Teen Wolf (1985)

🎧 Episode 3 – Teen Wolf: Werewolves, Basketball & Boof

Michael J. Fox plays a high schooler (??) who becomes a werewolf, dunks on his classmates, and somehow still treats sweet Boof like garbage. Jeremy relives a childhood favorite, while Lauren questions everything — from car surfing and Civil War school plays to Pamela’s wolf kink. Justice for Boof!

Transcript

What was before Blockbuster? 

There was just random mom-and-pop video stores. There was no, like, overarching chain. They were all, like, independently owned.

Wow. I just blew your mind. So I'm married a millennial, now I'm watching all the things he

does.

So I'm married a millennial, I'm married a millennial. Welcome back to So I'm Married a

Millennial. My name is Jeremy Levy, and this is my lovely wife.

Lauren Levy. And we are both millennials on opposite sides of the spectrum. And I'm now

making Lauren watch all of the classics from my childhood that she missed.

Hilarity ensues? Question mark? Question mark. Today we are watching the 1985 classic Teen

Wolf. One of my favourites.

One of your favourites. I've heard a lot of talk about this one. Here is the rotten tomato

synopsis of Teen Wolf.

When high school nerd Scott Howard, Michael J. Fox, learns from his father, Harold James

Hampton, that being a werewolf runs in the family, he decides to take advantage of his freakish

trait. With his newfound strength and agility, Scott quickly becomes the hero of his school's

basketball team while winning over longtime crush Pamela Wells. As he grows more popular,

Scott worries he's being celebrated as a novelty rather than for who he is.

46% critics score. 52% audience score. So gain some points there.

I feel like this is one, when we were talking about doing this podcast, like this was one of the

movies that immediately, because you love it so much, like this was like one of the ones that

you were like, oh, that's a must do. You were like horrified that I had not seen this one. I

watched this when I was actually maybe like six years old.

I definitely remember watching this when we were still living. Mom and dad. I think we watched

like an edited TV version of it though, because a lot of the stuff that I saw later in life, I was like,

oh, I don't remember that part.

But I could be wrong because I also kind of remember renting it on video. So I don't. At the

Blockbuster.

Baby, Blockbuster didn't exist. What was before Blockbuster? There was just random mom and

pop video stores. There was no like overarching chain.

They were all like independently owned. Wow. I just blew your mind.You kind of did. I know. Why don't you talk to us about your initial thoughts on Teen Wolf? All

right.

So we got this teen. Uh-huh. Good start.

He's a wolf. Well, I for one am shocked. And no, high school kid trying to fit in on like maybe the

worst basketball team I've ever seen.

They are not doing well. No. And we're giving some illusions to like something's up.

But we were like, is it puberty? Is it? I mean, it is Michael J. Fox. He has that super squeaky voice.

Yeah.

Maybe it is. I don't know. He's going through changes.

Even though he was 23 at the time. Funny. He's going through changes.

We don't really know. And then it is revealed that the little things we've been hinting at is that

he's a werewolf. Surprise.

And then he's trying to navigate school. And everyone's really into the wolf, but not into him. He

wasn't very popular before.

And then he gets this new surge of popularity. And sort of as all the 80s movies do, hilarity and

heartfeltness ensues. And he tries to navigate his new life.

I buy all of that. I saw that. Thanks.

I saw all of that in this. This was a real broad stroke. It was a real broad stroke.

I will say of the movies that we have watched so far, this feels most like a movie, if that makes

sense. I feel like it takes itself more seriously. Yes.

Less of a weird fever dream. There was actual plot points and storyline. Yeah.

And it has these weird kind of intimate moments between him and his dad and him and his

best friend, cum girlfriend, whose name is Boof. May I just say before we get into it, justice for

Boof. Justice for Boof.

He is awful. He is horrible to her. Yeah.

Justice for Boof. Yeah. I mean, you're right.

Like this definitely had... This was a movie. This... It was a movie. Let me tell you something.

