Back to the Future

Back to the Future; science-fiction comedy, USA, 1985; D: Robert Zemeckis, S: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson, Claudia Wells, Wendy Jo Sperber, Marc McClure, James Tolkan, George DiCenzo

1985. Marty McFly is a normal teenager who is ashamed for his wimp father George who is always taunted and bullied by neighbor Biff. Marty works for scientist Doc Brown and one night enters his time machine, in the shape of a car, in order to escape from some Libyan mercenaries. Speeding to 88 miles per hour to escape from them, Marty accidentally makes a time jump back to 1955, where he meets the young Doc, but also his own teenage mother, Lorraine, who falls in love with him. With a little bit of luck, Marty manages to match his mom and dad; help his dad stand up to bully Biff; and with Doc's help return back to 1985—where now George is in charge and Biff is a wimp.

Excellent time travel comedy "Back to the Future" surprisingly became one of the movie icons of the 80s thanks to a simple, fun and elegant story that philosophically plays with the notions of destiny and coincidence—proving how high art and fun don't necessarily have to be two separate things. The film was nominated for several awards and it is unbelievable how much of its identity it owns precisely to Michael J. Fox's endearing performance as Marty McFly. In one perfect moment, when the principal is taunting and humiliating Marty in high school, and says: "No McFly ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley!", Marty gives an epic, indestructible reply: "Well, history is going to change". Although relaxed, the movie as a whole is filled with irresistible situations and "fun ambitiousness": in 1955, at a diner, Marty accidentally sits next to his future dad, teenager George, so they both turn their heads when Biff shouts: "Hey, McFly!"; Marty's future mother, a teenager, falls in love with him (!) when she nurtures Marty while he is in his underwear in her bed.

When Marty tries to convince Doc that he is from the future, there is this golden dialogue: "Tell me future boy, who is the President in 1985?" - "Ronald Reagan." - "The actor?!" The soundtrack is full of love for the 50s culture and songs ("Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)"), thus also serving as a nostalgia essay involving an interesting concept in which the teenage hero, Marty, gets a chance to meet his own parents when they were teenagers, concluding that they had many tribulations as well, all contributing to the theme of reconciling these two generations. While Marty felt distant from his parents, he realizes they are human when he meets them as teenagers in 1955, since he can now identify with their age. Moreover, by going back to the past, Marty embarks on a deconstruction of all the myths his ultra-conservative mother Lorraine was telling him, who always feigned she is shocked at a girl phoning Marty, but actually proves to be a horny teenage girl herself. So many time travel films trip over their own feet and mess everything up due to numerous plot holes and inconsistencies, but this is one of those rare examples where a time travel storyline was so meticulously constructed that everything works in wonderful harmony, especially in the perfect end that humorously shows a "change" in the relationship between George and Biff in the (altered) present. The only question that remains unanswered is how the film would have looked like if Eric Stoltz starred in it, as originally intended, before he was replaced by Fox. "Back to the Future" is a gem of a comedy, an example of pure 80s flair—but in the best way possible.

Grade:+++