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'Back to the Future' cool in every time period

'Back to the Future' is still beloved 25 years after its release.

By Mike Vorel

Published Feb. 19, 2010

Whether it's 1955, 1985 or 2010, the cult classic "Back to the Future" is always cool.

Originally released in July 1985, the Robert Zemeckis-directed film was an immediate hit, captivating audiences and making 88 mph the new speed of choice. Michael J. Fox left "Family Ties" behind in order to make Marty McFly the hero of millions of teens then and now. And Christopher Lloyd created one of the greatest movie characters of this or any generation: the eccentric and hopelessly loveable Dr. Emmett Brown. Add these things together and throw in a time-traveling DeLorean and you have a movie that stands the test of time.

The movie centers on the teenage Marty McFly, a popular high school student who has a girl, a skateboard, some impressive one-liners and an old, borderline-insane mad scientist as a mentor. The scientist, Doc Brown, invents a time machine out of a DeLorean saying, "If you're gonna build a time machine out of a car, why not do it with some style?"

Marty is by some fluke sent 30 years into the past, where he runs into his teenage parents and unknowingly prevents them from ever meeting. He now must get them to meet and fall in love, or his entire family will literally cease to be.

What makes "Back to the Future" great is its ability to transition seamlessly from past to present, drawing parallels between Marty's life and his parent's similar pubescent experiences. Because really, when it comes down to it, every kid wants to finally bypass the "back in my day" lectures and see for themselves if mom and pop were really all they claim to be when they were teenagers.

And in Marty's case, he hits the jackpot with his supposedly conservative mother Lorraine, discovering that teenage Lorraine smokes, drinks and is far from a virgin, as she states, "It's not like I've never 'parked' before." When he tells her she really shouldn't smoke she ironically replies, "You're beginning to sound just like my mother!" Figures.

Therefore, it isn't at all surprising that today's youth still connect with a movie making its 25-year anniversary in 2010. There will always be teenage kids who fight and bicker with their parents, so the subject matter will always be relatable and stimulating. Marty's puffy vest and '80s hair might not translate to teenagers, but his attitude always will, because there will always be room for the cool, confident, charming teenage hero.

And then we come to the character that is Dr. Emmett Brown. Christopher Lloyd created a truly unique and comical figure in Doc Brown, a man who brings smiles to audiences not just through his dialogue but also through his screams, yelps and notoriously bulging eyes. He was possibly the only character who could make the phrase, "Great Scott!" trendy. There hasn't been a movie character quite like him before or since "Back to the Future" hit the big screen.

It really isn't difficult to see why "Back to the Future" is still relevant today. I know every time I'm on the expressway I feel the temptation to throw caution to the wind and gun it up to 88. If that's not relevancy, I don't know what is.