Blast From the Past

Don't you love going back and discovering new things about movies you thought you knew so well? Last week I watched Back to the Future II for the first time in quite a while. While the original movie is undoubtedly the classic, I've always had a pesky affection for the first of the sequels. I suppose that at my young age I was fascinated by the futuristic world created by the film, with the hover boards and Cafe '80's and the self-adjusting clothing. And then the movie shoots from the future to an alternate, scary 1985 and then back to good, ol' 1955 at the (apparently) cosmically important Enchantment Under the Sea dance. I really loved all that time-shifting. In revisiting the film for the first time in many years, I noticed a lot of stuff I hadn't noticed before:

ONE: I remember learning that Billy Zane (Titanic's hoity-toity bad guy) was one of Biff's lackeys, but I never realized said lackeys were played by the same actors in the alternate 1985 scenes. You know, in Biff's tacky hotel, the guy in the cowboy hat (Zane), the guy with the silver buzzcut, and the guy with the strange neck and long hair? Well, those are the same actors who play the three loser, followers of Biff in the 1955 sequences. I can't believe I never noticed before. I think I was distracted by the gimpy, stiff-necked run of the one with long hair. I never looked at the other two at all. I know, it's a small thing to be proud of, but that detail definitely gave me a little thrill this time around. I'm gonna have to watch the third one now and see if Buford Tannen's gang in the Old West is played by these same actors. Funny!

TWO: I also had to frequently suspend my disbelief in the entire "Marty stalks Biff and hides in the back of his car in 1955" sequence. Marty, hiding in the back seat, consistently rises up in plain view of the rearview mirror, to talk on his walkie talkie. The idea that he wouldn't be seen, let alone heard by Biff is just ludicrous. I know Biff's a little slow, but come on. Marty's sitting less than two feet away! There's a thing called peripheral vision! And unless Biff is deaf, you telling me he couldn't hear a conversation had two feet away, at normal volume? I think not! Amazingly enough, this completely inconsistent fact doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the movie at all. Somehow it just seems like a quaint little goof, only increasing the movie's sentimental appeal. "Aww, look at the complete lack of realism! So cute!"

THREE: The Future scenes take place in the year 2015. Being only 7 years away, it's amusing to know that in 1989 (when this movie was released) we expected, in addition to the Hoverboards and self-adjusting clothings, flying cars, hologram advertising, instant hydration cooking, and thumbprint identification for locks to be standard. We were so ambitious! Tisk tisk. However, in all that imaginative aggrandizing, they forgot to invent cell phones, the current cornerstone of our society. That cracks me up. Not a cell phone, ipod, or blackberry in sight, but hey, the Cubs are in the World Series. Yay!

FOUR: This is something I already knew, but it requires applause: Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown cracks me up to no end. He must have had so much fun overacting in all of his scenes. The way he dramatically shouts all of his lines is hilarious. The speed talking, the way you just know he spits when he delivers his lines, the constant references by the character to paradoxes....so, so, so much fun. (The photo above of that amazing expression is my favorite moment from the first film.) All due deference to Michael J. Fox for carrying the films, but I doubt they'd be as wonderful without the kooky, zany appeal of Christopher Lloyd. (And can I just add that Thomas F. Wilson as Biff is also quite the priceless over-actor. The future scenes where he plays his own grandson Griff, well, Griff chews the scenery, crazy eyes bulging, voice cracking, practically slobbering, and it is truly hilarious!)

FIVE: I also stumbled across two lines that are part of what make this film so wonderful to me. First, after tailing Biff, Marty has finally gotten a hold of the sports almanac discarded in Strickland's trash can. Of course, when he opens it he finds not the sports almanac, but Biff's trashy magazine "Ooo LaLa." Michael J. Fox's delivery of "Ooo LaLa? Ooo LaLa?!?!?!" cracks me up every time. Small detail, but I love it.

The other is one of the 1955 dance-goers. He is part of the crowd gathered around Biff's unconscious body after George has knocked him out. Marty comes along, steals the real sports almanac out of Biff's pocket and runs off. Later Biff wakes and runs after him. The guy I'm talking about has probably 5 lines in the course of that action and they go like this:

(to a fleeing Marty) "Hey, did you take that guy's wallet?"
(to crowd) "I think he took that guy's wallet!"
(to an awakening Biff) "Oh, you mean the guy who was here?"
(to an angry Biff) "I think he took your wallet!"
(to camera) "I think he took his wallet."

The idea that this actor has to say basically the same line four times in the space of about two minutes of screentime is so hilarious to me. He really changes up his delivery though - he really commits to the part of "concerned high school dance attendee." That's probably my favorite part of the entire movie. Way to get your SAG card, mate!