Clint Eastwood May Be A Yellow Bellied Coward

Finishing off my trio of reviews of the Back To The Future trilogy today (check out the previous two if you haven't) with the last one....

“Clara was one in a million. One in a billion. One in a googolplex!” ~ Doc Brown

“I had this terrible dream. Dreamed I was...dreamed I was in a Western. And I was being chased by all these Indians. And a bear.” ~ Marty McFly

“Listen up, Eastwood! I intend to shoot somebody today and I’d prefer it to be you. But if you’re just too damn yellow, I guess it’ll just have to be your blacksmith friend.” ~ Buford Tannen

"Everybody, everywhere, will say Clint Eastwood is the biggest yellow belly in the West." ~ Old Timer

“The only party I’ll be smilin’ at is the one that sees you at the end of a rope.” ~ Marshall Strickland

“I don’t dance very well  when my partner has a gun in his hand.” ~ Clara Clayton

“I’m sorry, Doc. It’s all my fault you’re stuck back there. I should have never let Biff get to me.” ~ Marty McFly 

“Well, there are plenty worse places to be than the Old West. I could’ve ended up in the Dark Ages. They probably would have burned me at the stake as a heretic or something.” ~ Doc Brown

Director Robert Zemeckis brought the Back To The Future trilogy to a conclusion with 1990’s Back To The Future Part Three, blending the science fiction and comedy of the previous films with a healthy dose of Western. Zemeckis and Bob Gale’s story, transferred into a screenplay by Gale, pays off in numerous ways and makes nods both to where the films have come from, as well as the genre of movie Westerns. And it brings back the leading actors, Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, as well as a number of supporting actors, some of whom are in new roles this time out- characters who are nonetheless familiar to us already.

The film opens up with the ending of the previous film- in 1955, Marty McFly (Fox) finds the 1955 Doc Brown (Lloyd) seconds after he helped send Marty back to the future- and of course the sight of him shocks the Doc. Marty’s stranded in 1955, having had watched the 1985 Doc and the DeLorean vanish during a lightning storm, but there’s a way out- the Doc sent a message through time to Marty from the year 1885, where he ended up, urging his friend to get the assistance of his 1955 counterpart to get back to his own time. In locating the hidden DeLorean, Marty and Doc make a stunning discovery- the grave of Emmett Brown, killed in 1885 by Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson), the great-grandfather of franchise irritant Biff Tannen.

Marty decides to travel back seventy years and save his friend. He takes the DeLorean back through time and ends up in the Hill Valley of 1885, a western settlement with Indians in the countryside and wild animals. He first meets his own Irish born great-great-grandparents, Seamus and Maggie McFly (Fox and Lea Thompson), and has a run in with Tannen and his gang. The intervention of Doc, who’s established himself in town as a blacksmith, saves Marty from getting hanged. The two friends intend to leave 1885, but fate throws them for a curve when they save a schoolteacher, Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen), and Doc falls for her.

The kernel for this film starts with the original film, in which Zemeckis asked Fox what time period he would want to visit- Fox mentioned the Old West, and Zemeckis and Gale held onto the idea until they started crafting the story for the second and third films. There’s a bit of set-up in the second film pointing the way, and with this, the two continued to tell a story blending together the science fiction and comedy of the earlier films, while infusing a rich Western sensibility seamlessly. The story moves along briskly, and retains its sense of humour while still playing on characterization- Marty and Doc are both as we know them, while it seems stupidity and malice run deep in the Tannen clan.

The nods towards the Western genre include the almost obligatory views of Monument Valley, numerous character actors who’d played in countless Westerns, showdowns in the street, saloons, and Indians versus the cavalry. Filming was done largely on location in California and Arizona, and the way Zemeckis films all of this definitely feels like a Western, grand sweeping landscapes and all. Crews were kept busy rebuilding Hill Valley from scratch as a set in the countryside- one can see hints of the future, such as the courthouse and its clock, in the dusty western setting. The place certainly feels like something that would have existed at the time- buildings look of that era, the way people speak and dress evoke the time (with the exception of the clothing Marty’s wearing when he first arrives in the period, which are completely wrong, but reflect the mid 1950s obsession with Westerns, sequined shirts and all- Marty looks like Roy Rogers). The constant references to Marty's chosen alias- Clint Eastwood- made me wonder what the actor thought of it all, particuarly the line about Eastwood going down in history as the biggest coward in the West, but it turns out Eastwood gave his okay on it and got a kick out of the references. Even Alan Silvestri’s score, while maintaining the themes from the other films, brings in music that sounds distinctively like a Western.

