Many people cite “Back to the Future” as their favorite movie. It is, as has been the case for a majority of the films in the Fargo Theatre’s Centennial Film Series (CFS) so far, a classic for a reason. But that reason is much different from most others.
If asked, most people will tell you that the reason they love “Back to the Future” so much — the reason they show it to their kids to make sure it lives on — is that it’s fun. To me, it rang as a bit of an odd choice for the CFS, especially compared with previous selections like “Fargo” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” because of exactly that reason. It’s a fun movie before it’s a classic. It’s got the fashion, the characters, the nostalgia.
On the surface, it’s not really a classic, just a fun family movie. But the truth of “Back to the Future” and movies like it go a little deeper than that. “Back to the Future” isn’t just good nostalgic fun; it’s extraordinarily well-written.
The question of what makes a classic is a complicated one, spanning direction to photography to design. But what truly makes a movie undeniable is writing. A lot of movies that have held on as classics have done so because of their writing, especially movies like “Back to the Future” that would otherwise seem like odd films out in a canon of dark, gritty, stories containing the likes “The Godfather” and “Schindler’s List.”
With its orange puffer vests and time-traveling cars and mad scientists, “Back to the Future” is a timeless comedy, to be sure. But what about it makes it a classic worthy of being honored next to the other timeless films? The answer turns out to be in the fact that there is not a single unnecessary or boring moment in the entire script. At just under two hours, “Back to the Future” absolutely flies by with some of the tightest writing in film history.
Not a stone is left unturned in the journey of Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) through time and space as he, with the help of Doc Brown (the inimitable Christopher Lloyd), goes back in time to change his parents’ lives — and his own. There is not a single Chekhov’s Gun in this movie that does not go off. Everything mentioned even in passing is necessary to the plot, from the clock tower to his parents’ first meeting to the subdivision being built just outside of town. The attention to detail in the script is astounding, as is the brilliance and reality of the dialogue. There are no plot holes. Even when you think there are, they are almost immediately filled. Time travel is notoriously difficult, and Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale pull it off with aplomb.
And now, I ask you to think about a classic that doesn’t seem like a typical, film bro-y classic. Think “Legally Blonde,” maybe. Or “Jurassic Park” (in loving memory of Sam Neill), or “Jaws.” What all of these movies have in common within their differences from more typical classics is their top-tier writing.
Every classic has a theme in its writing. I mean, pretty much every movie has a theme to it, but classics are largely considered as such because of their cutting themes and commentary. This is part of the reason why movies like “Back to the Future” and “Clueless” are classics that are generally taken less seriously, or viewed as living slightly outside of the canon. They are fun movies, movies that are watched largely for pure enjoyment, not thematic analysis. And I feel that lack of consideration says more about the viewer than it does about the content of the movie itself.
Take “Back to the Future,” for instance. Within the fun time travel hijinks, there lies a criticism of nostalgia. Marty goes back in time to find that things were not, in fact, better back then and likely never were. His mother has a drinking problem even in high school. His father is relentlessly bullied.
And on top of all that, he has accidentally set off a butterfly effect that may result in his own erasure from existence. “Back to the Future” dives into the idea of nostalgia and the golden days, as well as the difficulty that comes with learning more things about your parents as you get older and begin to wonder about your own future. It wonders what, if done differently, could have drastically changed your entire life. And all this while maintaining a reputation as a movie that is just for fun. And if you think of any of the films mentioned earlier, the same is likely true. Fun movies can be classics, too, and often are. Presentation does not subtract from subject matter and quality of writing. More often than not, in fact, it adds to it.
So when you go to see “Back to the Future” as part of the Centennial Film Series, keep an eye on the script. Notice what made it last, what solidified its place in the classic film canon. Is it Christopher Lloyd’s facial expressions? Is it the genius invention of the DeLorean? Or is it something else entirely, something rooted in creativity and heart, in the humanity that endures over decades and generations, holding strong as it careens through time before being called back home? Or, should I say, back to the future?
“Back to the Future” screens as part of the Centennial Film Series at the Fargo Theatre on Tuesday, July 21st at 7 p.m. Tickets are only $7 and are on sale now at the Fargo Theatre box office and will be available at the door.
