Thomas F. Wilson | Scott's Film Reviews-1,533 Reviews posted!!! RECENTLY LAUNCHED-MY TOP 250 FAVORITE FILMS AND TOP 40 HORROR FILMS!!!

Back to the Future-1985

Director Robert Zemeckis

Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd

Scott’s Review #1,205

Reviewed December 5, 2021

Grade: A-

As a child of the 1980s, I was left with an indelible mark by films like Back to the Future (1985).

I fondly recall excitedly going to the movie theater on a Saturday afternoon with a giant tub of popcorn in tow and enjoying the hell out of this film.

I’ve subsequently seen it several times since.

There exists a magical, futuristic element that left me and countless other youngsters and adults alike with a sense of wonder. And one amazing car!

Michael J. Fox, a huge television star of the 1980s largely thanks to the sitcom Family Ties, powered through to the big screen with the help of this film and others.

The 1980s were a wonderful decade to grow up in.

Small-town California teen Marty McFly (Fox) is thrown back into the 1950s when an experiment by his eccentric scientist friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) goes awry.

Traveling through time in an amazing DeLorean, Marty encounters younger versions of his parents (Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson) and must ensure they fall in love, or he will cease to exist.

To further complicate matters, Marty then has to return to his own time and save Doc Brown’s life.

Back to the Future is one of those films that has something for everyone, and the stars are perfectly aligned to make it a blockbuster popcorn hit.

Besides the science fiction elements, there is humor, a cool 1950s throwback vibe, romance, and natural chemistry between Fox and Lloyd, who together carry the film.

It’s hardly an art film and goes for the jugular with mainstream additions like a killer soundtrack led by The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News, which was all over top 40 radio in the summer of ’85.

Counterbalancing the current times was another smash hit, Johnny B. Goode, a 1958 Chuck Berry tune.

There is a safe vibe for sure, and director Robert Zemeckis knows his action-adventure romantic comedies. This may be his best work, but he also skews adding much diversity or heavy topics. He creates a fun, entertaining film.

Fox is perfectly cast as Marty, and I cannot imagine anyone else in the role. However, method actor Eric Stolz was the original choice and spent several dismal weeks filming scenes before he was replaced.

Fox is the ultimate boy next door, cute but goofy, and relatable to teenage boys across middle America.

Lloyd is perfect as the zany Doc Brown. He is wacky without being too ridiculous and bridges the gap between generations. The character is presumed to be old enough to be Marty’s (in present-day) grandfather, and the two characters rely on each other.

Back to the Future shows that an unlikely friendship can develop.

The film also effectively depicts the vast differences between the 1950s and the 1980s. At a simpler time, the 1950s are viewed as wholesome, while the 1980s are perceived as the decade of excess, and some fun is poked at both generations.

But both generations can also connect.

In a moment of crisis, Marty helps secure his parents’ bond and ensures he is created. This could be viewed as icky to some, but the romance between the two parents is tender and sweet.

The interactions between all characters are sentimental without being saccharine.

Back to the Future was the feel-good film of 1985 and a must-see for those living in the period. It holds up surprisingly well, with the state-of-the-art special effects not looking dated or laughable now.

It also explores growing up as an adolescent and identifying with one’s parents and the differences they have.

Who can’t relate to that in some way?

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song-“The Power of Love, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing (won)

April Fool’s Day-1986

Director Fred Walton

Starring Thomas F. Wilson, Deborah Foreman

Scott’s Review #498

Reviewed October 24, 2016

Grade: B-

Emerging at the tail end of the late 1970s and early 1980s slasher film craze that defined that period in cinema (for better or worse), April Fool’s Day (1986) capitalized on the “holiday theme” marketing tool that had propelled Halloween (1978) and Black Christmas (1974) to superstar status.

Unfortunately, this film is not a traditional horror flick; it has plenty of comic elements but also contains the standard slasher characteristics, thereby making it a blockbuster failure.

It does not know what its identity truly is.

From a storytelling perspective, the film has one great twist, but otherwise suffers from mediocre writing and unmemorable characters nobody cares about.

We are treated to an ensemble of actors, most of whom are unknown, except for horror maven Amy Steel (Friday the 13th Part 2), who portrays Kit, arguably the most relatable of the female characters.

A clever facet, woven by director Fred Walton, is the casting of eight principals in April Fool’s Day, all with similar amounts of screen time, rather than one obvious “final girl” surrounded by minor characters, who we know will be offed.

The setup is all too familiar in the slasher genre- the group of college-aged kids escapes mundane life for a spring break weekend getaway at their wealthy classmates’, Muffy St. John’s, island estate.

Conveniently, her family is away- leaving the friends to have the run of the mansion, with a dinner party as part of the plan.

Even more convenient is that the ferry the group takes does not run on weekends, so once they are dropped off at the island, they stay until Monday.

This sense of foreshadowing sets the anticipated peril and dread in motion.

We also sense that there is something very off with Muffy- despite being everyone’s friend. When Muffy finds a jack-in-the-box in her attic and recalls a childhood memory, we know this is the setup for the mystery.

Is she mentally unstable? Is someone out to get Muffy for a childhood prank or an event that once occurred?

Since it is April Fool’s Day weekend, the groups spend most of the film playing pranks and amateurish jokes on each other (a whoopee cushion, an exploding cigar), mixed with a dash of intrigue- someone is leaving trails of history as part of the jokes.

One girl had an abortion, so the prankster left an audiotape of a baby crying. In another room, heroin paraphernalia is left for someone with a former drug habit.

Slowly, one by one, the college kids disappear, but is it just a hoax? Or is the hoax just a hoax?

The final twenty minutes or so are really the main reason to watch this film.

As Kit and boyfriend Rob are the last remaining “alive,” there is suddenly a startling twist that changes the entire dynamic of the film- in one moment, everything the audience thinks of the story is turned upside down.

This is wise writing, but it comes too late in the game.

Sadly, some parts of the film are downright silly, and most of the characters are of the stock variety- the flirtatious blonde, the obnoxious jocks, the stuck-up preppy, which ruins the creative twist that is aforementioned.

With glimpses of genius and a striving for something more clever than the standard run-of-the-mill 1980s horror film, April Fool’s Day (1986) has some potential but ultimately leaves something missing.