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Teen Wolf

year 1985decade 80sdirector Rod Danielgenre Fantasy comedy

92 minutes

IMDb
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Teen Wolf | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Kyle Brandt
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

Most Rewatchable Scene

The final basketball game is one choice; the high-school party, first beer run and van surfing, first home transformation, first wolf game, and Coach Finstock speeches are leading alternatives.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:49Read transcript
  • The failed beer purchase followed by Stiles van surfing establishes Stiles as a singular comic character.
  • Scott's first home transformation and his werewolf father appearing in the doorway are praised as a funny theatrical surprise.
  • The first wolf basketball game, the crowd's quick acceptance, and the newspaper treating it as an ordinary sports story form one candidate sequence.
  • Coach Finstock's locker-room sayings and three rules for life are praised as the funniest short speech in the movie.
  • The prom confrontation is funny because Mick sucker-punches Scott, yet Scott takes the blame for tearing Mick's shirt.
  • The final game is selected by one participant for Scott's late arrival, team play, Chubby's long shot, the montage, and the winning free throws.
  • The high-school party is the other final choice because Stiles commands the crowd and Boof aggressively pursues Scott.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Basketball execution, the driveway scene, effects, representation, party material, romantic conventions, song lyrics, and soundtrack are criticized.

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:49Read transcript
  • Michael J. Fox's basketball form and the unseen hour of discarded sports footage are the first answers.
  • Mr. Howard and Boof's strangely intimate driveway basketball scene is judged more inexplicable than the supernatural events.
  • Looped basketball edits and a shot in The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh are cited as examples of poor sports continuity.
  • Scott's mirror transformation closely resembles the prior year's Terminator mirror scene.
  • The lead actors read substantially older than high-school students.
  • The only Black student's appearance is tied immediately to a break-dancing gag, a choice described as dated even for 1985.
  • The excessive claw marks on Boof are called hard to justify now.
  • The party's unexplained floor game is called hard to justify now.
  • The familiar 1980s plot in which a boy overlooks his loyal friend for a more glamorous girl is compared with several other teen movies.
  • The 'Win in the End' verses are read as unexpectedly bleak and suicidal beneath an upbeat sports montage.
  • The soundtrack is criticized for lacking the recognizable contemporary songs heard in other 1980s teen movies.

What’s Aged the Best?

The sex-scene howl, Coach Finstock, Stiles, straight-faced werewolf dialogue, and the accidental pants-down extra in the closing shot lead the discussion.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:30Read transcript
  • The final-game sports montage is explicitly carried forward as something that aged well.
  • The wolf howl during Scott's encounter with Pamela is praised as a committed comic choice while the underlying species implications are questioned.
  • Coach Finstock's straight-faced dialogue and Stiles's energy remain durable comic highlights.
  • The closing embrace accidentally preserves an extra standing with her pants down, an unedited background detail the panel considers a lasting oddity.

Picking Nits

Boof’s loyalty, missing media and recruiters, unclear setting, game mechanics, wolf height, a dog whistle, Lewis, dance attire, and absent police drive the section.

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:39:28Read transcript
  • Rusty Thorne is nominated as the cheesiest character name.
  • Boof continuing to like Scott after the clawing is questioned.
  • A real werewolf athlete would attract national media and major-college recruiters, yet the movie shows almost none.
  • The setting is guessed as Nebraska because a Cornhuskers item appears in the Howard kitchen.
  • Mick standing beneath the basket during the free throws and the wolf's inconsistent height are questioned.
  • The hardware-store dog whistle affects Scott but not his werewolf father.
  • Lewis functions as a third friend early, turns on Scott, and then almost disappears.
  • Mick and Pamela's funeral-like dance clothes and Mick attending another school's events are questioned.
  • The town has no police response to van surfing, property damage, an apparent robbery, or a huge party.

Apex Mountain

Back to the Future is Fox’s apex; the movie is considered for most supporting actors, van surfing, werewolves, and human-wolf sex.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:01Read transcript
  • Bestiality is proposed as an apex because the wolf encounter is treated as human-wolf sex.
  • Back to the Future decisively wins Michael J. Fox's apex despite the two movies arriving together.
  • Most other speaking actors are placed at or near their career apex here, with Doug Savant an exception.
  • Van surfing is proposed as peaking here before real-world danger curtailed the stunt.
  • A run of early-1980s werewolf movies, Thriller, and Teen Wolf supports the werewolf-apex case.
  • Twilight is the counterargument because of its large later werewolf audience.

