MIDDLE-AGED MATIENEE! #24 - 'Back to the Future' (1985)

5/5 Stars

I have been such a huge fan of “Back to the Future” that I honestly can’t remember the first time that I watched it. I’ve seen it dozens of times over the years and I honestly love the whole trilogy. However, even though the second film is great and the third film is better than people tend to remember, the original is easily the best of the three.

Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale wrote the screenplay but had trouble getting it produced. They had already written several films where the writing was praised but the final product failed to produce at the box office. This included two Steven Spielberg produced movies (“I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “Used Cars”) and Spielberg’s own directorial flop “1941”.

Therefore, they would have to put their wacky time travel film on hold. Zemeckis was jobless in the early 1980s as the various flops had put him and Gale into box office jail for a moment. In ‘84, though, Zemeckis was hired by actor Michael Douglas to direct the romantic adventure film “Romancing the Stone”.

The movie was expected to be such a big flop that the producers at the studio fired Zemeckis from directing “Cocoon” which was still in the works at the time. In a fortunate twist of fate, “Romancing the Stone” became a surprise hit at the box office and suddenly every studio wanted to work with Zemeckis.

Doc Brown shows Marty McFly his time machine in 'Back to the Future'!

Zemeckis reteamed with Gale and they decided to revisit the “Back to the Future” project that everybody now wanted to produce. The pair went back to the one man who had faith in them from the beginning and the one man who supported the story for “Back to the Future”: producer Steven Spielberg.

They got the project off the ground at Universal, got the movie cast, and started filming. Unfortunately, there was one big problem early on. The actor they hired to play Marty McFly, Eric Stoltz, was not working out and they knew a couple of weeks into production that he’d have to be replaced.

The problem with Stoltz was that he was playing the role too seriously and Zemeckis knew he needed to get someone who had better comedic chops. He originally wanted Michael J. Fox but the young actor was busy shooting “Family Ties” at the time.

After getting approval to recast Stoltz and reshoot the scenes that had already been filmed, the producers reached out to the producers of “Family Ties”. Fox agreed that he would work on “Family Ties” mostly during the day while working on “Back to the Future” mostly at night because that was how much Fox wanted the part to begin with.

Marty McFly must make sure his mother Lorraine meets his father in 1955.

Thankfully, it worked out and Fox became Marty McFly, arguably the most famous character of his film career. Already cast in the picture was Christopher Lloyd as the eccentric scientist and inventor Emmett “Doc” Brown.

When we meet Marty at the beginning of the film, he is an aspiring musician but a bit of a “slacker”. At least, that’s what his principal thinks. He wishes to leave Hill Valley and make it big and not turn out like his parents George and Lorraine McFly, played by Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson.

One night, he is summoned to a mall by his friend Doc Brown. The crazy inventor has developed time travel using a DeLorean as his time travel vehicle. In order to get powered, though, Doc Brown needs plutonium which he stole from Libyan terrorists.

The Libyans attack and kill Doc Brown. Marty gets into the DeLorean, cranks that sucker up to 88 miles per hour, and ends up in 1955! With no extra plutonium to use to get home, he enlists the aid of a younger Doc Brown, but he also has to fix another problem.

Doc Brown and Marty McFly witness the time traveling DeLorean's first successful test!

Before getting in touch with Doc, he encounters his father and interferes with the first time his dad was supposed to meet his mother. Therefore, he must fix their relationship to ensure that he’s born before he fades out of existence… oh, and he has to help his parents get around the town bully known as Biff (Thomas F. Wilson).

That may seem like I spoiled quite a bit, but that’s just the setup for one of the best sci-fi comedies ever made. This is one of those movies where I have a hard time finding something bad to say about it.

The performances are great. Thompson, Glover, and Wilson are great in the supporting roles and help fill the story with colorful and memorable characters. Even the bit parts such as James Tolkan as Principal Skinner don’t go by unnoticed.

Of course, the real reason this works is thanks to our two leads. There’s not too many screen duos that work as well as Fox and Lloyd as Marty and Doc Brown. They have an undeniable chemistry and more than enough comedic experience between them to make you feel like these are genuine friends.

Marty is more of the straight man to Doc’s more eccentric personality, but Marty himself has plenty of physical comedy to do himself. Fox’s wide-eyed expressions and interactions help sell Marty’s confusing time travel dilemma.

Marty McFly must figure out a way to get back to the future!

Another thing that helps is the setting. Hill Valley was built on the Universal Studios lot and the production designers did a great job creating a more pristine Hill Valley for 1955 while providing a more rundown version of the town for 1985.

Zemeckis and Gale’s fantastic script helped get this movie off the ground. Fox, Lloyd, and company helped sell the story on the screen. While making “Romancing the Stone”, Zemeckis met the person that would send the whole thing home.

Alan Silvestri is one of the best film composers of all time and his score for “Back to the Future” is still one of his best. When you hear the powerful theme song come on, it immediately brings you into this wacky sci-fi action comedy.

The score is quirky enough to sell the comedy while also being epic enough to sell the genuine action pieces. You don’t have this iconic score, then you don’t have what is perhaps one of the best films ever made.

Finally, there is one of the coolest film vehicles of all time! The decked out, time traveling DeLorean looks both like a sleek piece of machinery while the added on parts give the impression successfully that this was a machine built by a mad scientist in his garage. This prop is up there with the likes of the Millennium Falcon and the Batmobile as one of the most iconic film vehicles ever produced.

At the end of the day, this movie still rocks hard! From start to finish, you feel like you’re on a wild cinematic ride. If by chance, you’ve never seen this movie, you need to correct that mistake as soon as possible and if you have, then maybe it’s time for a second, third, or hundredth viewing of one of the best sci-fi comedies ever made!