Teen Wolf review.
This Full Moon Feature will step away from the horror of werewolves and tackle the 80s teen comedy that is Teen Wolf. Michael J. Fox goes through some changes. His charisma is about the only thing holding this movie together.
Classic movie reviews will contain spoilers.
Teen Wolf
Directed by Rod Daniel
Written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman
Starring Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine and Lorie Griffin
Teen Wolf Review
This month’s Full Moon Feature surfs atop a DeLorean to travel back to 1985. That’s right…we’re looking at Michael J. Fox’s other 1985 hit movie…Teen Wolf. Now…this isn’t a horror movie. It is a werewolf movie which qualifies it for discussion. Especially at this time of the month…if you know what I mean. … I mean the moon is full.
Teen Wolf hit theaters 51 days after Back to the Future launched Fox into superstardom. In fact, Back to the Future was still #1 at the box office when Teen Wolf debuted at #2. Audiences couldn’t get enough of the Family Ties star on the big screen. Teen Wolf became a big hit…almost certainly (and entirely) because of Fox. Two years later a Fox-less sequel would bomb at the box office. Decades later the property would hit again, however, as an MTV teen drama. We reviewed the movie follow-up for a previous Full Moon Feature. There was also an animated series in 1986.
The most interesting thing about Teen Wolf is the first act. It treats us to what basically amounts to a 30-minute-long transformation scene. Cleverly introducing its cast of characters and their relationships while slowly having Scott (Fox) discover his developing wolf features. He hears a dog whistle and sees some pointy ears in the reflection of a van mirror. Harry hands and red eyes with an intimidating, snarling voice follow. It isn’t until the end of the first act that Scott wolf’s out completely.
The full transformation is much less interesting. A few moments of nice make-up work and then he’s just a full hairy beast. The wolf’s personality is the same as Scott’s. He doesn’t become an untamed vicious animal…he’s just Scott in need of a waxing. The wolf does unlock many talents that Scott hadn’t possessed…supreme agility, heightened sense of smell and strength…and I guess he’s good at basketball now.
There’s a lot of basketball in Teen Wolf. The movie begins on the court as we see Scott and his team getting trounced by their opponent. Once he unlocks the wolf, however, Scott becomes unstoppable. He transforms in public for the first time in the middle of a game…and is immediately accepted by the crowd because he can dunk a basketball. That’s the level of story we’re looking at here.
Teen Wolf doesn’t hide its metaphors very deeply. Prior to transforming, Scott’s basketball coach (the funniest character in the movie) assumes the changes Scott is talking about involve hitting puberty. The entire character arc is about unlocking the confidence in yourself to be who you are. Scott’s father (also a wolf…who failed to mention it’s possible Scott is too) even drops a classic “with great power…” line on him.
Everything starts to turn Scott’s way now that he’s a…teen wolf. Of course, if you read the last paragraph, you’ll know it won’t stay that way. His teammates turn on him for being a one man show on the court. His friend Lewis avoids him. Even the person who loves him most, lifelong friend Boof (Susan Ursitti) longs for the Scott she’s quietly pined over for years.
Teen Wolf makes every predictable choice that you’d expect it to. Scott comes to the championship game as himself…and leads the rag-tag group of losers to the big win. He gets the girl, and everyone accepts him for who he is. The latter because he won the basketball game. Maybe being good at basketball is the real lesson of Teen Wolf.
The two things that Teen Wolf has going for it are Michael J. Fox’s unbeatable charisma…and how 80s it all is. Getting another vehicle with Fox in the exact era that he was in Back to the Future is great. Even if it pales in comparison as a movie. It’s still peak Fox. I doubt anything here works half as well as it does if, say, Eric Stoltz was the teen wolf.
That 80s aesthetic can’t be beat either. Whether its Scott and his best friend Stiles (Jerry Levine) surging on top of their van as it cruises down the road, or a montage of (you guessed it) basketball…Teen Wolf is pure 80s cheese. That’s a compliment. The soundtrack has some true goofy gems on it as well. They may surf to The Beach Boys…but they do everything else to incredible (in both good and bad ways) music befitting the era. There is also a pitch perfect 80s villain to antagonize Scott. The most 80s heel face you’ll find outside of Johnny Lawrence.
For a movie that seems hell bent on teaching us things…there isn’t much to learn from Teen Wolf. Fox is a star, the 80s were amazing…werewolves are cool. Scott abandons the wolf persona in the end and chooses to live as himself…which is good for the movie…and bad for an article about werewolves. Fox left the wolf behind too…as Teen Wolf Too would star another 80s TV staple, Jason Bateman. But that’s a story for another moon.
Scare Value
Teen Wolf is a prototypical (or, perhaps, stereotypical) 80s teen comedy. It just happens to feature a werewolf. It’s not very funny…it’s messaging is heavy-handed…but it does scratch that itch of turn your brain off light entertainment. Michael J. Fox is as charismatic as ever…he just has less to work with. Decent lessons for kids about believing in yourself and all that jazz. Also, some really bad basketball.
2.5/5
Teen Wolf Links
Streaming on HBO Max
Rent/Buy on VOD from Vudu
Rent/Buy on VOD from Amazon
Buy on Blu-ray from Amazon
Teen Wolf Trailer
If you enjoyed this review of Teen Wolf, check out some other Full Moon Features: Silver Bullet, and Viking Wolf