If I can say anything, this one was a movie. I will say as soon as we turned it on and the opening

credits started happening and there was this... All of the music, all of the sound effects, all of

the sound design of this is so weird. It's really weird.Like really, really weird. But they're just showing the opening credits and all I hear is from you

and you just say, why does this look so weird? The opening credits of this movie are so fucking

janky. Like unbelievably janky.

It's like just the fucking Ariel font. That's it for this huge movie. Like Mannequin over here has a

full animated fun sequence.

Weird Science has its own song. And then we're over here with the Ariel font from the best of

those. And that was all we had.

It's kind of a bunch of movies at once because it's clearly... It's a comedy. It's a coming of age

comedy. But it also kind of has horror elements to it.

So they said, let's give away nothing in the opening. Let's make it look like something I could

make on PowerPoint as a middle schooler. And maybe this is my inner child remembering this.

The nostalgia. But it opens very unsettling. Like it's just like that weird sound effects and it's him

like dribbling the ball.

And it's like the close up on his face and everything is like very dramatic. And it sets a very tense

scene for a coming of age comedy. After you get through the black and white Ariel font, which

gives us nothing.

Yes. And then we try to build suspense. But yeah, the tone is kind of all over the place.

Sometimes. Which I respect. I have a note here.

30 year olds in high school. Absolutely. I said, why is the one teammate so old? And then I said,

why is the other teammate also so old? Scratch that.

Why are they all so old? They're all very, very... I mean, so Michael J. Fox was 23, but he... He

reads young either way. He's also five foot four or something. You and him could play

basketball together.

We'd probably be just about as good as they were in this movie. They were horrible. He

apparently was very bad at basketball.

Well, boy, was he in luck then. I read one of the behind the scenes thing is that all of the

basketball stuff was meticulously planned out. And Michael J. Fox was like, can we just maybe

try playing and then you get shots? And he said that lasted not very... That was over in a pinch.

He looks so unbelievably young. And then this is not even... If we're going from Weird Science,

where I was like, yeah, actually pimply faced teenagers. These people are in their 40s.

These people are not even in their 30s. These people are older than us. I know that there's

people looked older in the 80s and things, like talking about Seinfeld, any of that.But these teammates look so old. They cannot be in high school. So one of... I refuse to believe.

One of his teammates, which is not only is he old, but they refer to him as Chubbs. His name is

Chubby. Because he is chubby.

That's his whole character. His whole character is that he's this fat 40 something year old dude

on a high school basketball team. It does.

The math does not math. And then there's the villain, Mick. Which also a general note about

Mick.

So Mick goes to the other school. Mick is at their school a lot for not going there. I know he's

dating Pamela.

But that boy, I understand they needed him to be on another team. They can't have been

playing together. But I think Mick is probably there more than some of the other 40 year old

classmates.

Mick is at that school. He appears to be there all of the time. Also, I just can't picture him in his

own high school because he should be in high school because he's clearly in his 40s.

Makes absolutely no sense to me. I also have a note here. All of these basketball teams, there is

one black guy.

Yep, 100%. Just one black guy on the basketball team. And they are very weird to him.

They are very weird to him. Stiles is very weird to him. So we have Scott's best friend, Stiles, who

is the quintessential 80s comic relief sidekick.

Uh, and I got to tell you, much like I loved Hollywood Montrose, maybe I have a soft spot for

these. For the eccentric besties. The eccentric besties.

Do you feel seen? I, you know what? I do kind of feel seen. Do you feel seen? I feel seen. Uh, I

love Stiles.

Like he's so, he's so annoying. And he's so over the top. And I can't believe anyone gives him

the time of day.

But he like, I feel like he helped create this archetype. Because he fits in so, so neatly into this,

this persona of the annoying best friend. Boy, does he ever.

But he's also kind of like weirdly beloved in a way that I feel like, I'm like, oh no. Like this kid

would not, everyone would be making fun of this kid. But everyone's like, yeah, it's Stiles.

I don't understand where he fits in in the high school hierarchy. He's an enigma. You know

what? We're just going to let Stiles be Stiles, I guess.Because. We love Stiles. Let Stiles be Stiles.

