Back to the Future (1985) (Movie Review)

 

    As a guy who loves movies, I’m always looking for something new, and special. However, once in a while I find myself in a slump, in which I feel I’ve seen it all. Midway through my Highschool years was one of the worst points in which I was convinced I would never discover anything new in regards to movies … and then I made a special discovery. At this time, I was introduced to the 1985 classic “Back to the Future” for my very first time, and it was exactly what I needed to remind me why I love movies, and that there’s still plenty great films just waiting for me to discover. While I had heard of the film, and its positive reputation as one of the great Sci-Fi classics of the 80’s, I really wasn’t expecting to love “Back to the Future” as much as I did. In the decades sense I first discovered the film, it’s only gotten better, and it absolutely has a secure placement among my personal favorite movies! This is the kind of film that takes you for an exhilarating ride, broadens your imagination, and just leaves you feeling happy with each viewing.

   Young teenager Marty McFly is the cool, guitar playing, skateboarding high-schooler of 1985’s Hill Valley, and the one person in his family who's daring to make the most of himself. Meanwhile, back at home, his mom Lorraine is a joyless drunk, and his dad George is spineless goof with no goals to set for himself. With things so uncomfortable at home, Marty prefers to spend his time with a loony scientist named Doc Brown, who’s inventions never work. 

Unlike his cowardly father, the Doc may be something of a looser too, but he’s always putting in the effort to get things right, and thus becomes more of a father figure to the young teen. One night, the Doc’s efforts finally pay-off with an invention that finally works … and it’s a time machine on wheels! Marty McFly: “You built a time machine … out of a DeLorean?” Things heat-up when the Doc is gunned down by a group of terrorists, and Marty makes his escape in the car … only to accidently trigger the machine, and travel back to 1955, in which he gets stuck without a way back. As if Marty didn’t have enough problems, he accidently bumps into his parents as teenagers, and interrupts their first meeting when they fell in love through chance events. To make things worse, Marty’s instincts to protect his young mother from the local bully Biff Tannen have her forming an affection on the young teen ... who would eventually be her son … awkward! In fact, Disney studio turned down the offer to produce “Back to the Future” for one particular awkward scene involving Marty stuck in a car with his young mother. Now, to avoid fading away from existence, Marty, along with the help of 50’s Doc Brown, formulate a plan for his parents to fall in love all over again, but this time make the relationship genuine, as opposed to circumstantial affection.   

 

   On the surface, the plot is a simple time-travel adventure, with a young teen racing to get back home … but the story is deeper than that, revolving around a son who brings out the best in his parents, and subsequently creates a better future for himself, and those around him. 

Something distinct that I’ve always loved about this movie, is how it brings young teen viewers at eye-level with their parents. It reminds younger views that their parents were young once just like them, probably got into trouble like them, and did things completely different from who they are as adults, and it’s cool when a movie can get its viewers to look at people from a different point of view. In fact, it was producer Bob Gale who first came-up with the idea for “Back to the Future” when he discovered his dad’s high-school year book, and learned that he was a completely different person from who he was as a teen … it made Bob wonder how they would have gotten along if he had met his dad as a teenager. For me personally, “Back to the Future” has all the elements that make for a thrilling, and re-watchable Sci-Fi adventure … but it really is this story of a young teen meeting his young parents, and bringing out their best qualities that make this one of my favorite movies.

 

   On top of that, the cast is perfect, with each talent bringing a distinct charm to the characters, and as a result … no-one feels like a typical stereotype. 

Marty’s dopey dad George McFly may hit all the marks of a cliched high-school looser, but Crispin Glover in the role makes for a strong screen presence, and it’s great to see how naturally he transitions from a coward to a man by the end of the film. Back when I was in college, my friends and I went to a local dinner, and we always loved impersonating Georges order for "Milk ... Chocolate". Lea Thompson is also very lovable as Marty’s young mother Lorraine, as she’s not just a one-note air-head, proves to have a conscience, and knows when a relation just isn’t going to work. Of course, I need to mention Thomas F. Wilson as the bully Biff, and quite frankly … he’s one of my all-time favorite movie villains. Like the other characters, he could have just been the cliched town bully architype, but thanks to a charismatic performance, a smart script, and quotable lines, Tom Wilson made something iconic out of this character. He's imposing and short tempered, but he's also kind of a dope, which leads to some funny remarks. Biff: "I spilt beer all over my clothes when that car smashed into me ... who's going to pay my cleaning bill?". If you ever cross paths with this guy during a time traveling adventure … "you better make like a tree, and get out of there!" On a side note, Biff’s right hand man Match is played by a young Billy Zane … nearly two decades before his more famous role as the villain from “Titanic”.    

   At last, the real stars of the picture are Michael J Fox as the young Marty McFly, and Christopher Lloyd as the cooky Doc Brown. These two have some of the greatest on-screen chemistry of any movie I’ve seen, and if it wasn’t for them, this movie just wouldn’t have been as great as it is. It’s challenging to have a story between a father and son, and still have room for a surrogate father, but Doc Brown is utilized quiet effectively, and never oversteps his boundaries in the script. 