Casting What-Ifs

James Hampton reading for Coach Finstock before Michael J. Fox suggested him for the father is the only original-casting account.

This discussion recalls a choice from an earlier episode.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:36Read transcript
  • James Hampton reportedly read as Coach Finstock before Fox asked him to read as the father.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

The acting teacher wins over Stiles and Pamela.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:16Read transcript
  • Stiles is the first answer because he dials it up a couple of times.
  • Pamela's performance inside the school play is considered as a layered alternative.
  • The acting teacher is ultimately selected.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

The acting teacher is selected after Coach Finstock is ruled to have too much screen time.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:56Read transcript
  • Coach Finstock's television-creator background and family history prompt a long contextual aside.
  • The acting teacher is offered as a lower-minute alternative whose every line commits fully to the character.
  • Coach Finstock is ruled ineligible because he has too many minutes, leaving the acting teacher as the choice.

Recasting Couch

Lori Loughlin or Elisabeth Shue as Boof and Eric Stoltz as Scott are proposed.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:52Read transcript
  • Loughlin is proposed as a stronger Boof.
  • Shue is proposed as a stronger Boof, with darker hair separating her from Karate Kid.
  • Eric Stoltz replacing Fox as Scott is proposed as poetic compensation for losing the Marty McFly role.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Research covers the basketball double, Fox sequel reports, an IMDb hoax, cast careers, memorabilia, a deleted Carson appearance, and Stiles shirts.

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:11Read transcript
  • Fox's basketball double is identified as Jeff Glosser, a college player who spent long days in wolf makeup during the short shoot.
  • Conflicting reports that Fox hated the movie are rejected after a later reunion account says he greeted the cast remotely.
  • A 2004 internet hoax falsely identified Mike Piazza as Mick and reached IMDb.
  • Jerry Levine reportedly remained recognizable as Stiles long after release.
  • Mark Arnold reportedly arranged for his soap character to die so he could promote Teen Wolf.
  • Wiesmeier, Linda, is identified as a July 1982 Playboy Playmate appearing in the party Jell-O gag.
  • Fox's jersey was sold to a Beverly Hills pawn shop for $30,000, with its later location unknown.
  • A scripted Tonight Show appearance for the wolf was cut for expense and convenience.
  • Stiles's five shirt slogans are catalogued as memorable artifacts.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

A contemporary serialized remake is endorsed for its media, recruiting, tournament, and multigenerational werewolf possibilities.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:48Read transcript
  • A modern pilot could explore the national response when a high-school player becomes a werewolf in a game.
  • The regional-final ending leaves the next tournament round available for a series.
  • Pamela's possible wolf children and a later generation inheriting the trait are proposed for a present-day continuation.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

The questions cover disappearing wolf hair, Scott’s mother, historic sports events, comparable NBA games, an all-movie basketball team, and the regional-final box score.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:23Read transcript
  • The disappearance of hair and nails when a werewolf becomes human is questioned.
  • An audience theory that Mick shot Scott's mother is examined and rejected as genetically inconsistent.
  • Scott's first transformation during a game is compared with other extraordinary fictional sports events.
  • Russell Westbrook is selected as the NBA player whose power-guard game most resembles the wolf's.
  • The wolf is placed on an all-time fictional movie-basketball team, though his outside shooting remains unknown.
  • A reconstructed final-game box score credits Scott with about fourteen points and six assists and number 45 with major defense and rebounding.

More from the conversation

The episode reads the movie primarily as a sports story about a superstar learning to trust his teammates.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:15Read transcript
The basketball performance and editing are compared with sports realism across many other movies.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:12Read transcript
The final-game montage is placed in a Mount Rushmore of cheesy 1980s sports montages with Rocky IV, The Karate Kid, and Over the Top.
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:44Read transcript
The low-budget high-school comedy was shot for about $1.2 million and reportedly earned about $80 million after Fox became a major star.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:28Read transcript
The production reportedly shot the entire movie in 21 days with extras, basketball, and wolf makeup.
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:07Read transcript