That's what I'm, that's what I'm saying. That's what I'm going to say from here on out. Baby, let

Stiles be Stiles.

Understandable. Also, we're going to name our first kid Stiles. Think about it.

Think about it. No non-existent children will be named Stiles. Thank you for coming to my TED

Talk.

So all of the other teachers are these very eccentric characters. There is the basketball coach.

The basketball coach was very funny.

The guy who plays Scott Howard's father was initially supposed to be the basketball coach. And

then for some reason, he then became. And the guy who played the basketball coach is actually

rarely an actor.

He's more of a writer. Interesting. So droll, so funny.

He doesn't want to be there. He doesn't care that the team sucks. No, he does not want to be

there.

All of his lines, all of his stories, all of his monologues are just incredible. Helpful, just not

helpful for basketball, not helpful for their personal issues. That man is just not helpful.

And he has one of the greatest lines, I think, in cinematic history. He's giving advice to Scott

Howard. And he goes, let me tell you what I learned in this life.

Three things. One, never get involved with a woman who has a tattoo of a dagger on her body.

Oh, never get less than 12 hours sleep.

And never play poker with someone who has the same first name as a city. He said, you stick to

those three things. Everything else is cream cheese.

What a great line. What a great line. He's very not helpful.

I wonder if he ad libbed that. I don't know. Those are ridiculous things.

That is incredible. And then the drama teacher coach, also incredible. At least the basketball

coach is like a fun weirdo.

The drama teacher is giving me scary weirdo. He is too invested in Pamela. He is a weirdo.

So let's talk a bit about Pamela Wells. So Scott has a crush on Pamela Wells. She is like the

quintessential popular mean girl at the school.

She's dating Mick, the 40-year-old dude who goes to their school but doesn't go to their schoolbut doesn't go to any school. And she is so mean to him. But also he deserves it because he's

also mean to his best friend, Boop.

So it's a real pecking order of meanness. But she is the object of his desires. And he is going

after her.

And she is the thing that's supposed to unlock him learning about himself and the things that

he doesn't want to go do. So she is in the school play. She is like, that's her thing.

She's the lead actor. And this play that they're doing at the school. Is this an original work?

What is this play that they are doing? It's a Civil War play.

And she's playing a Southern belle on a plantation with this awful Southern accent talking

about, you can ravage my body but please don't burn down my plantation. How is that

approved for the school play? It's such a strange choice. But that's like all we see about it.

We're just like, okay, there's a play. We only see the one scene. Yeah.

Well, and then even when they do it, yes. And when they do it in real time, it's the same scene.

I'm like, this play got anything else? No? Okay.

Okay. So we have Scott and his buddy Styles and their other sort of younger friend whose name

I don't remember. And also, where did he go? They were just like, he's mad at you.

And then he like never came back. Because he was scared of him because he became a

werewolf. He represented his moral centre.

He just disappeared. He was the most important character in the movie. He just peaced the

fuck out.

I'm sorry that was lost on you. He peaced the fuck out. And he was just like, he doesn't want to

see you.

And like that was it. We were just like, okay. Yeah.

But I wanted there to be like some sort of conversation with them like coming back together.

Like not that he needed to like, not that Scott needed to like apologise. Right.

But like some sort of like, hey man, like I'm sorry. Like there was no resolution there. I feel like

that was sort of wrapped up in the booth.

His best friend. I guess. But I think that was the sort of scene general.

I feel like we had a group of them. And then one of them was just like, no, I'm out forever,

homie. Yeah.

It was a little weird. It's understandable. Speaking though of Stiles.Yeah. And their friendship. I need you to tell me what is up with the car surfing? Is that specific

to this movie? Please tell me people did not do that.

Did they invent this for this movie? I know your lame ass wasn't doing anything like that. You

know what? You would be surprised. I would.

Mom and dad, please. Please turn off the episode of this ad. We were doing some pretty dumb

shit when I was in high school.

Was car surfing a thing? Babe, Senator, I do not recall. I just genuinely was like, I don't know. I

wrote like, is this a conceit for the movie where they just like thought that would be funny and

cool? I mean, like subway surfing is a thing.

