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Teen Wolf (1985)

(1985, Rated PG, Comedy, Starring Michael J. Fox, Scott Paulin, Doug Savant)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 11, age appropriate for kids over 13; suggested age 13.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    Cheesy '80s comedy still works thanks to Fox-y star.

Themes in this movie include:   dating/crushes, family relationships, friendship, growing up, peer pressure

Why We Rated This on for Ages 13 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    On the plus side, Scott worries about whether his elevated status as a wolf-boy is earned or not, and how this affects his relationships. He ends up imparting a message of self-actualization (without the hairy transformation) to his teammates. Reckless teen behavior includes a goal of alcohol-drinking, and boys dangerously "surfing" by standing on top of a moving van on the road (one even falls, but no injury); this is taken as a sign of strength and machismo.
  • Role models:

    While the leading man dives into premarital sex and other questionable behavior, Michael J. Fox invests his character with an innate likeability. Scott never uses his wolfish, predator side to go full Incredible-Hulk and hurt anyone (even when he’s bullied). Some adults (especially Scott’s dad) are okay folks; others are amusingly mean or foolish (a coach who pretends he can heroically mentor students through their issues but who really doesn’t want to hear any messy personal problems). Compared to the enmity and scorn heaped on parents and authority figures in other films of this era, the tone is quite mild. 
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    A few fistfights, with suggestions that Scott, as a wolf, could really hurt people if he really tried (but he doesn’t).
  • Sex:

    The main character has (offscreen) sex with a classmate; no nudity shown, but she strips to her underwear and removes her bra (shown from the back) in anticipation. Boys and girls acting flirty at a raucous party, including one guy shoving his face into a (willing) co-ed's bosom. Brief shot of girl and guy tied up and covered in shaving cream and little else in some sort of party game. Homosexual and “fag” references include a double-entendre joke about "coming out of the closet."
  • Language:

    "Bastard," "ball-buster," “dicknose,” “fag,” “damn.”
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Scenes in which the underage hero and his buddies conspire to try to get alcohol from a liquor store (including via robbery). Scott’s cool buddy has a “stash” of herbal-looking stuff in a plastic bag; you can guess what that’s supposed to be.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Teen Wolf (1985)

Parents need to know that this popular teen comedy seems to endorse such boys-gone-wild stuff as underage drinking/drugging, reckless vehicle operation, and youthful sex, though such activities are mostly kept to the margins. Girls are briefly shown in bras and panties. There are references to homosexuality, including the pejorative “fag” tossed casually around, even by the nice-guy hero. Viewers hoping for more intensity are barking up the wrong werewolf movie; no real horror here. The sequel, Teen Wolf 2 (sometimes bundled on the same DVD) is much the same but doesn’t have the virtue of Michael J. Fox in the lead -- Jason Bateman played a cousin instead.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about how filmmakers have used the idea of a youth becoming a werewolf or monster as a metaphor for puberty, raging hormones, and tumultuous maturation, classic depictions being I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Ginger Snaps, and The Company of Wolves. Ask teens if they relate to the idea.
  • Instead of all the students fearing/hating “the Wolf,” they like him even better than ordinary Scott Howard. Ask kids if they think this is really how their world works. Who are the most popular kids, and why?

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. I rate this title off for age 12 and give it 2.0
    My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language

    Teens and up!

    We were looking for family movies my husband and I remembered being fun. We _didn't_ remember all the really bad language in the movie and had to turn it off. Too much for our 9 & 11 year olds. Definitely for the teen set.

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