Back to the Future - 10 stars out of 10

Back to the Future - 10 stars out of 10
1000th Review

"Back to the Future" is simply one of the greatest sci-fi comedies ever written.  With a great concept, a clever script, dynamic characters, and ironic humor that capitalizes on the 1950's setting, this is a must-see.  It would be easy to sit here and quote all of the great one-liners for all of the dedicated fans, but I'd rather dissect the film a bit farther.  I believe that one of the most interesting aspects of this film is its title.  We have heard it so many times that it has lost its intrigue, but imagine what audiences must have thought the first time that they saw the trailer and tried to comprehend the phrase "BACK to the FUTURE."  The title alone is excellent for marketing, as it perfectly describes the goal of the main character but is very curious to someone who has not seen the film.  I always remember this film for the variety of characters - the cool teenage lead, the detestable (but so comically stupid that we like him) bully, the innocent girl that isn't so innocent, the sci-fi obsessed loser, and the mad scientist.  A handful of small bit parts add another layer - Marty's hot girlfriend, the bus boy that will become mayor, Biff's gang, and the band at the dance.  Each character is so different from the rest that we just get a mosaic of personalities that play off of each other in different ways.  But truly, it all comes back to the script.  Robert Zemeckis uses multiple avenues to create his humor which keeps the entire film fresh and avoids the same joke over and over again.  Some of the jokes come from Marty being out of place in the 50's (his style of clothes that look like a life preserver, him sitting next to his father in the diner, using the Van Halen music as if he is an alien) while others come from an expectation of how a character would act in the past but having them do the opposite (Lorraine smoking, drinking, and parking).  Sometimes he creates humor doing the opposite, by drawing parallels between characters' actions in the 50's and 80's (Biff forcing George to do his homework in the 50's and work in the 80's, using nearly the same dialogue).  There is a lot of comical foreshadowing (Uncle Jailbird Joey liking to be behind the bars of his crib) and irony about the future (the actor Ronald Reagan as president and Marvin Berry calling his cousing about Johnny B. Goode).  Bob Gale and Zemeckis found so much potential with this time traveling concept, and they exploited every bit of that potential.  After casting and recasting to work around Michael J. Fox's schedule, this group created one of the best ensembles on screen.  Marty McFly is obviously Fox's natural personality, but Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson really embrace their opposing 1955 and 1985 personalities.  They definitely hit a home run with all of the 1955 bit part actors - it just seems like they put so much extra into this, probably because this would be one of the most fun time periods to act out.  Add in Christopher Lloyd's mad scientist approach to this role and this film becomes impossible to forget.  It just becomes the perfect blend of action, comedy, personality, irony, and if you don't want to buy a DeLorian after seeing this, you're crazy!  Speaking from experience, this is the type of film that you can watch two-dozen times and still laugh at every joke.