The casting is ideal all around. Elizabeth Shue reprises her role once again as Marty’s girlfriend Jennifer, seen briefly at the end after her whirlwind time spent in 2015 in the second film. She gives the character a believable connection with Marty. James Tolkan returns once again as an ancestor of the principal from the first two films, this time playing Marshall Strickland, and the character’s just as much of a hard ass as his descendant (a grandson, one would think). Lea Thompson, who spent the first two films playing Marty’s mother, ends up playing his great-great grandmother Maggie (strangely, on his paternal side). Maggie McFly comes across as no-nonsense in character, and it’s curious watching her with Fox as he plays Seamus (quite often in the same space as Fox also playing Marty).

Thomas F. Wilson’s take on “Mad Dog” Tannen is actually my favourite of the different Tannens (in more than one time period) that the actor played through these films. If anything, he’s dumber than Biff (though not as dumb as Griff Tannen). Buford Tannen is a nasty, foul tempered lout, perpetually angry and drunk, just a despicable excuse for a human being (he reminds me of one or two people). Wilson plays to that in his performance, giving us an antagonist we find both dangerous (a drunkard with a gun is a bad thing) and repugnant.

Mary Steenburgen is a delight as Clara. The role, it seems, was written with her in mind, though she was initially reluctant to take it, until her children pressed her to take it. The character is a schoolteacher in distress when we first meet her, casting her presence into Doc’s life particularly in a big way, and Steenburgen plays her as a smart woman with imagination, scientific curiousity, and heart- as well as courage late in the film. The relationship that develops between Clara and Doc is sweet, and the two actors bring that to life in the way they portray the characters.

Lloyd finishes his three film performance as Doc Brown in just the right way- the same eccentric scientist that we’ve seen before, though there are some new nuances to the character. The 1955 Doc plays to the humour of the character- his shock at seeing Marty again seconds after he sent Marty into the future is priceless. The present day Doc (trapped in 1885) shows that he’s adapted well when we first find him in the Old West, showing a resourceful trait in the character. We also see old hints of Doc as a child- his love of classic science fiction books still stays with him. And we see a man who falls head over heels in an instant- one wonders how he reconciles that as a scientist. In his last run as the character, Lloyd seems to be having a whole lot of fun.

Fox completes his role as Marty, still finding himself as a fish out of water- he arrives in the Old West in a tumultuous way, and takes time getting used to the Old West. He doesn’t have to be the romantic lead of the film- the character still has a girlfriend back in his own time, after all. There’s the natural charm and the wisecracking traits of the character, and at the same time, we see other elements to the character. His tendency to dislike being thought of as scared plays itself out through the film- is he easily provoked or can he think his way to a solution? I like that Marty proves to be resourceful and does as much thinking as fighting in how he deals with Mad Dog Tannen- it shows character growth beyond that impulsive dislike of being called names. And I also like how he quickly makes the decision early on to go back in time and help the Doc- he has the opportunity to go back to his own time, but selflessly chooses to do the right thing.

Back To The Future Part Three nicely caps the trilogy in just the right way. The notion of taking things into the Old West was a good one, giving the audience sight gags and nods to the genre. It has heart, too, and moves along smoothly. The story gives us a particularly repulsive antagonist, and the sweetness of a romance for one of the leads. It’s a whole lot of fun, and as such, it works wonderfully as the final chapter of the adventures of Marty and Doc.

So Where Are Those Flying Cars Already?

