Movie Review: Teen Wolf (1985)
Synopsis: Smalltown Nebraska 17-year-old Scott Howard is an awkward high school student who is trying to find himself while pining after the popular Pamela Wells. If things weren't bad enough for Scott, he inadvertently learns he has inherited a family curse and, like his father, is a werewolf. However, when his werewolf abilities help his basketball team win its first game in three years, Scott suddenly becomes the most popular kid in school. There's just one problem; people seem to like the wolf version of Scott more than the human version.
Who's in it? The movie stars Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Susan Ursitti, Lorie Griffin and Jerry Levine.
Review: My wife was working on a sewing project yesterday evening and since I had time before I needed to start our dinner, I wound up watching Teen Wolf, which I came across on one of our movie channels. It had been ages since I last saw this film in its entirety, I may have even still been a teenager, and I didn't remember a whole lot about it. However, it turned out to be a fun watch.
The overall plot isn't anything too complex which, in the case of this movie, it didn't really need to be. Instead, it was a very simple story of a high school student, Scott (Fox), who wasn't necessarily unpopular to begin with but suddenly saw that popularity skyrocket when he brought something unique to the school. As a tradeoff for that, he also learned how some people cared less about him and more about what he could do for them. This included Pamela (Griffin), who was using him to get her boyfriend jealous, and his "friend" Stiles (Levine), who wanted to profit off Scott's werewolf persona.
On the flip side of it, there is a nicely done story about Scott himself and how he starts to grow tired of his werewolf version but also doesn't want to let everyone down. Overall, with or without the werewolf part, it is a solid coming of age film that I think a lot of us can relate to, even as adults.
I did get a little bit of a laugh at the "family movie" designation this film was given when I found it. While admittedly tame compared to more modern films, there is still implied sex and some stunts, like car surfing, that maybe aren't quite suitable for younger viewers. However, unlike way too many movies in the 80s, there also isn't any gratuitous nudity either, so that's a plus.
If I had any real complaint about the film, it would be the way Scott's father, Harold (Hampton), doesn't really bring closure to his long-time feud with the school's vice principal, Rusty Thorne (James MacKrell). There is an ending to that, but not one that seems to fit the message James went out of the way to share with his son about not abusing his wolf powers. I would have much rather seen him teach by example.
Final Opinion: It's an entertaining and funny movie that has a couple coming of age messages in it. It's worth taking the time to watch if you've never seen it, or it has been a while.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1985:
Movie Review: Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
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