One creepy moment in Back to the Future to be fun and a good addition to the sci-fi genre, as its premise and memorable characters help keep the now well-known trope of time travel and all of its issues fresh. Its unique aesthetic and iconic lines also help keep the film in the minds of modern audiences, even with some of its more odd additions to its plot.
The story of Marty's ill-fated adventure from 1985 to 1955 hits most of the classic time-travel beats: him almost erasing himself by preventing his parents from meeting, his attempting to not share anachronistic information, and his ultimate return to his own time. However, one aspect of the film is both well-known and still very uncomfortable today: the crush Marty's mother Lorraine develops on him. There are several moments between these Back to the Future characters that become awkward due to this, but one hard-to-spot moment between Lorraine and Marty adds even more discomfort to this plotline.
Lorraine Checks Marty Out In A Hard-To-Spot Back To The Future Moment
Lorraine Spots A Glimpse Of Marty's Underwear
In a difficult-to-spot moment in Back to the Future, Lorraine checks Marty out, adding another small beat to the uncomfortable crush storyline. Marty finds himself in Lorraine's room after he rescues his young father from a nearly fatal car crash, awakening with shock to see his almost unrecognizable mother tending to him. Marty continues to flounder in confusion as Lorraine tries to soothe him, clearly already infatuated with the odd man she rescued. Marty ends up falling from the bed with Lorraine scrambling after him.
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Lorraine's mother then calls for her, causing her to rush around and toss Marty's pants at him. He appears in his underwear for a moment, and audiences can see in the reflection of Lorraine's mirror that she stops and checks him out, leaving the room with a thrilled look on her face. This Back to the Future detail is hard to spot as the scene's beats go so quickly, but it is another indicator that Marty's actions have thrown things very off course in ways that prevent the film from fully aging well.
Back To The Future Has Aged Well, But Marty McFly's Relationship With The Young Lorraine Has Not
Marty And Lorraine's Relationship Does Too Good Of A Job Making Audiences Uncomfortable
While many aspects of Back to the Future have aged well, Marty's relationship with the young Lorraine has not despite the fact that the discomfort was intentional. The scenes between Marty and Lorraine can make Back to the Future hard to watch as Marty continuously fails to make his mother fall for his father instead. Even though Marty is clearly as uncomfortable as audiences are meant to be by Lorraine's advances, these small moments between the two push the discomfort too far, counteracting with the film's otherwise seamless integration into the modern zeitgeist.
As it is a pivotal part of the story, it gets pushed very heavily, making the deliberate discomfort a bit too strong in the otherwise lighthearted film.
Though many other concerns about the film's problematic elements can be somewhat eased due to Marty's presence in the 1950s, this particular storyline continues to be a point of contention. As it is a pivotal part of the story, it gets pushed very heavily, making the deliberate discomfort a bit too strong in the otherwise lighthearted film. Despite this, Back to the Future continues to be a classic in the sci-fi genre as more and more projects use it as a template for how disastrous time travel can truly be.
Back to the Future
- Release Date
- July 3, 1985
- Runtime
- 116 minutes
- Director
- Robert Zemeckis
Cast
Michael J. FoxMarty McFly
Emmett Brown
WHERE TO WATCH
Back to the Future follows teenager Marty McFly as he is inadvertently sent back to 1955, where he disrupts his parents' meeting. With the assistance of eccentric inventor Doc Brown, Marty must restore the timeline by ensuring his parents fall in love and find a way back to 1985.
- Writers
- Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
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