The complete Back to the Future experience...

Apologies for the quietness on my front! Sadly it's been a mixture of studying for an oh-so-important test *pause for Ooo's* ...and also slight writers block. Lucky for you my fine friends, I had no trouble writing about this gem, as it sits quite comfortably in my Top 10.

On a chilly Thursday evening, with little to do but wait for Friday to come, I headed down to my local Odeon to catch the last night of the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary re-release. Considering it served a long stint in the ‘theatres’ back in 1985, there was a pretty decent turnout. I saw Gremlins a few years back and that didn’t get anywhere near as much of a reception! It was me, my boyfriend and, well, lots of empty seats. It just proves what a massive fan-base BTTF has, even a quarter of a century down the line.

After a multitude of trailers, the film finally begun its iconic story. Although you know what's coming around every corner, I still found myself grinning constantly throughout; all I can think is that the film was somehow further intensified by the cinematic experience as a whole. To be clichéd, everything was bigger, better and a million times more fantasmical.

For those of you who HAVEN'T yet seen the BTTF franchise, I will firstly say: “seriously, where the hell have you been for the last 25 years?! Do you live under a rock? Are you deaf and dumb??” - followed swiftly by this brief synopsis...

Unlikely duo, nutty professor Doc Brown and slacker student Marty McFly, team up in this seemingly typical 80s film to attack the audience with what can only be described as sheer time travel immensity. When Marty accidentally propels himself back to 1985 in a time-travelling DeLoreon, he finds himself dazed, confused and colliding with young versions of his teacher, his parents and lifelong bully Biff. Marty enlists the help of a youthful-looking Doc, but makes a ripple in the process, jeopardising the future of his family, and himself. The race is on for Marty to return everything back to normality in time to catch a bolt of lightning 'back to the future'. That's all you’re getting summary-wise because a) I don't want to ruin it and b) I feel slightly ashamed of you if you haven't seen it already. Tut tut. I may have to honestly reconsider our friendship.

The re-release achieves a great sense of familiarity and fun, coming together in the cinema to create a masterpiece that has proven that it can outlive the 80s and will be relevant for many years to come.

I would 100% recommend reliving this incredible experience on the big screen, it really puts watching it on any old bog standard TV to shame...even if you do have an overhyped Blu-ray system with glorified surround sound. It just isn’t the same, friend. So, get your glad rags on (by that I mean your 'life preserver'), crack out those Huey Lewis cassette tapes and brush the dust off your flux capacitor; because this rollercoaster definitely deserves a second ride. Gazillion/10.

P.S. On the back of the re-release, the legendary Michael J. Fox rebooted the original Back to the Future teaser trailer. I was so excited, I had to include it in this blog. So here you go:

A dinner party that will put ‘Come Dine With Me’ to shame

Adding to an extensive library of buddy comedies, primarily involving the awesome Paul Rudd, Dinner for Schmucks provides a cringeworthy and tickling bromance that offers a bizarre take on how to get a promotion.

Job-hungry Financial Analyst, Tim (Rudd), is fighting for a long-awaited promotion when his boss reveals that the only thing standing between him and a new office is a carefully-selected ignoramus. Every month, Tim’s boss hosts a ‘Dinner for Winners’ wherein the higher-level businessmen within the company bring along their very own simpleton to the meal, the best winning a prize for being the most ‘extraordinary’ guest. Enter idiotic buffoon and mouse taxidermist, Barry (Carell). Desperate to secure his promotion, Tim immediately goes on the hunt for the perfect guest, accidently crashing into Barry on the way – literally. Upon realising that Barry is a little bit right of crazy, Tim immediately befriends him and extends an invite to his special dinner party. Starved of affection and friends, Barry is quick to accept. Unfortunately for Tim, Barry is hoping for a lot more than dinner.

With the help of IRS mastermind Therman (Galifianakis) and obscure animal artist Kieran (Jemaine Clement), Barry unintentionally does his utmost to ruin the life that Tim has worked so hard to maintain. Not only does Barry mess up important client meetings, wreck Tim’s apartment and accidently flag him for a tax inspection, but he also becomes responsible for the swift departure of Tim’s beautiful girlfriend, Julie.

As Tim fights to put his world to rights, he soon realises that Barry was just naively trying to be helpful. Even after having a lovers tiff, the pair still decides to go to the dinner, even if it will humiliate Barry. The dinner itself doesn’t actually happen until the very end of the film.  Each abnormal guest puts on a show, varying from a nutty ventriloquist to a blind swordsman and an animal psychic. Barry showcases his talents by using his mice to demonstrate how mankind has evolved throughout the centuries. As Tim sees the heartfelt display that Barry has put on with his mice, he suddenly develops a conscience and tells the truth to all the ‘special’ guests that are being poked fun of. Although he wrecks the party in doing this, Tim is clearly happy with the prospect of having a clear conscience and also gaining a new friend – which is what a true bromance is about. Unfortunately the dinner offered a rather underwhelming climax, with the jokes sparsely distributed and the cringeworthy nature of the film so overdone by this point, that it is almost frustrating.

Sadly, what looked like a winning combination on paper fell to pieces on screen. I don’t think this was at all down to the acting however; I stand firm on my love for Galifianakis, Carell and of course Rudd. In this case the script failed the actors, providing jokes that were tired and repetitive and at some points, completely unfunny. Having said that, Paul Rudd plays his usual role of cringey wet-wipe well and Zach Galifianakis provides the most laughs with his mind-control antics. Dinner for Schmucks is not even close to being on the same scale as Role Models, I Love You Man and Anchorman, but the spirit is still there; 6/10.