Back to the Future (1985)

Take out the DeLorean and this is a movie about a teenager desperately trying to get his own mom to stop flirting with him. That’s the actual plot. A crowd-pleaser this big runs on the most uncomfortable idea possible, and it moves so fast you just go along with it. Michael J. Fox plays Marty like a kid who’s always running late, which he is. Christopher Lloyd’s Doc Brown has the energy of a man who just licked a battery. Crispin Glover’s George McFly is the weirdest, bravest performance you’ll find in a blockbuster. Every setup in the first act pays off later, the clock tower, the flyer, the skateboard, like a magic trick designed by an accountant. It made $391.5 million worldwide on a reported $19 million budget. A 9.6 because every piece clicks, and the only thing keeping it from a perfect score is the mom situation nobody wants to bring up at dinner. $76 says you check an old family photo tonight to make sure everybody’s still in it.

What works: Every setup in the first act pays off later, and Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd play off each other like a perfect comedy duo.

What doesn’t: The whole engine is Lorraine falling for her own future son, which is played for laughs and still makes you squirm, and the Libyan terrorist subplot has aged badly.

Who it’s for: Anyone who has ever wondered what their parents were like in high school and then decided they did not want to know.