Double Bill: The Teen Wolf Movies

Back in 1985 a little movie about a basketball playing kid who happens to be a werewolf was released. A very enjoyable film that could have very easily come and gone, however the film starred Michael J. Fox and another little film came out earlier that year starring Fox, which followed a guitar-playing kid who happens to travel back in time. In some beautiful symbiosis, Teen Wolf became one of the biggest movies of the year and still endures to this day as a very fun film with some surprisingly dark moments. A few years later, with Michael J. Fox out of the picture, a sequel was made, but more about that later. Let’s start with the brilliant original. 

NOTE: I will not be talking about the TV series of the same name, which I do not see in any way to be a part of the Teen wolf universe. It’s just a shitty show, attempting to be sexy version without any of the fun and an abundance of forced drama and thrills. Don’t bother.

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1985’s Teen Wolf follows Michael J Fox as Scott Howard as he comes to terms with the fact that certain men in his family have certain werewolf attributes. The film is overall an absolute blast following the basic trajectory of a teen comedy where the lead becomes popular and then returns to his roots by the end of the film. So let me first ask people this; does anybody like the final half hours of these movies? I understand that the film would have no structure and no lesson and no point if by the end of the film, Scott didn’t play the final basketball game as himself, and didn’t choose Boof, the dullard female friend who is just so boring,  in the end. So let me now ask you this? Wouldn’t a film with a teen wolf parading around town and having an absolute blast be an awful lot more fun to watch than what we get? Even if there was no point and no lesson and ultimately no structure, who would care if it was all as enjoyable as the van surfing scene or the prom scene. Now before I get to the film’s greatest asset, let’s talk about another chief flaw in all these movies; the romantic choices of the lead. Now I have many arguments about this sort of thing in films, such as Margot Robbie in About Time and countless other examples – but why does the lead, in our case Scott, end up with the tepid and dull supporting friend, in our case Boof (just the name, I mean, Christ),over the absolute goddess, in our case Lorie Griffin as Pamela. Again, I understand that it’s a needed for the film to have any worth, and About time is a bad example because there’s no world where I genuinely feel that Dohmnall Gleeson should choose Robbie over Rachel Mcaddams – But Scott should CERTAINLY pick Pamela over Boof. It’s not even just looks, even though Griffin is one of the most beautiful and elegant blondes of the 80’s, but it’s the personalities also. Boof is just so bloody miserable all the time, Pamela would be a great girlfriend it seems and even if she was with you for her own vanity, I’m pretty sure I’d get over it.

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ANECDOTE: The first time I watched this movie was as a child with my mother, just around the time that I was getting into acting. During the scene where Pamela seduces Scott in the dressing room following a rehearsal for the play, before they eventually have sex, my mother commented to me; “Is that why you want to get into acting?” It has been about ten years now, if not more and much to my chagrin I have not been seduced by Lorie Griffin in a changing room, whilst dressed as a Southern Civil War solider. Such is the stuff of dreams and unfortunately such dreams have not as of yet been fulfilled. 

Fox is obviously effortlessly charismatic and enjoyable as the meeker Scott we first meet and also as the party-boy wolf of the film’s name. James Hampton steals the film for a scene because of the incredible scene he is given. I feel that those who haven’t seen the film will at least know the absolute all time scene of Scott’s dad revealing himself to also be a wolf. A movie moment that I feel I can comment on without irony as one of the greatest single minutes of the 1980’s. But we have two contestants for who stole the film entirely and it’s such a tough decision that I don’t know if I can make it. Both are supporting comedic roles that are portrayed by their actors with so much excellence that it’s hard to imagine a film of such quality, if these two weren’t a part of it (see below film). Jerry Levin as Stiles, Scott’s ever-enterprising friend and Jay Tares as Coach Finstock, both in their only major screen roles. Never after would we see either have a chance to fulfil the comedic chops that they so excellently display in the film. The film is genuinely very funny and although it has its moments of dated eightiness, it never lets these get in the way of it being a very enjoyable high school film with a twist that elevates it into something that’s a lot more interesting than the average fare in the genre.

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 In the case of 1987’s Teen Wolf Too (clever title) some things are upgraded, but most things are lesser returns of the first film. To start with the film is a literally beat for beat remake of the original, despite technically being a remake. Every single detail from the final sports match not as the wolf, to an eluded to sex scene with a model-like popular girl, before a final kiss with a friend figure. There are certain changes; for instance the sport is now boxing, the sex scene is now a wolf threesome and the friend figure isn’t intolerable. The film follows Scott’s nephew Todd played by Jason Bateman in his first role. There is no official comment on how he got the role, but the film’s producer was Kent Bateman, Jason’s father. However as we know there is no bitterness to this nepotism as it was wholly justified, with Bateman being one of the most underrated comedians of film and TV that we have at current. Teen Wolf Too is where this career of wonderful comedy begins and although he is given a lot less than Fox script-wise, he still delivers a very fun performance and in my opinion is a lot more transformative when he is in his wolf persona. There is a very awkward and yet very theatrical dance sequence set to “Do you love me” which the wolf sings and dances to, even zip-lining by the end of the it, this scene is a lot of fun but does stretch the film’s credulity a little and makes the many scenes where this fun isn’t visible even more obvious. Hampton appears again for a nice extended cameo, basically fulfilling the exact same role as in this first film, giving the important speech before the final match once more. Kim Darby stars as a very obvious other wolf, but yet her real nature is still played like the biggest twist since The Sixth Sense. There are two significant downgrades with the re-casting of Finstock and Stiles, portrayed now by Paul Sand, playing Finstock like a bumbling SNL character instead of the dry and witty character we once had, and Stuart Franklin, playing Stiles without any of the energy and any of the humour that made the original character so damn enjoyable to watch. The major upgrade this time around is with Estee Chandler in the role of Nicki , our Boof this time around. For a starters there is actually chemistry between Bateman and Chandler this time around, infitintly better than the emptiness we had in the previous film, and ultimately come the end of the film we are quite happy with the choice our lead makes – instead of in the first film where you can end the feature screaming at the screen and hoping that the first thing that Scott does when the film ends is yell “Sike” in Boof’s face and go back over to Pamela, where he will continue to have the best sex of his life and a relationship that’ll ultimately be the best choice that he ever made.

NOTE: The makeup in Teen wolf too is a also an awful lot worse. 

All in all it’s an odd double bill, where the films are certainly not of an even quality, but are fun to watch back to back anyway. All of the best moments of the first film are there again in the second and a lot of the bad elements too. It’s more so an interesting time capsule than a film that you’ll return to over and over again like the first film. But it’s still got fleeting moments of charm and for that reason I’d give them both a watch again.

-         - Thomas Carruthers