Maman est un loup-garou

Ah yes, My Mom's A Werewolf. Every time I see this movie I see all the stuff that made the 80's everyone's joke once the 90's came around.

Here's the story:

A mild-mannered suburban housewife goes out one day and meets up with a strange, dark, but quite handsome man, played by John Saxon. One thing leads to another and they end up at his apartment for a little "afternoon delight." He nibbles on her toe, and she screams out in pain and takes off.

What she didn't know was her afternoon playmate was a werewolf, and the bite has caused her to slowly transform into one. A previous review already mentioned the were-wife, were-house (warehouse) joke, which was quite corny but it sure did make me chuckle.

Now she has to hide her "hairy" situation from her husband, her daughter, and her daughter's best friend. I can sense the laughter coming. For the next hour or so, she succeeds.....but she can't hide it forever, you know.

In short, a great "USA Up All Night" kind of movie. A little screaming, some comedy, and a few tasteless jokes here and there.

Story: C Laugh Factor: B Acting: B- Overall: B

I enjoyed this movie. Sure, it was bad at times, and the plot is a bit contrived, but in the badness comes the true comedy. There's a part in the movie where the mom (played by Susan Blakely) comes to terms with her slow transformation into a werewolf. The man who woos her with his charms (played by John Saxon) explains her unusual condition. "I am a werewolf, and I need a were-wife." She replies, "Let me guess, we're going to live in a were-house (as in warehouse)." Yeah, it's a corny joke, but that's pretty much how this movie pounds along. Visions of the 80's will pop in your head as you watch this film, let it soak your brain and give you a spook or two.

In continuing to review werewolf movies chronologically, we're at 1989 with this Crown International Pictures flick. Susan Blakely is a neglected woman since her hubby John Schuck usually stays at work and when he's at home, he's always watching football on TV with friends. So the wife meets a man at a pet shop who manages to make her feel like a woman again but there's a price...The man is played by John Saxon and he and Ms. Blakely are probably the funniest things in the film but the script seems to go everywhere and nowhere at the same time as you both laugh and cringe at how funny some scenes are and how unfunny others are despite some good comediennes like Ruth Buzzi and Marcia Wallace (Ms. Wallace does provide some amusement while Ms. Buzzi does not). Also, singer Marilyn McCoo appears in a straight role as a reporter and she doesn't do much either. There's also a couple of teen girls-one of whom is the daughter of Blakely and Schuck and the other is a horror movie fan-who aren't very funny either but they both have some energy so there's that. So on that note, My Mom's a Werewolf is partly amusing, partly not so it's at least worth a look if you're curious enough...

My Mom's a Werewolf (1989)

** (out of 4)

Susan Blakely plays Leslie Shaber, a bored housewife whose husband doesn't pay too much attention to her. One day she stops into a pet store where the owner (John Saxon) comes onto her and after a couple drinks the housewife is seduced and bitten. Before long the mom starts to turn into a werewolf so it's up to her daughter and her friend to save her.

MY MOM'S A WEREWOLF comes from Crown International so one shouldn't expect too much. I've heard this film described as a kid's movie and perhaps that's true to a point. There's certainly nothing scary or shocking here and it's got a fun nature to it but at the same time there's a lot of sexual innuendo so I'm not sure this is for really young kids. With that said, there's certainly nothing special to be found here but there are two fun performances that will make it appealing to horror fans.

Both Blakely and Saxon are very good in their roles and I thought a better screenplay really could have made for a much better picture. The two actors are fun in their roles and especially Saxon who gets to play a romantic lover who of course is a werewolf. The werewolf effects are what you'd expect from a low-budget movie like this. Horror fans will enjoy some of the friend's nerd talk dealing with various horror magazines and movies.

In the end, MY MOM'S A WEREWOLF certainly isn't a classic but then again it's not the worst werewolf movie to come from the 80s.

The frustrated housewife Leslie Shaber (Susan Blakely) visits an animal shop to purchase a flea-collar. Unknowing that the owner (John Saxon) is a werewolf...

Diana Barrows (a "Friday the 13th" veteran) is a bit over-excited, but has the part of the die-hard horror fan. (I go to conventions, but I have no interest in every little thing like she does... that would be crazy.) Her presence cues us in from the beginning that this film is not a horror film so much as it is a love letter to horror fans.

John Saxon is great. While known best (probably) as the father from "Nightmare on Elm Street", he does a fine job as the werewolf, being both creepy and... well... more creepy. His scenes are really only beat by possibly the nightmare scene or the dentist scene, but Saxon steals the show.

Nice tip of the hat to "Prime Evil", whose poster shows up not once, but twice -- at the horror convention and in the girl's room.