Dad’s Daily DVD: Back to the Future

By Emi Gruender 

Welcome back, moviegoers, to the third issue of the newly-minted series I lovingly call “Dad’s Daily DVD!” Last issue, we watched the iconic sci-fi cyberpunk The Matrix, which earned a score of 7/10. This issue, we’re taking a DeLorean all the way back to 1985; a time of rock n’ roll and the power of love. 

Marty McFly is a 17-year-old boy living in Hill Valley, California. He hangs around with the spitting image of a “mad scientist” Doctor Emmet Brown, assisting with his most recent project: a time machine built into a DeLorean. As we learn more about Marty’s life, we meet his dysfunctional family– complete with his alcoholic mother, Lorraine, his stammering weak-willed father, George, and an adult bully named Biff— responsible for years of torment during George’s youth. As trouble surrounds Doc and Marty in the form of terrorists in a parking lot, Marty makes a daring escape and finds himself trapped in 1955– 30 years prior. 

One of my favorite movies of all time, Back to the Future takes the infinitely complex concept of time travel and morphs it into a wild ride complete with comedy, romance, and suspense. Without further ado, here is my honest review of the cultural classic– Back to the Future. 

*SPOILERS BELOW!*

★★★★★★★★★★ — 10/10, A Real Blast from the Past

Despite being a nearly two hour film, I found myself disappointed when I paused at what felt like the five minute mark, just to discover I only had 15 minutes left. This movie had me on the edge of my seat, laughing and biting my nails and pointing at the screen when I spotted something I knew would be relevant later. Though I could spot the CGI a mile away, it did not take me out of the story like the CGI effects in The Matrix did. If anything, I found it added charm and a sense of whimsicality to the film. 

In true 80s fashion, the movie starts with the credits, cast against a plethora of clocks and silly inventions: clearly the den of a mad scientist at work. Rewatching, I noticed so many hints the set designers sprinkled throughout the very long single opening shot; one of my favorites being a man hanging on for dear life from the hands of a clock tower. When we first met Micheal J. Fox as Marty McFly, the very first thing I noticed was that he looked and dressed exactly how kids dress today. Fashion really does move in cycles. 

Specifically, I really enjoyed the cinematography of this film. The single panning shot at the beginning? The stark shot of four strict teachers sitting side by side in an empty gymnasium? Artistry at its finest. I often caught myself thinking that this movie must have been a book at one point. It was so well written– every new revelation or plot twist came with foreshadowing at least a half hour prior. Somehow this movie attracted both my parents to the living room within 15 minutes, and save for frequent laughter on my mom’s part, we were all mesmerized. 

Despite all of my glowing praise concerning this film, I do harbor one complaint. Albeit extraordinarily well-written, I noticed some uncharacteristic dialogue from each of the characters in the beginning of the movie. The most noticeable was when George, Marty’s simpering father, apologized for being a pushover when it came to Biff, his high-school bully. He says that Biff is his supervisor and that he’s not good at confrontation, less to the benefit of his son, and more for the camera peeking over Marty’s shoulder. Though I understand some infodumping is necessary to tell an effective story, it did give me some narrative whiplash. All in all, however, it’s a forgivable stumble when taking into consideration the entire film, so I will not deduct a star from this glowing review. 

Now, in true Dad’s Daily DVD Fashion; a list of my favorite lines of dialogue and irony. 

DETAILS I FELL IN LOVE WITH

• Doc has a clock of a man hanging from the hands of a clock in his house. Foreshadowing!
• Twin Pine Falls becomes Lone Pine Falls after Marty runs over one of the trees with a car. 
• The mayor’s advertisement has the same poster and slogan despite a 30 year difference. 
• The same pose between father and son as they unknowingly sit next to each other in a diner. They both react to “Hey McFly!” 
• The exact same interaction in their teen years as adults. “If I turn in my reports in your handwriting, I’ll get fired. You don’t want that, do you?” “If I turn in my homework in your handwriting, they’ll kick me out of school. You don’t want that, do you?” 

• Goldie, running for Mayor 30 years after Marty in 1955 told him he would be Mayor one day. Which came first– the suggestion, or the mayorship? 
• Lorraine thinks Marty’s name is Calvin because his underwear says “Calvin Klein.”
• Everyone making fun of Marty’s puffy sweater vest, calling it a “Life Preserver.” 
• Uncle Joey as a baby wanting to stay in his crib, juxtaposed with Uncle Joey as an adult staying in prison. 

• Marty using a Walkman with Van Halen as a torture device. 
• George having enough gel in his hair to drown a small rat both in his youth and adulthood. 
• George downing chocolate milk that’s slid across the bar to him, like an old western movie. 
• Marty having a whole superpower montage when he makes a makeshift skateboard to get away from Biff and his bully squad. 
• (Not a detail, just a part in the movie I loved) George punching Biff in the face <3
• Doc plugging in the connector, “just in time.” BA DUM CRASH
• George’s books featuring Marty in the hazmat suit– he still thinks it was an alien that visited him that night. 

LINES OF DIALOGUE THAT I WILL BE QUOTING IN THE FUTURE

• “Get outta here kid, you got no future.” 
• “I-I’m not very good at… confrontations…”
• “When I was your age, I never chased a boy, or fell in love with a boy, or sat in a parked car with a boy…” (SPOILER: her younger self did all of these things, in fact)

• “*sigh* And then I realized I would spend the rest of my life with him…”
• “The real question is, WHEN the hell are they?” 
• “Doc, you’re telling me that you built a time machine?Out of a DeLorean??

• “If you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, better do it with some style!!!”
• “1.21 JIGAWATTS!!!” 
• “They found me. I don’t know how, but they found me.”
• “😲He’s a peeping Tom!” 
• “Another one of these damn kids jumped into the road!” (You’ve hit another kid with your car?!)
• “Marty, you look so familiar. Do I know your mother?” “Yeah, I think you do.”
• “Who the hell is John F. Kennedy.”
• “Disrespectful. Lorraine, if you ever have a kid that acts like that, I’ll disown you.” 
• “GREAT SCOTT!!!!”
• “Next Saturday night we’re sending you… back to the future!”
• “My mother… has the hots for me?!”
• “Why don’t you make like a tree… and get out of here.”
• “My name is Darth Vader, from the planet Valkin.”
• “Geez, George. It was a wonder I was even born.” 
• “Gimme a milk. Chocolate.”
• “That’s Calvin Klein… He’s a dreamboat.” 
• “You’re not gonna be picking a fight, dad. Dad. Daddy, daddy-o” 
• “When I kiss you, it’s like I’m kissing my brother.” 
• “If you guys have kids… If your youngest kid accidentally sets fire to the living room rug… go easy on him.” 
• “Marty. Such a nice name…” 
• “Damn, where is that kid?! *Checks watch* Damn. *Checks watch* Damn. *Checks watch* Damn damn!”
• “I thought. What the hell.” 
• “Now Biff, don’t con me.”

And of course.. 

• “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”