Werewolf Winter: Wolf (1994)

Jack Nicholson is one of those actors who is excellent at playing himself. When he was The Joker in Batman, he played Jack Nicholson in clown make-up. When he was a mental patient in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, he was Jack Nicholson in a beanie and five o'clock shadow. And in Wolf, Jack Nicholson plays Jack Nicholson as a werewolf.

Directed by Mike Nichols (The Graduate) - and starring an absolutely insane cast of Jack Nicholson, Michelle Phieffer, James Spader, David Hyde Pierce, and Christopher Plummer - Wolf seems like it would be a cheesy classic. However, odd pacing, bland writing, and flat character development leaves this movie sadly forgettable.

The story starts with a literary agent traveling to get a book contract signed in Vermont, where he is attacked by a mysterious wolf. This is the first movie I've watched where the film doesn't introduce even a hint of a character until after the werewolf biting. All we know at the start is the protagonist's job. And no, I don't know why literary agents becoming supernatural creatures during this late-80's-early-90's era was a trend.

Through heavy-handed dialogue and exposition, we learn that Nicholson's character is essentially a nice guy, but he has a difficult time "standing up" for himself. The publishing company he works for has been bought out by millionaire Christopher Plummer, and now Jack is at risk of being fired because he is "the last civilized man" in a context where, as more than one character explains, conformity and identifying what will sell is more important than Nicholson's "unique taste." (Nicholson's character reeks of some author's near-wish-fulfillment: "I'm just a nice guy who understands great literature! Why doesn't anybody value me?!?!?")

While this is going on, Nicholson begins to go through a super-hero-like transformation; he starts to gain his "werewolf powers" including better sight, super smell, and super-hearing. While he at first embraces and enjoys his new powers, they soon work against him as he finds out that his good friend (James Spader) is actually an ass who is in the process of stealing his job and sleeping with his wife.

Yep, sounds like James Spader...

Nicholson also start to wake up, bloodied and disoriented, in strange places. Somehow, he realizes that these changes must be connected to being attacked and bitten by the wolf in Vermont. (Because science.) Thus, he looks up an "expert" in animal possession, Indian scholar Vijay Alezias. This scene made me just stop and scratch my head for a moment because I couldn't believe that it wasn't a joke. Yes, werewolf movies have a history of the ethnic and mysterious mystic who tells the protagonist about his werewolf curse - and that is exactly what this doctor does. But Nicholson mentions "skinwalkers" and shapeshifters and asks Alezias about his "tribal knowledge," making it sound like the role was intended to be a Native American Indian. But Vijay Alezias is obviously East Indian, and with an East Indian name and a thick accent at that. If it was supposed to be a joke, it was oddly placed, didn't really fit the tone, and was more confusing than it was funny.

Nicholson also begins to have a strange courtship with his boss's daughter, played by Michelle Phieffer. Phieffer channels her best post-Catwoman-pre-Dangerous-Minds "I'm a bad girl, but also deep and interesting" routine.

This is her "deep and interesting" face

Ultimately, the film closes with Spader's character also gaining werewolf-powers and Nicholson having to fight him to save Phieffer. The fight scene isn't bad, but the use of slow-motion and odd music choice takes a lot of the fun out of it. When Nicholson finally triumphs (sort of) I found myself checking my watch more than feeling riveted.

The werewolf design is interesting in this film. It follows the Teen Wolf (cartoon and MTV, not movie) rule of having very little change and making the werewolves more "wolf-men" than full wolves (full-wolf ends up being a sort of final transformation in this movie). The contacts they used for the wolves were neat too and definitely gave the wolves a clear aesthetic.

In the end, though, what held this movie back for me was that it really wasn't about anything, or at least nothing more than "Jack Nicholson as a nice guy turns into a werewolf." There was no deeper symbolism. No metaphor for something greater. They tried to throw in some musings for Phieffer's character about how bad things sometimes happen to good people, but then the "good" guy is given at least an implied happy ending, so that seems irrelevant. If I cared about the characters and their journeys then I might have liked this movie more, but the script makes each character seem like a "type" than a full person. Ultimately, the movie is a decently fun 90's romp with a good cast (given mediocre writing), but nothing that will linger with you after the film is over.

Rating: 3 out of 5 bites