Teen Wolf Too (1987) d. Leitch, Christopher (USA) (1st viewing) 95 min
Or "Teen Wolf As Well," as we used to call it back in the day. The premise for this terrible, strained, not-funny wannabe sequel is that Jason Bateman plays Scott Howard, the similarly afflicted cousin of Michael J. Fox’s character from Teen Wolf annnnnnnnd, yep, that’s the plot. Screenwriter Tim Kring bizarrely brings back the characters of Coach Finstock (who coached basketball in high school and now is coaching college… boxing?) and party boy Stiles (both played by different actors?) and basketball teammate Chubby (again played by Mark Holton, aka "Francis" from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure). James Hampton returns as Bateman’s amiable uncle, while John Astin and Kim Darby cash their checks as the college dean and a strict but sympathetic professor, respectively.
From the weak premise to the shoddy execution, there is quite literally nothing to recommend here. Bateman, who I positively adore as an adult actor, never hits a single laugh line… not that there were any actually written into the script. The first film was a lighthearted frolic that miraculously managed not to be an embarrassment for all involved. Not so lucky this time around.
Shout! Factory’s Blu-ray release assembles an impressive number of those involved before and behind the camera to reminisce about the experience, including director Leitch, Darby, Stuart Fratkin (Stiles), Estee Chandler (Nikki, the film’s nerdy love interest), and costume designer Heidi Kaczenski.
Teen Wolf Too is available now on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and can be ordered HERE:
https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/teen-wolf-too-collector-s-edition?product_id=5100
Trivia: Bateman’s sister Justine was Michael J. Fox’s co-star on the TV series Family Ties.
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