite impressive, even if the jokes are hit-or-miss. Mandel reportedly spent a lot of time studying animal movements to get Bobo’s "wolf-like" gait and mannerisms down. He doesn't just act like a guy pretending to be a dog; he commits to the bit with a level of intensity that is, frankly, a little exhausting to watch. You've got to respect the hustle. He’s leaping onto tables, growling at socialites, and navigating a world he doesn't understand with a wide-eyed, frantic energy.
The plot kicks into gear when Bobo is brought back to the family estate. His brother, Henry (Lloyd), is a scheming, neurotic mess who just wants the money. The dynamic between Mandel’s feral energy and Lloyd’s high-strung, calculated villainy is where the movie finds its pulse. Christopher Lloyd is doing his best "pre-Uncle Fester" work here, leaning into the eccentricities that made him a household name.
Why the Critics Hated It (and Why Some People Loved It Anyway)
Roger Ebert gave it a pretty dismal review. He basically said the movie was a single joke stretched out over ninety minutes. He wasn't entirely wrong. If you don't find the idea of a grown man acting like a wolf funny, this movie is going to be a long, painful slog for you.
But there’s a certain charm to its commitment.
The eighties were a decade of high-concept comedies that didn't feel the need to explain themselves. We had movies about kids turning into adults (Big), aliens living in suburban garages (ALF), and yes, a man raised by wolves. The walk like a man 1987 film fits right into that "why not?" era of filmmaking. It’s not trying to be high art. It’s trying to see how much mileage it can get out of a guy who thinks "stay" is a profound philosophical command.
Production Secrets and the Howie Mandel Factor
You have to remember where Howie Mandel was in 1987. He was a rising stand-up star known for his rubber-glove-on-the-head bit and his role on the prestigious medical drama St. Elsewhere. He was "the funny guy" who could also do serious work. This movie was supposed to be his big breakout as a comedic movie star.
- The Wolf Training: They actually used real timber wolves for some of the early scenes. Mandel had to spend time getting comfortable with the animals so they wouldn't, you know, eat the lead actor.
- The Script: It was written by Jimmy Belardi, who didn't have a massive track record but managed to tap into that specific brand of "fish out of water" humor that dominated the box office in the mid-eighties.
- The Direction: Herbert Ross was an odd choice for this. He was a "prestige" director. Seeing him transition from the ballet-heavy The Turning Point to a movie where a guy pees on a bush is one of the great "paycheck" pivots in Hollywood history.
The film's budget was relatively modest, and it was shot mostly in California, despite the "wild" settings of the opening act. If you look closely at the forest scenes, they don't exactly scream "unexplored wilderness," but for a 1987 comedy, it did the job.
The Supporting Cast: Saving Grace or Added Chaos?
Amy Steel, who horror fans know as the final girl from Friday the 13th Part 2, plays the love interest/trainer who tries to teach Bobo how to be a "real" person. She brings a necessary groundedness to the film. Without her, it would just be two hours of Mandel and Lloyd yelling at each other. Steel’s character, Penny, is the emotional anchor, and she plays the "I'm falling in love with a man who just bit the postman" arc with a surprising amount of sincerity.
Clu Gulager also pops up, which is always a win for genre fans. The cast is honestly better than the material they were given, which is a common theme in forgotten eighties comedies. They’re all playing it straight, which makes the absurdity of Bobo’s behavior stand out even more.
The Legacy of the "Wolf-Man" Comedy
Why does anyone still talk about the walk like a man 1987 film?
Part of it is pure nostalgia. For a generation of kids who grew up with HBO or cable TV in the early nineties, this movie was on a constant loop. It’s one of those films you’d catch on a rainy Tuesday afternoon when you were home sick from school. It occupies a space in the collective memory alongside The Garbage Pail Kids Movie or Mac and Me—films that are objectively "bad" by traditional standards but have a weird, sticky staying power because of how unique they are.
There's also the "Mandel Factor." Today, people know him as the Deal or No Deal guy or the judge on America’s Got Talent. Seeing him in this hyper-physical, almost silent-film-esque role is a shock to the system. It’s a reminder that he was a very different kind of performer forty years ago.
The Modern Perspective
If this movie were made today, it would probably be a dark, gritty A24 drama about the trauma of isolation and the failures of the foster care system. It would be shot in grey tones with a haunting cello score.
In 1987, it was a comedy with a montage of a guy learning how to use a fork.
The shift in how we tell these stories is massive. The walk like a man 1987 film doesn't care about the psychological implications of feral upbringing. It cares about the comedic potential of a man jumping out of a moving car because he saw a squirrel. And honestly? There’s something refreshing about that lack of pretension. It’s dumb, it’s loud, and it’s unapologetically eighties.
Technical Details and Fact Check
For the trivia nerds, here are a few hard facts about the production that usually get lost in the shuffle:
- Release Date: It hit theaters on April 17, 1987.
- Box Office: It was a "bomb" by most metrics, grossing less than $1 million in its initial run. It found its life on home video.
- The Suit: Bobo’s "civilized" suit in the movie was tailored specifically to allow Mandel to crouch and jump without ripping the seams, a constant struggle during filming.
- The Title: There was briefly a discussion about changing the title because of the famous Frankie Valli song, but they stuck with it, likely hoping for some brand recognition.
The film is currently a bit of a "lost" media piece. It's not always easy to find on the major streaming platforms like Netflix or Max. Usually, you have to dig through the "budget" sections of Amazon Prime or find a physical DVD on eBay if you want to experience the madness for yourself.
How to Watch Walk Like a Man 1987 Film Today
If you’re looking to revisit this piece of cinematic history, your best bet is looking for a physical copy. The digital rights for these mid-level eighties comedies are often a mess of expired contracts and defunct production companies.
Next Steps for the Curious Viewer:
- Check Specialty Streamers: Look at platforms like Tubi or Pluto TV, which often host "forgotten" libraries from MGM and Orion Pictures.
- Compare with "Greystoke": If you want a fun double feature, watch this alongside Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). It’s the serious version of the same story, and the contrast is hilarious.
- Mandel’s Stand-up: Seek out Howie Mandel's stand-up specials from the late eighties to see how the Bobo character was a natural extension of his stage persona at the time.
The walk like a man 1987 film remains a weird, furry footnote in the history of eighties cinema. It’s a movie that dared to ask: "What if a wolf had an inheritance?" And while the world might not have needed the answer, we're certainly a little more entertained because we got it.
The physical comedy is dated, the plot is thin, and the ending is predictable. But Howie Mandel’s commitment to the bit is legendary. If you can lean into the absurdity, it’s a trip worth taking. Just don't expect it to change your life—unless you've also been raised by wolves. In that case, it might just be the most relatable movie you've ever seen.
For those tracking the history of physical comedy, this is a must-see, if only to witness the sheer athleticism Howie Mandel brought to a role that most actors would have phoned in. It’s a reminder of a time when Hollywood was willing to throw a few million dollars at a bizarre idea just to see if it would stick. Most of the time, it didn't. But we still have the tapes to prove they tried.