I have a soft spot for horror send-ups. I Was a Teenage Wereskunk being a blatant send-up of all the 1950's I Was a Teenage films and Wereskunk does try to pay due homage. Though it silly tone and forced comedy miss the mark as often as it hits it. Though I do love its up beat charm and commitment to being as campy as possible. Being partially funded by a Kickstarter does a lot in my book.
I Was a Teenage Wereskunk opens with a pair of lovers, Jerry (Jonathan Rossetti) and Sally (Christian Derup) parked up on lovers lane. When they get attacked by an unseen monster. The film then travels back to the day before and we meet our protagonist Curtis Albright (Scott Monahan), an awkward high school boy trying to figure out how to ask his long time friend Mary Beth (Shey Lyn Zanotti) to be his steady girl in the local diner. A copy of Jack Keroac's On The Road hanging out of Curtis jacket pocket catches the attention of Finn Potter (Sean Cork), a local beatnik. Finn invites Curtis to hang out at a local bar the next night, to which he agrees. After walking Mary Beth home, but still being unable to ask her to be his
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Most importantly is the tone. Which hovers between slapstick, toilet humor, parody and genre knowing irony. The irony, coupled with parody is what worked best for me. Where the rest of it falls flat for me.
The acting ranges from an on the nose performance courtesy of Christian Derup, to over-the-top such as Melanie Minichino as Deputy Gary. But all of the actors and actresses do superb jobs and manage to hit that sweet spot of fun and camp.
Though this film does have some issues. Mostly its roaming unfocused story. Which has a meandering pace that gets easily sidetracked by lame jokes. My other point is the film has a 50's feel but with 60's setting. Which I find jarring, going from the 50's lingo into a sudden slide into 60's references. The most crass being the Charles Manson