Teen WolfEverybody goes through changes in their awkward teenage years. Guys get a little hairier and their voice changes; but for Scott Howard (Michael J. Fox), it's a little more dramatic of a transformation. Teen Wolf is a teen comedy with a twist--Scott is slowly discovering that he is becoming a werewolf, and has to juggle his high school problems with this new supernatural component. After the truth comes out, "average" Scott suddenly finds himself getting everything he wanted, but begins to understand that he has to mature in more than body alone if he plans on balancing his dreams with his reality.
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The basic premise of Teen Wolf is inspired by a classic B-movie horror flick, I Was A Teenage Werewolf, in which a high schooler also suddenly discovers that he has become a wolfman. Scott Howard is, as he puts it, an average high school kid; he plays extracurricular basketball--poorly, like the rest of his team. He also pines for the affections of the snobby Pamela Wells (Lorie Griffin), oblivious of the attentions of his long-time friend, Lisa "Boof" Marconi (Susan Ursitti). The beginning of Teen Wolf concerns Scott's teenage dilemmas, as the onset of his lycanthropy gradually emerges--from pointed ears in a side-view mirror, to unusually long strands of hair on his chest. Scott's yearns to succeed at something--if not basketball, then the drama club, even if it is just an excuse to be close to Pamela. Like most teenagers, he worries about school, girls, sports--the only challenge he's thinking about is trying to convince a liquor store owner to sell him a keg of beer. He parties with his friends, including the gregarious Rupert "Stiles" Stilinski (Jerry Levine), who likes to "surf" on the top of his father's hardware store van, rocking out to the Beach Boys. Turning into a werewolf one night is beyond the scope of Scott's ability to even comprehend, the sympathy of his dad, Harold (James Hampton), notwithstanding, who reveals that it runs in the family. The stress that comes with having to conceal his "condition" threatens to ruin Scott's remaining days in school. It is only during a moment of crisis that Scott truly "transforms" into who he "really" is. It is during a basketball game when the beast is finally unleashed, and the tone of Teen Wolf banks sharply toward a more light-hearted one--that tension of concealing his secret having been released. After all, there's something delightfully absurd about seeing a werewolf in a basketball uniform performing hook shots and slam dunks. This comes at the literal halfway point of the film, and from there, Scott's trial is of a different nature: balancing the newfound popularity that comes from revealing his secret to the town--and his newfound confidence and aptitude at everything--versus alienating his true friends in favor of false ones (like Pamela) who would exploit him.
The metaphor of Teen Wolf is in how Scott emerges from his shell after he acknowledges to the world what he is. To some, he becomes popular because his appearance is a novelty, but for the most part, it has more to do with the confidence to do things like swagger into school and breakdance in the halls, much to the frustration of the uptight Vice Principal Rusty Thorne (Jim McKrell). Few Eighties teen actors played the kind of awkward young man coming to grips with his own desires and needs better than Michael J. Fox, and Teen Wolf is no exception. Scott wears his apprehension and anxiety on his sleeve, and always seems to think the grass is greener on the other side. Scott is average, because he believes himself to be average. As reluctant as he is to accept that he has something special within him, when he finally does, his whole world changes, mostly for the better. It is a matter of coming to terms with his identity that enriches his life. A more contemporary reading of Teen Wolf makes inescapable comparisons between Scott's "coming out" as a werewolf to that of being gay. There is even an acknowledgment of this when Scott reveals himself to his best friend, Stiles, visibly worried about how he will react. The liberating experience of finding that Scott is accepted for who he really is--even if it is scary or unfamiliar--is the passport for him to be happy with life, and in turn, this makes him attractive to the rest of the school. Conversely, Scott is forced to acknowledge that, as his father warns him, "power" comes with greater responsibility. Scott allows this new found attention to go to his head, and he constantly upstages his fellow basketball teammates, grandstanding and making them feel unimportant--just like how Scott felt before. Scott's father warns him of an incident in his childhood, where the wolf within almost got the better of him, and this furious manifestation terrified a younger Thorne. Similarly, Scott is forced to control his rage when he is antagonized by Pamela's boyfriend, the caustic Mick (Mark Arnold), who shoves the other members of Scott's team around on the court. (Seriously, every other team in Teen Wolf plays basketball like they were playing hockey.) Another comparison could be made to the "wolf" being like performance-enhancing drugs--like steroids--that give Scott an edge, but comes at the cost of destroying his sense of control, and leads him into making questionable choices. Scott finally becomes aware of what effect his ego has had on his friends and resolves to prove to himself and everyone else that he is more than just the person he pretends to be, balancing his two halves to become a complete person.
Recommended for: Fans of a teen comedy with a supernatural twist, and a story about acknowledging who you are, being unafraid to show it, and learning how to balance that with living in the world that you want.
The metaphor of Teen Wolf is in how Scott emerges from his shell after he acknowledges to the world what he is. To some, he becomes popular because his appearance is a novelty, but for the most part, it has more to do with the confidence to do things like swagger into school and breakdance in the halls, much to the frustration of the uptight Vice Principal Rusty Thorne (Jim McKrell). Few Eighties teen actors played the kind of awkward young man coming to grips with his own desires and needs better than Michael J. Fox, and Teen Wolf is no exception. Scott wears his apprehension and anxiety on his sleeve, and always seems to think the grass is greener on the other side. Scott is average, because he believes himself to be average. As reluctant as he is to accept that he has something special within him, when he finally does, his whole world changes, mostly for the better. It is a matter of coming to terms with his identity that enriches his life. A more contemporary reading of Teen Wolf makes inescapable comparisons between Scott's "coming out" as a werewolf to that of being gay. There is even an acknowledgment of this when Scott reveals himself to his best friend, Stiles, visibly worried about how he will react. The liberating experience of finding that Scott is accepted for who he really is--even if it is scary or unfamiliar--is the passport for him to be happy with life, and in turn, this makes him attractive to the rest of the school. Conversely, Scott is forced to acknowledge that, as his father warns him, "power" comes with greater responsibility. Scott allows this new found attention to go to his head, and he constantly upstages his fellow basketball teammates, grandstanding and making them feel unimportant--just like how Scott felt before. Scott's father warns him of an incident in his childhood, where the wolf within almost got the better of him, and this furious manifestation terrified a younger Thorne. Similarly, Scott is forced to control his rage when he is antagonized by Pamela's boyfriend, the caustic Mick (Mark Arnold), who shoves the other members of Scott's team around on the court. (Seriously, every other team in Teen Wolf plays basketball like they were playing hockey.) Another comparison could be made to the "wolf" being like performance-enhancing drugs--like steroids--that give Scott an edge, but comes at the cost of destroying his sense of control, and leads him into making questionable choices. Scott finally becomes aware of what effect his ego has had on his friends and resolves to prove to himself and everyone else that he is more than just the person he pretends to be, balancing his two halves to become a complete person.
Recommended for: Fans of a teen comedy with a supernatural twist, and a story about acknowledging who you are, being unafraid to show it, and learning how to balance that with living in the world that you want.