“Time travel is just too dangerous. Better that I devote myself to studying the other great mystery of the universe: women.” ~ Doc Brown

“You did send me back to the future. But now I’m back. I’m back from the future.” ~ Marty McFly

“It’s leave, you idiot! Make like a tree and leave! You sound like a damn fool when you say it wrong.” ~ Old Biff Tannen 

“All right then, leave! And take your book with you!” ~ Biff Tannen

“I’ve never seen you before in my life, but you look to me like a slacker!” S. S. Strickland

“’Within two hours of his arrest, Martin McFly Jr. was tried, convicted, and sentenced to fifteen years in the state penitentiary.’ Within two hours??” ~ Marty 

“The justice system works swiftly in the future now that they’ve abolished all lawyers.” ~ Doc Brown

After the success of Back To The Future, it was inevitable that there would be sequels. Director Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale fashioned two screenplays to complete a trilogy and filmed the second and third films together, releasing Back To The Future Part Two in 1989, picking up right where things left off and sending the two heroes thirty years into the future, an alternate present, and back where it all began in 1955. It retains the sense of humour and good pacing of the original, takes things into some dark directions, and ends up giving us a thrilling cliffhanger ending.

The story picks up immediately where the previous  film left off- with Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) taking Marty (Michael J. Fox) and Jennifer (Elizabeth Shue, taking over the role) into the future by flying DeLorean to the year 2015, where Marty once again finds himself a fish out of water in a future where lawyers have been abolished, the Cubs just won the World Series, hoverboards are everywhere, and Jaws has just gotten yet another sequel. It’s a strange future- the Doc has had rejuvenation procedures done to take decades off his life, 80s nostalgia cafes feature bickering robot  waiters with the faces of Reagan and the Ayatollah, and Marty’s home town of Hill Valley seems familiar but  different.

They’re there to set something right that’s gone wrong- keeping Marty’s son Marty Jr. (who resembles his dad in pretty much every way) from doing something that will get him sent to prison. The turn of events draws Marty and Jennifer into close proximity with their future selves, their children, and the grandson of a familiar adversary. Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) is still around, old and decrepit, and his grandson Griff, also played by Wilson, is just as dumb as his grandfather. Biff seems to have learned a few things in his old age- thirty years earlier he witnessed the vanishing flying DeLorean, and the sight stayed with him. It’s his actions that drive the rest of the plot, messing around with the past in such a way that a hellish present day in Hill Valley comes to be- and Marty and the Doc have to set it right.

Gale and Zemeckis came up with the story, tweaking elements of the original by returning back to 1955, while showing a future that wasn’t quite like the dystopian future of so many sci-fi tales (though it is alarming that a person can be arrested and convicted within two hours). Instead of trying to be predictive of the future, the story goes for the funnybone. Their screenplay bounces around in time, getting particularly dark when the characters find themselves in an alternate 1985 where Hill Valley has become a garish hellhole, before returning to the 1955 of the original in which we see things from a different point of view.

I particularly like the way Zemeckis weaves the same characters from different time periods into the same scene, whether that is a side by side conversation or sharing the same space. We see it repeatedly with Marty, Doc, Jennifer, and Biff- and it comes across as seamless. Zemeckis also deftly handles the storyline that works around the events of the previous film in creative ways- the way he presents the aftermath of the clocktower sequence from the first film is greatly satisfying, and very funny. The film bounces around in time, and feels like a roller coaster for that, and yet we can keep track of where we are in all of that. The crew’s work on all levels contribute to that, and I’ll touch on a couple of things. The makeup crew, which had already worked around with middle aged versions of Lorraine, George, and Biff in the first film, expand that for the second film with those other characters, shown in middle age or senior years (it’s ironic though that Fox, who’s older than Marty was in the 2015 segment of this film, still looks younger and fresher today, even with Parkinsons). And Alan Silvestri, who’s often worked with Zemeckis as a composer, expands on his themes from the previous film and takes the film score into new directions.

There were a couple of casting changes from the first film. Elizabeth Shue took over the role of Jennifer, and there was enough of a resemblance to Claudia Wells that the transition is seamless in the film. Contract disputes with Crispin Glover led to a recast for George McFly, and actor Jeffrey Weissman was brought in to play the role. Zemeckis worked around that for the character, shooting the actor mostly in the background or other ways to minimize the character’s presence. Lea Thompson did come back and reprised her role as Lorraine- we see more of the 1955 version again, from different angles, but we also see a senior citizen Lorraine in the 2015 era, as well as an alternate 1985 version, one stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place, a very different take on the character.

