Random Thoughts-Happy Back to the Future Day!

I’m know I know, but how could I resist talking about this one? Back to the Future was a movie I adored and watched a million times. Then Back to the Future II was released, and it was one of the coolest movie experiences ever. Seeing the scenes from the first movie recreated was something that amazed me for years. We take things like that for granted today. The bifforhific 1985 was just awesome, and what can I say about the future portrayed in the movie? Which is, today Wednesday, October 21, 2015!

Yeah there were problems. The story could be picked apart. And one thing that bothered me was all the promo’s for the third movie. I mean, we had Doc wearing a western shirt, Doc exclaiming the old west was his favorite time period, Marty playing a western shooting game  on a video game, Biff watching a Clint Eastwood movie (gee, I wonder if the scene he’s watching would come back to the play in he next film?), and the Delorean inexplicably show the date of 1885 a couple times in the film. Not to mention the trailer at the very end which for some reason made it on to the VHS release. That always bugged me, why end with a cliffhanger just to spoil it? These teases hurt the second movie and for me anyway, spoiled the third in many ways.



Ok, getting way off track. Of course the reason why this day is special is because the date that Marty and Doc went to in the future was in fact October 21, 2015. And I am not going to lie…that is so cool! It also makes me feel old, since it means it’s been nearly 25 years since I first saw the movie. I love that this movie is so famous and so loved that BTTF Day is a thing. When most movies set in the future hit their predicted date no one cares, or notices. Not with this movie! We have a beautiful book coming out, a new release for the movie, and countless articles and tributes. As I said before these articles seemed to start as soon as 2015 did. This trilogy doesn’t often get the respect it deserves which I get. Putting it up against trilogies like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings it probably doesn’t measure up. But the fans of this movie are loyal and passionate about it and this movie will never go away. I could do a list (and probably will) of hit movies that no one hears about anymore. This is not one of them! So why is this future so loved? Because it’s a happy one not an apocalyptic hell!




So, what did they get right and wrong anyway? As I said there are other articles so I wont go on and on. They got little things right but most of the stuff is still pretty implausible. I think the funny thing is the lack of cell phones in the movie. Yeah, right…we still use phone booths! Even worst is fax machine, did they really think we’d still be using those? Guess email and text messaging was still far off. A lot of things did happen, like the big screen TV’s with skype technology,  Movies aren’t holograms but 3-D is kinda close, and other stuff like drones which do exist even if it isn’t used recreation ally. Oh and did I mention the Cubs are in the playoff’s trying to win a World Series? Though it doesn’t look good.


By the way if you ever watch the movie pause when Doc shows Marty the USAToday, some of the stuff in that paper is really far fetched. The price is six dollars and headlines include cholesterol may be cancer cure, Queen Diana is prepared to visit Washington, and our president is a female. Oh and the Swiss are terrorists now. Weird stuff.



But to be fair today the future in the movie is still kind of…futuristic. You could see the movie today and think it was showing thirty years from now. I mean power laces? self drying jackets? FLYING CARS? When will we ever get to that? Though we are closer than we were then to be, including the more eco-friendly world I think is closer. Wouldn’t rehydrated food be awesome?? I would totally eat at that 80’s Cafe in the movie. And don’t get me started on hoverboards. Man would that be sweet. And while far fetched that weather modification system or whatever it was is closer than you think, my phone likes to tell me exactly when the rain will begin and end like the movie does.



I talked about the movie in other articles so will not go into detail on the rest. The alternate 1985 scenes are fantastic (if over done) and the scenes in 1955 will bring a smile to anyone who was a fan of the original. That’s basically what the second movie is, a love letter to fans of the original and a way tp prepare them for the third which more a real movie to be fair. I didn’t like the third one as much but, I am warming up to it. Helps to a fast forward button when watching. I just loved this movie. I loved the special and make-up effects, the movie was just non stop fun with just enough comedy and drama. And yes the cast was also fantastic it’s one of the things that sold the movie. Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson Thomas F Wison…they were all fantastic and created characters that will never be forgotten. And do I even have to mention that kickass soundtrack??



All kidding aside, I adored this movie. I saw it in theaters twice, read the novelization (which had deleted scenes that should have been in there), it inspired me to write my own silly stories, I watched it on video a hundred times, and I have been known to have the awesome soundtrack stuck in my head for days. I even did the lamented Back to the Future Ride at Universal and it was AWESOME! Worth the crazy ass wait.



I could talk about this movie all day but that’s enough. Tonight I am going to re-watch Back to the Future 2 for the 567th time, and I hope you all have a great BTTF Day! Hey, we can celebrate Star Wars Day on May 4th why can’t today be BTTF day? Comment below and share your memories about this amazing movie trilogy.