Naturally, Christopher Lloyd is ideal for playing the funny, wide-eyed mad inventor, but he also has this warm, friendly presence, which is perfectly balanced with his quirky nature. Sometimes, he's funniest doing little things, like building a model set to display his plans to Marty, when he could have just drew it on his chalk board. Doc: "Please excuse the crudity of this model, I haven't been able to build it to scale or paint it". Michael J. Fox likewise is exploding with charm, as his cool teen tropes are again perfectly matched with his confused manner and shrimpy stature. It’s hard to believe that Michael J. Fox was acting double-duty at the time between night shoots on “Back to the Future”, and during the day he was acting in the TV series “Family Ties”. The crew actually had to carry his sleeping body around to the different sets. Yet, despite all that, Michael J. Fox displays so much energy, both in his performance, and his physical actions. Also, no-one else sounds as funny when swearing ... "Yes George, Hot-Damn-it Swear!". Even harder to believe, Eric Stoltz was originally casted in the role, and filmed a number of scenes as Marty. While a fine talent, the creators just didn’t feel the picture come to life unless it was their original pick of Michael J Fox … who originally expressed interest in the film while shooting in another picture called “Teen Wolf”.        

Of course, this movies signature time-traveling DeLorean has a secure placement alongside both The Batmobile and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as one of the greatest vehicles ever put to film. Even the setting of Hill Valley becomes a character in of itself, with individual locations like the clock tower playing key roles in the story. Beyond that, there’s a warm community feeling that radiates from Hill Valley, like it’s a real place with a history, and one that we could go visit. This was the early work of Director Robert Zemeckis, who knew how to capture simple life-and-times moments that feel genuine, and it’s a trait he’d incorporate effectively into many of his later films, especially in his 1994 Academy Award winning picture “Forest Gump”. Hill Valley also made for a great location to stage some thrilling action set-pieces, including Marty’s daredevil skateboard chase, and the climactic race to get Marty back home before the lightning hits. One thing that remains universal about cars in movies … they just never seem to work during a time sensitive situation.

   Yet another favorite element to come from this film is the rousing score by the great Alan Silvestri. This is the kind of score that makes me want to go on an adventure, something fast paced and exciting. In fact, the score itself is like a short story of adventure told through music. 

It has the whimsical build up, the action-packed exhilaration, the suspense, the strength being built, and it all closes with musical notes that embody a great sense of victory. It’s a score that fills me with hope, it fills me with pride, it fills me with excitement, and it’s just plain awesome music that I can’t get enough of. To this day, I still can’t believe this music wasn’t even nominated at the Academy Awards. “Back to the Future” was nominated at the Oscars for Best Original Sound Design, Best Original Screenplay, and it Won the Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing. Also, Huey Lewis's opening song “The Power of Love” was nominated at the Oscars for Best Original Song, but it lost to Lionel Richie Double-Dagger’s “Say You, Say Me” from the movie “White Nights”. Huey’s Lewis’s “The Power of Love” still went on to become a recording breaking hit, toping numerous Billboards, and it’s absolutely one of the films many musical highlights. I also love Huey Lewis’s “Back in Time” theme song, which I find goes a little underappreciated. 

    While on the subject of music, I have to mention Marty’s stage performance of “Johnny B Goode”, which is one of my favorite song numbers from any non-musical. 

It really is one of the greatest musical numbers ever, because it’s the climax of the movie, Marty’s last chance to bring his parents together before fading from existence, and after a very suspenseful sequence, our lovers finally come together, and Marty triumphantly celebrates on his guitar. It's both satisfying, and extremely funny as Marty gets too carried away, and unintentionally introducing Rock N’ Roll to all in attendance. This really is one of my favorite finales, as it balances all the excitement and tension with all these great character moments. When Marty’s looser dad George finally has the courage to stand-up to Biff and rescue Loraine, it’s not just the satisfaction of the underdog taking out the villain, but the novelty of seeing an individual face his personal demons, and become a man. If I was to nit-pick at anything, I never felt the movie needed the cliffhanger ending with Marty going of to the future to help his kids. I felt the movie reached a perfect stopping point, and didn’t need anymore … although it is cool to marathon the trilogy, and see how tightly each film connects to the other.   

   Objectively speaking, I know there’s no such thing as a “perfect movie” … but “Back to the Future” is one of those special exceptions in which everything about the film just feels perfect. 

Both Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale crafted an air-tight script, in which there isn’t a single waisted moment, the pacing is fantastic, it’s consistently fun, and there’s a perfect marriage between a heartfelt story and a fast-paced Sci-Fi adventure. “Back to the Future” came out at a time when the theater was dominated by Sci-Fi and comedy pictures that attracted a wide age-range of audiences, including “Ghostbusters”, “The Goonies”, “Gremlins” and “Inner Space”, just to name a few. Yet, of all them, I feel “Back to the Future” had the most universal appeal. I think anyone can view this film and either love it, or at the very least just feel happy after watching it. For me, it’s a film that combines every genera I love into one neat package … it’s Sci-Fi, its comedy, it’s romance, it’s action, it’s music, it’s adventure, and it’s a spirited coming of age high-school film, along with unforgettable characters, memorable set-pieces, a great story … and it only seems to get better with time.     

Thanks for reading my review of the 1985 Sci-Fi classic “Back to the Future” … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!