Thomas F. Wilson gets more to do this time as Biff, seen across three time periods, as well as Biff’s grandson Griff. The Biff of 2015 is a cranky old man- and yet he’s at least learned a bit in his senior years- he’s devious enough to take advantage of a time machine and travel back in history to change his own past. The Biff we meet in an alternate 1985 is malicious with success- we see the character as the monster he basically is (I doubt anyone out there will find Biff in any timestream to be a sympathetic likable character). And when we see the Biff from 1955 (even when interacting with his future self), he’s still the thug and moron that we first saw that young version as. Wilson plays the bully and the antagonist well- we don’t like him at all, but that’s a measure of how well Wilson fits the character.

Christopher Lloyd returns as Doc Brown, and he’s as eccentric as ever. As the film goes on, the character begins to understand that making a time machine was a mistake- even inadvertently, it’s possible to do things that alter history in ways that can be dangerous, and the scientist comes to feel that he has to set that right- a refreshing change from the Doctor Frankenstein sort of scientist who doesn’t understand their own hubris until it’s far too late. Lloyd still plays much to the humour of the character, a daft loon that we like for all his eccentricities.

Part of the story sets things up for the third film for both Doc and Marty, and that is certainly factoring into Marty’s character and the performance by Fox. I like how a momentary musing on personally benefiting by Marty- knowing the outcome of sports scores years in advance- backfires and causes the paradox in time, and that Marty realizes he has to fix things because of his own mistake. And I also like how the story presents a character flaw- Marty doesn’t like being thought of as scared- that will pay off more in the third film. While it’s not something we’ve seen from the first film, it does feel true to the character. Fox has a whole lot to do through the film, not only playing Marty, but also his son and daughter in the future, and he seems to have fun doing so. And of course he brings his natural charm and gift for comedy back to the role.

Back To The Future Part Two was a good second chapter of the trilogy, really having fun with the concept of time travel, giving the audience a rich film with sight gags, while staying true to the science fiction aspect of the story. It didn’t shy away from the ethical questions, making note of the idea of consequences of time travel. And it continued to give us two leading actors who work well together, cementing a sense of friendship between them while trying to figure out a way to clean up some very significant messes- some of their own making, others of the making of others. It’s a worthy part of the trilogy.

When This Baby Hits 88 Miles Per Hour

The 21st of October, 2015 is supposed to be the day Marty and Doc travel to the future. Mind you, it's nearly upon us, and no hoverboards, flying cars, or that... though disturbingly enough the Cubs are in the playoffs. In the first of three reviews, I'm taking on the Back To The Future trilogy. Enjoy!

“There’s that word again... heavy. Is there a problem with Earth’s gravitational pull in the future? Why is everything so heavy?” ~ Doc Brown

“Hey, you must be my uncle Joey. Better get used to these bars, kid.” ~ Marty McFly

“Last night Darth Vader came down from Planet Vulcan and told me that if I didn’t take Lorraine out that he’d melt my brain.” ~ George McFly

“Why don’t you make like a tree and get out of here?” ~ Biff Tannen

“Wait a minute, Doc, ah... are you telling me you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?” ~ Marty McFly

“The way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?” ~ Doc Brown

Thirty years ago director Robert Zemeckis brought Back To The Future to the big screen, a comedic science fiction film starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Taken from a script by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, the story grew out of the notion by Gale as to whether or not he and his father could have been friends had he met him in high school. The film became a big success at the box office and won critical acclaim, establishing itself as a classic.

The film opens with Marty McFly (Fox), an ambitious musician in high school. His father George (Crispin Glover) works a thankless job and is bullied by his supervisor, Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson). His mother Lorraine (Lea Thompson) is on her way to full blown alcoholism. His siblings are stuck in a rut. Marty wants more for his life- he’s in a good relationship with his girlfriend Jennifer (Claudia Wells). The principal at his school, a taskmaster with a total lack of humour by the name Strickland (the eternally gruff James Tolkan) thinks he’s a slacker, just like his father before him.

Marty happens to be friends with the eccentric Doctor Emmett Brown (Lloyd), a local scientist. Doc Brown asks Marty to meet late at night at a local mall to assist in an experiment. Marty finds the Doc with a DeLorean, and learns that it’s been converted into a time machine. It doesn’t take long before Marty finds himself back in time, thirty years, where he’s a fish out of water, encountering his parents as teens and inadvertently altering history.

