• 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.

Why We Rated This 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)

Families Can Talk About