I am not aware of this being a larger cultural phenomenon. I don't know. You could say yes or

no right now, and I'd believe you.

But Stiles does surf on the top of this van on their way to this high school party, which Scott

then later does it later. These waves are mine. But they're just standing on top of a van.

I mean, don't knock it till you've tried it. Also, don't try it. I'm a piece.

So they go to this high school party. And we have not discussed this because we try not to until

we're here. But I said, now, what are these games at this party? Again, are these games that

people were playing in the 80s? Let's be clear.

You and I, not cool enough growing up. I didn't go to any parties. So like, I don't know.

I don't know. And then by the time we got to me, like those wouldn't have been the games, but

I still wasn't going either way. We weren't cool enough.

But like, they're like wrestling in shaving cream. The only one that I actually recognised was like,

you know, the seven minutes in heaven. Like that one.

I'm like, okay, that's universally acknowledged. What was happening? Like they were the

shaving cream wrestling. So Stiles was this weird sort of MC character.

But then in addition to Stiles, there was Miss Rando girl who was just like in her underwear in

fishnets. And like a little like assistant. But like, why was she in her underwear? Why was

everyone else dressed completely normal? And then this diva truly came in in fishnets in a top

hat.

Showmanship, babe. You know, where did she come from? Where did she go? Where did she

come from? She brought it. I had so many questions.

Why was Stiles like running the games with this Rando girl at this Rando house party? What did

we say about Stiles, babe? You're right. Stiles is going Stiles. Stiles is going Stiles.And that's all you need to know about that. So one of these games, there was a guy and a girl in

their underwear bound together backwards, covered in shaving cream, wriggling around. I

assume they were trying to untie themselves.

We never actually see them get untied. Nor do we explain. We just cut and there's like two

people on the ground, like wiggling back and forth in their underwear with shaving cream.

Yes, that is very weird. At one point he calls upon Chubbs and this other girl, Stiles. And he says

to see, he has this big bowl of green Jell-O and he goes, Chubbs, you've got to eat all of this Jell-

O.

And Chubbs, of course, is like, say less, fam. And then this girl says, and what do I do? And Stiles

says, hold the Jell-O and then pours it down her shirt. What are these games? What are these

games? People were having fun.

There was no internet. There was no internet. There was no internet, but still, where did we

come up with these games? People really needed to make their own fun, babe.

I feel like we can't do spin the bottle. Like, you know, they did. They did.

They did seven minutes in heaven. But what these other games, I'm like, what in God's green

earth is happening? So Scott, it's his turn, I guess. They're like pulling names out of a hat to see

who goes next in these games.

For all these games, they're pulling names out of a hat. So he pulls Boof's name and they go

into the, she lies and says that, you know, because she has a crush on him. And they go in there

and she gets very, she has a great line too.

He said, he says, I feel sort of weird. And she says, how do I feel? And I was like, damn, Boof.

Boof had moves.

Boof had moves. And then he mauls her. And then he mauls her.

So this is when the wolf is starting to come out before he knows that he is a teen wolf. We've

shockingly have not talked much about his being a wolf so far. Well, I was very confused about

the games and the subway surfing.

Now, subway, the car surfing. So he's starting to- Have logistical questions. Figure out that he is

becoming a wolf.

And he, the wolf starts to take over and he mauls her. Like she walks out and there's like blood

down her back. Like it's not a small injury.

Like I feel, I was saying, you don't think someone at that party is like, oh my God, you look like

you just got attacked by a lion. Like no one notices that. But also she slapped him.She was like, hey, not so rough. But then as she's walking out, she kind of looks over her

shoulder like, okay, daddy. No.

Babe, that is the look that she gets. You know what? You're not wrong, but I wish that you were.

So I will tell you now, Boof is a slang term for anal sex.

Was this in the olden days? I think so, yes. Why would they call her that then? So apparently one

of the writers based it on a girl he grew up with and that's what they called her. That's so mean.