The film had been in development hell for several years- Zemeckis and Gale had a general story worked out, but had problems selling the concept to studios. That changed when Zemeckis directed Romancing The Stone, a box office success. Fox had been first considered- he was tied up with Family Ties at the time and the producers weren’t keen on releasing him to film a movie- and Eric Stoltz had then been cast in the lead role. Zemeckis decided that it was a miscast, and worked out an arrangement with the show producers to allow Fox to join his film. It was the right casting- Fox brought a gift for comedy to the role and the same general wiseass personality of the character.

Zemeckis and Gale’s script plays out well, with a strong sense of humour throughout, blending science fiction, characterization, and nostalgia for the era with a fish out of water motif. There’s a lot to it, small things at times, that pay off later- watch it for references and lines that have greater significance as the story plays out. Marty is completely out of his element, dealing with sheer culture shock (how on earth did anyone make it out of the 1950s?). And yet he adapts and comes into his own, dealing with younger versions of both of his parents (his discomfort at being the object of affection for his own mother provides much of the comedy). 

The script and direction by Zemeckis keep things moving along briskly- there’s never the sense of slowness to the film, and there’s certainly a lot of attention to detail- the 1955 era feels very much authentic, while the time travel sequences (particularly the climactic return to the present) are quite a different spin on time travel- I’ve always liked the notion of flaming trails left behind when the DeLorean passes into another time.

The casting is just right. Thomas F. Wilson has spent most of his career as a standup comedian, and as an actor is best known for his part in this trilogy of films. Here he plays Biff in three different ways in two different time periods. When we first meet him he’s a middle aged lout, a bully accustomed to years of getting his own way and pushing people around. Wilson plays to that, and in the 1955 era, the character’s a teenaged punk, a younger version of himself with no respect for others, and very little in the way of intelligence (apparently stupidity runs deep in the Tannen family). When we last see him, he’s subtly different. Biff is an unlikable character, as he’s supposed to be, and Wilson plays to that.

Lea Thompson is an interesting choice as Lorraine. Her younger self seems to be the wide eyed naive typical 50s girl, but beneath that is someone who sees what she wants and isn’t afraid to cross a line- which of course freaks out the teen who will one day be her son. She’s oblivious to George at first, something that Marty needs to fix, but as the story goes along and that plotline plays out, it’s believable that the two characters end up coming together (albeit in a different way than the original timeline).

Crispin Glover has a history of playing eccentric characters (George returned in the second film of the series, but without Glover in the role). When we first meet him in 1985 he’s a sad sack, accustomed to being pushed around by his supervisor, a socially awkward nitwit. That also plays out as a teen in 1955, where we see the nerd at that era, and it explains a lot. Marty has to befriend him to set things right, and in the process both learns more about his father- and the experience ends up giving George a backbone. When we see them again in 1985, both George and Lorraine are different than they started out as- and for the better. Glover certainly brings that about in the closing scenes, playing the character with confidence.

The role of Doc Brown was supposed to go to John Lithgow at first- I could have seen his manic energy in the role, but Christopher Lloyd was cast, and he turns out to be perfect for the eccentric scientist as we see him in two eras. Doc Brown is off kilter to say the least- some might say crazy- and he’s larger than life. Lloyd brings that across in his performance, which also provides much of the humour of the film (I particularly like his sense of annoyed dismay as he waits for Marty and keeps checking the time: “Damn, where is that kid?”). As whacky as the character is, he’s fundamentally a decent guy, and the audience gets to like him a lot.

Fox is perfectly cast as Marty. The character starts out clearly unsatisfied with his life- he sees the rut that the rest of his family is in and doesn’t want to fall into that. He has dreams and hopes for his own future- when the principal tells him that no McFly ever amounted to anything, he confidently says that history’s going to change. There’s a wiseass aspect to the character, a smirk in the face of authority sort of sensibility that appeals to me (gee, I wonder why), and Marty proves to be resourceful and adaptive when he’s out of his element. Fox brings all this to the role, along with his natural charm, and plays to the comedy of the situation he finds himself in.

Of course it was inevitable that there would be a sequel. The film was hugely successful at the box office, proving to be the biggest grossing film of that year. And so within a few years two sequels came out. Back To The Future rightfully has become a classic, established itself as a beloved film, and remains fresh and entertaining anytime one watches it.