My Mom's a Werewolf (1989)

Lothario werewolf John Saxon seduces housewife Susan Blakely and turns her into a sex crazed werewolf. I remember seeing this PG-rated comedy VHS box on the video store shelf, but never watched it and I had always thought it was a silly low budget family comedy. Instead, it's a rather dirty comedy that has Blakely getting turned on by just about every male character she encounters. But as raunchy as that sounds, the dirty comedy manages to stay fairly clean in that it doesn't show any nakedness, although the innuendo and Blakely frequently wearing nothing but lingerie makes this film hardly a comedy for the whole family. But how good is the film? It's badly acted (except for Blakely and Saxon), it's not very funny, and generally pretty boring. However, the film has a fair amount of 1980s nostalgia with plenty of cheesy hair, music, and fashion, and that was enough to hold my interest despite the overall poor quality of filmmaking. The film also features Ruth Buzzi as a gypsy fortune teller, Marilyn McCoo, Marcia Wallace (best know now as Miss Krabappel on "The Simpsons"), and Kimmy Robertson (best know from Twin Peaks) playing "pedestrian." There's even a cameo by Forrest J Ackerman!

Leslie (Susan Blakely) who likes to make her family"seaweed spinach quiche with cultured yak butter, wonders why her family always eats out. She gets turned into a werewolf in what amounts to a so-so spoof on werewolf pictures. The best scene was with Ruth Buzzi as the fortune teller required for a good werewolf film. It was a trip down memory lane to hear Sam, the Sham and the Pharaohs do "Little Red Riding Hood." Marilyn McCoo of the 5th Dimension in a cameo role. The humor was the kiddie side.

This is a "does what it says on the tin" type of comedy horror. It's about a suburban housewife who finds herself bitten by a werewolf and subsequently transforms into a hairy beast. There's little plotting here and zero characterisation, just a series of lame jokes and set-ups which have dated badly since first release.I'm not sure whether this broad, scattershot spoof would have been funny at the time anyway. Crown International Pictures certainly had a history of churning out cheap-looking, poorly-acted movies and MY MOM'S A WEREWOLF is no exception. Susan Blakely was once a starlet in the likes of THE TOWERING INFERNO but is pretty poor in the titular role, it has to be said. John Saxon plays the urbane werewolf catalyst and is a lot better, even if you do feel a bit embarrassed for him.One of the best things about this film is the inclusion of a horror-loving character who has all kinds of movie posters in their bedroom. Forrest J. Ackerman cameos and there's even a highlight in the form of an early visit to a horror store where cheesy old movies are discussed. This alone is what lifts MY MOM'S A WEREWOLF from the doldrums into a merely bad film. Check out the werewolf costumes, which are among the worst ever put up on screen.

My Mom's a Werewolf is clearly an example of a film that came out in the wake of the success of Teen Wolf (1985). That latter film had been released with little fanfare only to become a surprise hit once Michael J. Fox became a superstar off the back of Back to the Future (1985). In fairness, Teen Wolf was a pretty clunky movie with an alarmingly stupid premise and quite a lot of general lameness about it. Yet it had a certain charm nevertheless, My Mom's a Werewolf also has some 80's appeal about it too, yet it's really not very good.It's about a housewife who is transformed into a werewolf by a mysterious debonair stranger. Once she discovers her condition she tries to conceal her secret from her husband and daughter. The latter joins forces with her horror geek best friend to find a cure.This one benefits from the presence of one of the all-time b-movie kings, John Saxon, in the role of the smooth werewolf stranger. Like he always does, he again brings some commitment and class to proceedings. It's technically a horror-comedy that definitely focuses on the comedy at the expense of the horror. Mainly, it is full of what can best be described as '80's cheese'. I can't pretend to think this is very successful as a comedy, yet it has a certain likableness about it that prevents me from actively disliking it.