Back to the Future (1985)

The 80’s, Huey Lewis, & Time travel, Oh My!

When revisiting 80’s films, many times they don’t hold up to how we remember them. Sometimes it’s the story, sometimes the clothes, or music and sometimes it’s just because you grew up and you’re not the same person and it doesn’t strike the nerve it did when you were young.

Once in a while there’s a film that is as classic today as the day it released. Sure the film is dated, but it still works on all the levels it once did.  For me there are a few that pop out: Gremlins, Ghostbusters, & Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to name a few.

Back to the Future has for me what may be the greatest compliment any movie can get, even though I’ve seen it MANY times, if I stumble across it on TV, you bet I’m going to keep watching it.

The biggest thing this film has going for it is its cast. Strangely the cast that ended up being in the film (namely Michael J. Fox) nearly didn’t happen!

       Marty! You look Different….

Most movie nerds now know the story of how Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly and even shot for a few weeks before the powers that be felt that it just wasn’t working and scrapped everything and started over once they could make a deal to share Mr. Fox who was on a hit TV show at the time.

Jr. Republican Fan Club President

So it begins that a High School kid named Marty McFly who really just wants to rock out, happens to have an eccentric (Mad?) Doctor as a friend whom he always is eager to help with experiments finally stumbles upon an invention that works….

TIME TRAVEL!! Using a souped up DeLorean of course. The specifics although entertaining aren’t important (1.21 gigawatts, Flux Capacitors) but when Doc is hunted down by some angry Lybians that he “procured” some plutonium from and Marty makes a hasty escape to 1955.

As we all know by now you don’t want to mess with the past (butterfly effect and all) but Marty inadvertently keeps his parents from falling in love and he takes his dads place as his mother’s love interest.

Why do you keep calling me Calvin?

Biff Tannen, The bully Marty’s dad Never could stand up to, George McFly Brilliantly Portrayed By Crispin Glover as the meek and somewhat pathetic father of  Marty, But most importantly aside from Michael J. Fox is Christopher Lloyd as the enigmatic Doc Brown.  One could argue that at its core this film is a buddy flick between these 2 across time.

Doc, Jennifer & I are a little busy, could you come back yesterday?

Can Marty Get his Parents to fall back in Love?  Can he keep from be molested by his mother?  Will he ever see any Royalties from Chuck Berry???  You’ll just have to watch and see if he can set everything straight before he’s….