He had like a friend, a girlfriend named Boof. And he was just like, he based Boof on Boof. A lot

of Boof on Boof action.

Not Boof on Boof. So we move on from the party and then we get the piece de resistance. Yes.

We got the transformation scene. He goes home and the wolf starts to take over and we have

this transformation scene. I love a transformation scene.

I feel the same. I loved it. I feel the same way about like a mall montage or like a getting ready

montage.

I love it. I love any of that. I thought it was well done.

I thought it was well done given the time and the technology. I was like, I feel like this is actually

pretty solid. I agree.

And yeah. And like, honestly, you know, this old man get off my lawn and maybe pine for a pre-

CGI. You are always pining for a pre-CGI.

I love a practical effect. I feel tangible. They feel real.

I buy a practical effect more than CGI. I do too. And again, this is like when it sort of walks the

line of being a horror movie.

It's scary. It is frightening, especially from a six-year-old boy. Yeah, you watching this at six.

Maybe that's why you shouldn't have been watching at six. So I think the transformation is

great. I think it's a super fun scene.

But then my favourite is also, which I did not see coming. I didn't. I don't know if other people

are gonna be like, well, of course that's what.

I didn't see this little button where his dad is like, let me in, let me in. He doesn't want to. You

open the door.

The dad is also a werewolf. Fabulous. It's a fabulous little moment.

It's a great reveal. Maybe my favourite moment, honestly, in the whole movie. I have a piecehere in trivia.

According to Rod Daniel, the director, when test audiences first saw Scott's dad as a werewolf,

they quote, went insane. He said the laughter was so loud, it obliterated the next minute of the

film. He did look quite silly though.

The way that his like white, he kind of looked a little bit like a werewolf monkey mix. He looked

a little goofy, but I was here for it as a moment. I also, I don't understand why his wolf hair was

well-kempt.

Yes, he was. His was like sort of brushed and like, and it was like. He looked a little bit like a cute

little like capuchin monkey or something.

He did look a bit like a monkey. So I don't know. I guess when you've been a werewolf that long,

you know how to grow.

You have your grooming routine down. He invented us a lot. Um, it's a really great moment.

And I will say this, James, James Hampton, who plays the father. Yeah. Love him.

Love that performance. Love that relationship. And I think that.

Very supportive. Very, yeah. When we're coming also from like a weird science with like the

weird, like I can't hug my father.

Like this was a very refreshing, like good parental relationship, except not with the mom, right?

I feel like that's, he is part of the reason this feels like a real movie to me. Yes. Because he

grounds it.

100%. In their dynamic, like father son dynamic really grounds it. He apparently asked the

director to help him develop his character.

And the director's response was, he's a guy who makes a mean casserole. That was his

characterisation. I love that.

I do love also the next morning after the transformation. And they're like in true, I feel like male

fashion. I don't want to talk about it.

But his dad is like very sweet. And they try and talk him once to like talk him through it. And like

typical like preteen teenage boy.

He's like, I don't want to. And just like doesn't take his dad's information about the thing that's

happening. It just is kind of like.

It was true to life. It really was. It was like a really good, like angsty teen moment.

So then he goes. He goes and you know, he tells him being a wolf ain't all that bad or whatever.Scott's like, I don't want to be a damn wolf.

I don't want to be a pirate. I don't want to be a wolf, man. I enjoyed that.

It was good. Thank you. So he goes to school and he's playing basketball and things get hairy.

I am sort of unclear on when and why he turns into a wolf. He kind of talks about he's like,

sometimes it's if I'm overwhelmed or sometimes it just happens. So I'm a little unclear.

It's like the incredible Hulk rules. If he gets like, if his blood pressure goes up or something like

that, he can turn into the Hulk. I think.

Okay. The wolf. I followed.

The wolf Hulk. Sure. And this is where the movie really takes a turn.

Deep departure. Because everything else feels kind of weirdly grounded. Just kind of feels like

your regular run of the mill sort of horror movie, sort of eighties coming of age.

And then he becomes the wolf and he becomes the most popular kid in school. And then it

becomes this weird. Think piece like this, you know, like this artistic about like, you know,

exploring celebrity and popularity.

