Teen Wolf Too (1987)

A sequel to Teen Wolf? Is Scott Howard going to have all kinds of hairy issues all over again? Of course not. It's a completely different plot this time around. Todd Howard (Jason Bateman) is Scott's cousin and he is trying to study hard and do well in life while sharing a room with 'Stiles' (this time played by Stuart Fratkin). He also has to man up and start winning when he's thrown in to do a bit of boxing. Boxing is tough, it's a lot of pressure and a lot of pain. But it's easier when you can turn into a werewolf. Oh, never mind that nonsense about boxers not being allowed to have too much facial hair, it doesn't apply to any teen wolf. And 'Chubby' (Mark Holton once again) is a team mate. Estee Chandler is the lovely Nicki, James Hampton pops onscreen to reprise his role as Harold Howard for a few minutes and the cast also includes Kim Darby and the great John Astin. You see how different it is from the first movie?

Oh.

Okay, maybe it's almost exactly the same but just not as good. Thank goodness that the writer, Tim Kring, went on to produce the superb TV show "Heroes" because nobody would want to be remembered just for this film. Director Christopher Leitch, sadly, doesn't have the same good fortune and this film remains one of his few relatively well-known projects.

Thankfully, the cast try their best with material that struggles to reach even a level of mediocrity. Bateman is an appealing lead as Todd Howard but in the wolf make-up he doesn't seem quite as cute or likeable, especially when compared to Michael J. Fox in the first movie. Estee Chandler is a decent love interest and Mark Holton does exactly the same act he did in the first movie, which was just fine anyway, but Stuart Fratkin is a lot less enjoyable than Jerry Levine was in the role of 'Stiles'. James Hampton, Kim Darby and John Astin are all pretty good.

It's a real shame that this sequel starts off poorly and just keeps sliding down and down until the end credits roll. The first film holds up well and viewers who grew up in the 80s will have a lot of goodwill for the character but that goodwill starts to ebb away quickly. It usually disappears at about the same time Jason Bateman is made to lip-synch and dance to a bad rendition of "Do You Love Me?"

4/10.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teen-Wolf-Too-DVD/dp/B0002ADWX0