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."

The Future Isn't Now

When I was a kid I couldn't wait for "the Future." In movies and books the future was always shown to be a time of interest, whether it be a post-apocalyptic wasteland or a shiny, warp drive fueled paradise.  Guess what? It's 2010 which is basically the future, and life is still pretty much the same.  Movies and books lied to me, and even though we have lots of cool stuff and have made advances in many areas, I am still waiting for a few things that would make life so much better and more like the future of my dreams.

HOVERBOARDS AND SHOES WITH POWER LACES

Back to the Future Part II led me to believe that by 2015 there would be hoverboards and sweet Nikes with power laces. I'm still tying my own shoes and not hovering around town- what the crap? Science has five years to get their act together or face some strongly worded emails from me.

UNDERWATER CITIES/FLOATING CITIES

I also naively thought that by now we'd be seeing some cities being constructed underwater or floating on the ocean. I was wrong, but I think with the way things are going we need to get going on some bubble cities because overpopulation is a real concern. Forget laws limiting offspring and contraception, build Atlantis already!

FLYING CARS

This one is a no-brainer.  There are fewer accidents in planes than in cars, so lets get some cars in the air- pronto. I know for a fact that most people in 1950 thought we'd have flying cars by 1975, but thanks to Watergate Nixon's flying car initiative never got off the ground. Get us flying, Obama!

CLONES

I don't know about the rest of you, but I need someone to help me do my chores and errands. Clones are the answer, and I know you'll say "what about overpopulation?" To that I say, you can be vacationing in the underwater city while your clone is cleaning up your regular house.

TWO TIES

Back to Back to the Future Part II. When are guys going to start wearing two ties? I'm ready, but apparently fashionistas aren't ready to make shirts with two collars. When they do, the future will have finally arrived.