And it's just like, it's this guy just becomes, he's just a wolf. He's just like, and everyone's just

really into it. Everyone buys it.

Everyone's like, cool. There's like a moment of like when he transforms and then he's running

around on the basketball court. And he like, then he makes, I was going to say a goal.

He makes a basket, whatever that is. And then he's like, whoa. And then everyone is just like,

you know what? Hell yeah.

There's like, we, it's like pretty tense. It's like pretty quiet. They're like, is everyone about to like

freak out? And they're just like, you know what? Hell yeah.

Like what? I kind of love that. Because it doesn't like, it's not necessarily about that. And we had

their aspects of that.

Like his friend that we mentioned earlier was afraid of him and wouldn't accept him. And Nick,

the 40 year old, you know, calls him a freak. So there are like, he has his detractors.

Yeah. So we get, we do get a sense of that. But then they're just like, you know what? Hell yeah.

Let's go. That's cool. And then we do.

And then we, it's, we're just going and he's very popular. And he's getting the girl. Pamela's all

of a sudden very into it.I have a note here. Cause Pamela is, there's, there is a racy scene with Pamela in her

underpants when she invites Scott back to her dressing room after the play. And I have a note

here.

It just says bestiality. She wants to fuck a wolf. She does.

She's into it. She wants to fuck a wolf. Because he's popular.

But then she doesn't, yeah. I mean, she wasn't into him before. She wants to fuck a wolf.

Yeah. That is bestiality. Pamela seems like she'll try anything once.

She fucked a wolf, babe. She did. She's a wolf fucker.

But then I love it. Michael J. Fox is like, oh, we're together now. And she's like, no, you're not my

boyfriend.

We're like, Pamela. Pamela is a little problematic. Yeah.

None of that, none of that really. Pamela's a little problematic. None of that really, none of that

really makes sense.

Bad representation for theatre girls everywhere. He goes to the school dance by himself. He

starts a thriller-esque dance.

Because also, because then he wants to go with Boof. And then Boof is like, no, I want to go

with you, not the wolf. And he's like, baby, I'm the wolf.

Boof is a real doormat. Boof is a real doormat. Truly justice for Boof.

It's a doormat getting mauled. He is so mean to Boof. He is so mean to Boof.

She is so nice. She does not deserve it. Justice for Boof.

That's my number one takeaway. We are sort of expected to believe that she's just like- Justice

for Boof with this horrible name too. He's justice for Boof for multiple reasons.

For like so many reasons. We're meant to believe that Scott's just like your average, run-of-the-

mill high school boy who's trying to figure it out. And he makes mistakes.

But he is so awful to Boof. His dad is like, when they're going to the party, his dad is like, oh, is

Boof going? And he's like, yeah, I don't know. I should get my, I don't know.

I don't know, whatever. Other like he- She's like, walk me home. And he's like, no, I just got

home.

His dad's like, dude, like- Get out of here, Boof. You're like, ow. Let's do some trivia.I want to hear it. I, for the record, I don't look at the trivia before because I want to hear this

information for the first time. Let's do some trivia.

Tell me things. The entire production took only 21 days. It seems short for a feature.

That is extraordinarily short. For a feature. Very, very short.

Is it because they couldn't get Michael J. Fox to play that much basketball? They were like, we

got it. We got to do this in one day. We'll just loop it.

I imagine, so the reason that he was able to do it, so he was on a sitcom called Family Ties, and

he was on that show. And then the woman who played the mother on that show got pregnant

in real life. So the show took a hiatus.

So he decided to do this in the meantime, like in between, which I guess they only had him for

like 21 days. So they shot this whole thing, which is- This is a silly question. This is before Back

to the Future, right? That is not a silly question.

Okay. That was my next note. So in sync.

So they shot this before Back to the Future. Okay. And Michael J. Fox was super pissed.

Michael J. Fox wasn't supposed to do Back to the Future. It was Eric Stoltz. You know, he wasn't

supposed to be involved.

But Michael J. Fox...

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