Back to the Future

You really don't want to know the hullaballoo (can I just spell that any way I want?) that was my purchasing process for this film. Ugh. Let's just say that I have it now (part one of the trilogy, and the only one that counts) and have been watching it in bits and pieces over the past couple weeks. It's a definite that without Michael J. Fox in the lead role it would have sunk faster than a lead brick. Believe it or not, Eric Stoltz was originally cast in his role, and they had to fire him and beg for Fox to take the part. He was doing Family Ties at the same time, and says he was so stressed from running from TV stage to film location and back that he wasn't sleeping more than a couple hours a night and forgetting at times which set he was on. All beside the point. Time travel (or at least films that use time as a major element) have become increasingly popular lately, but this is the first one that I remember. And it's so much darn fun to watch! You have Fox's charisma, the 50s clothes and music, the deft aging and young-ing of the main characters, and a story to beat all. I love how it holds together all the way through (which is another reason not to watch parts two and three, they'll just confuse you). As a kid, this was one of my favorites (that last scene had me biting my nails), and as an adult it's one my favorite classic comedies.

year: 1985
length: 111 min.
rating: 4.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/combined