Movie of the Week

This week,

BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)

Starring- Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover

Who hasn't seen this movie? It has gone from a nice slice of nostalgia to a true classic in the years since its release. Even though they were well known for their work on Taxi and Family Ties, this film made Lloyd and Fox household names and big stars. I have watched and enjoyed Back to the Future and its sequels since I was a kid, and all that time I have wanted to be like guitar playing, skateboarding, time traveling Marty McFly. Too bad I can't do any of those things.

The writers sought to tell a story about what it would be like for a modern teenager to see his parents as teenagers, and how they might interact. In order to tell that story, there needed to be some device to get a kid from the '80's back to the 1950's. A time machine in the form of a DeLorean became the driving force of the plot that gets Marty McFly to Hill Valley in 1955. The DeLorean is the brainchild of Doc Brown whose invention of the Flux Capacitor is what makes time travel possible.

When Marty arrives in 1955 he is not at all comfortable and struggles to understand the basics of life as a teenager in that time. He meets his father by accident, as well as the McFly family nemesis- Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson). Biff is the archetype for the high school bully and it is up to Marty to help his father challenge Biff and win the love of Lorraine (Marty's Mom) so that the future remains unaltered. Marty enlists the help of the Doc Brown living in 1955 to get his parents to fall in love and get back to 1985. There are many fabulous nostalgic moments along the way as the kids hang out at the malt shop and prepare for the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.

I won't bore you with any more details from this well known movie, but I will say that it is the details that make it so special. I admit to trying to build a time machine as a kid, as well as making Nikes my shoe of choice because that's what Marty wore. Back to the Future appeals to something very basic in all of us, the joy in looking at the past fondly and relishing the future.

Things to watch for-

A young Billy Zane
A cameo by Huey Lewis
Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan
1.21 Gigawatts
Marvin Berry- Chuck's cousin
Manure

"Hey you, get your damn hands off her."