Works as metaphor
A movie destined to come with a headline like “Wolfman Jack”, Mike Nichols “Wolf” had the novel idea of letting Jack Nicholson, with all his voracious vehemence, play the classic Wolfman. It was an idea too cool to pass up and, no surprise, the pleasures of “Wolf” mostly seem to work around him.
He plays New York book editor Will Randall, first seen driving home on a snowy night only to hit what looks like a dog. Getting out to check on the animal, he finds out the hard way it’s still alive and ready to defend itself. He winds up with a bad bite on the hand and more than a few new skills.
Soon the book editor, who is over the hill, impotent with his wife, and about to be fired at first, suddenly finds his vigor. His senses are all heightened, hair seems to be growing back everywhere, and he sleeps all day only to feel a sexual vitality crossed with a bloodhound’s ability to track down his wife and her kept-secret lover.
No matter. He’s ready for younger women anyway, like Laura Alden (Michelle Pfeiffer), the rich daddy’s girl of the boss (Christopher Plummer) who eventually fires him. Will doesn’t hold back. She’s beautiful but not very interesting. But neither does she. To her, he’s little more than an old man. Their scenes together continue. They’re sharp and cutting and give way to a surprising amount of care and vulnerability.
The film adheres to the usual rules of the Werewolf film. For Will, the process of full transition to Wolf-hood will be slow and will require a total giving over of self for that to happen. There is Mystic doctor here for exposition, an amulet meant to slow the change, and horses and other animals who sense Will’s wolfness and panic.
As the full moon rises, Wolfman Jack begins to form. He doesn’t fully turn Wolf but Rick Baker’s make-up effects look more like Wolverine’s more haggard dad. And the special effects and slow-motion actually do a pretty good job of making it look like Nicholson is leaping great distances, chasing down deer, and devouring his prey. There’s also a nice use of shadow and scene splicing in one scene under a bridge in Central Park.
More so than action sequences or plot devices, the film seems to be trying to be a metaphor for men finding vitality in middle age and seeing Nicholson get his groove back is often a hoot. Watching him stare down Plummer, who Will challenges to gain back his position, or pee on his rival’s shoes to mark territory, is all a rallying cry.
Plus Nicholson is having a great time with all this- there is a slackness to the character which begins to tighten up, and gain more energy and edginess. His sarcasm is often very funny (“I’m not just the president of the hair club for men, but also a member”) but it’s the unhinged power he now possesses which also frightens him to the point of being a sympathetic, three dimensional character.
James Spader also adds a bratty, villainous dimension to Will’s partner turned brown-nosing, backstabbing rival Stewart Swinton.
The Nicholson-Pfeiffer relationship reminds a bit of Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis in “The Fly” but there is more of a tragic parallel to that one that this doesn’t have. For the most part, they create a nice friendship with her seeming to be fascinated with, and not be too afraid of, his volatility.
The whole thing moves with a pretty good eye toward character and good acting for most of it but it almost seems like Nichols and co. were forced to add a conventional final showdown ending. It’s bestial and ferocious, don’t get me wrong, but feels like a different movie.
I’m not exactly sure what tone “Wolf” is going for as it continues either. It has a wry funny side but it’s not a comedy, it has Nicholson and Pfeiffer getting closer but is not a romance, there is sporadic violence yet it’s not an action film, nor is it horror or very compelling drama. What it feels like is more metaphor for the fight against middle age malaise and in that it’s not altogether uninteresting, and has a great actor to take us through it.