BACK TO THE FUTURE
Film Retrospective

Back To The Future was the movie of the 1980's (or at least its up there within the top 5). It took Michael J Fox, known at the time as 'geeky' Alex from Family Ties to the cool skateboarding Marty McFly.

Marty spends his days dreaming about fame for his band, The Pinheads, and making out with his girlfriend, Jennifer. But little does he know that an early morning meeting in the Twin Pines Mall car park would change his life forever.

Helping out with his best friend, Doc Emmett Brown's latest experiment - a stylish DeLorean turned time machine - they are rudely interrupted by some vengeful Libyan terrorists which results in Marty quickly escaping in the nearest available vehicle, the DeLorean, and travelling back in time to 1955.

After initially being mistaken as an alien its all pretty much downhill for Marty; he bumps into a young George McFly (his father), and sets off a chain of events which results in Marty battling against the clock in order to end equally young Lorraine Bains' (his mother) infatuation with him and helping George stand up to the school bully Biff.

Marty's quest to get things back on track, mainly by getting his parents to kiss and fall in love at the schools "Enchantment Under The Sea" dance, is not as easy at it sounds as our hero succeeds in getting on the wrong side of Biff; making life a little more tricky for him.

The film itself has some great moments - Marty creating skateboarding for one - and also some fantastic quotes and moments that can be relayed into everyday life such as Biffs ability to misquote insulting similes with "Now why don't you make like a tree and get outta here!" The pace is fast throughout the movie although the dramatic and climatic end scene to return Marty back to 1985 does drag after watching it for the 75th time.

I think the thing that makes it a classic for me are the subtle jokes and the inadvertent changes to the future that the hero makes, not to mention the boyish charm of Michael J Fox. Director, Robert Zemeckis really did create a fantastic film that not only tells a great story, but can also be enjoyed by people of all ages. And better yet will not seem as a painful retrospective to how badly 80s films were made, but more a timeless (ignoring the contradiction) movie that you will remember with a certain warmth your whole life.

MJF is also a convincing skateboarder and after seeing the film for the first time I nagged my parents for months until I got a stylish green plastic skateboard all of my own, complete with nifty white crash helmet and stylish knee and elbow pads.

Needless to say, although I tried my hardest, such as getting the skateboard and wearing braces with my jeans and sleeping in my clothes to the sounds of Huey Lewis and the News, I was never as cool as Marty. Still, I can dream that it will one day be available on DVD and can watch it a 76th time without fear of the tape snapping.

jodi fitzalan

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