When did this sickness begin?

I was surprised to see Back to the Future trending on Twitter the other day.  When I investigated further, I found out that Nike has apparently made the shoes with “power laces” from Back to the Future II.  Why did they decide to do this?  Michael J. Fox explained this on Letterman:

This news made me think of two things.  First, I need to get some new shoes.  Second, I love Back to the Future.  A while ago I bought the trilogy on Blu Ray, and as I watched the original 1985 film, I had an overwhelming sense of nostalgia that I meant to write about on this blog.  Like most of the ideas I have to write about, it lost out to more important things in my life, like working, tickling a 2 year old (don’t worry, I’m legally alowed to), eating, or just sitting on my ass watching some sort of brain cell killing shite on tv.  However, these new shoes, have brought back the nostaligia that I thought I’d share with you.

I love that moment when someone is getting to know me and they realize that the frame of reference they had of me as a “movie buff,” was completely wrong.  They don’t understand that they have actually just met one of their future lifelines when they get a movie question they don’t know on some gameshow.  The look of horror, mixed with bewilderment when I start talking about Directors of Photography and Art Direction inevitably leads to the question, “How did you get this way?”  Well, maybe not that exact question, but you get the idea.

I usually say something like, “I don’t know, all the other useful hobbies were taken.”  It’s true, if I were a train on Thomas and Friends, I would be sad, because I would not be very useful (that was for all the parents reading).  Sure, if I happen to be walking down the street, and Cash Cab pulls up and the person asks me which actor wore the Darth Vader suit in A New Hope, I will be able to help you win some money.  But, if your Cash Cab pulls over because something’s wrong with the carba-whatever, I’ll only be able to lend you my phone to call triple A.

So, how did I get this way, and what the hell does this have to do with Back to the Future?  Well, I would say that Back to the Future was my gateway to geekery.  Here’s the story of how I saw the film, back in 1985:

I remember sitting in the car as my Mom went into the Okey Dokey down the street from my Grandma’s house in Freeport, IL.  I was very excited because my Mom was taking me to some kids movie I wanted to see.  Now, this is where the memory is pretty hazy, because I do not recall what movie had my attention at the time.  (I hope it wasn’t a Care Bears movie).  When my Mom got back into the car with the local paper, she had to inform me that the film I wanted to see was no longer playing.  I remember feeling pretty down about this, and my Mom suggested we see a different film, and she suggested Back to the Future.  I had not heard of it, but the description my Mom read to me sounded fine and I remember, quite vividly, seeing this photo in the paper:

I had heard of Michael J. Fox, and look!  There’s a car, and some fire, and he has sunglasses!

To say that I loved the movie is quite the understatement.  My 9 year old self thought I had just seen the greatest film ever created.  It was thrilling, funny, and for the first time, I felt like I loved a “grown up” film.  Later that year when the Academy Awards were on television, I turned to my Mom and said, “Do you think Back to the Future will win Best Picture?”  She had to inform me that my beloved film was not even nominated, and the news completely puzzled me.  How can the greatest film of all time, NOT be nominated for Best Picture?  I remember trying to figure out what was considered an “awards” type film, and one that was just…popular.

I’ve obviously seen the film quite a few times since then.  I’m certainly not as gung-ho about the sequels, although I’m in the minority of actually liking the 3rd one better than the 2nd.  But they both are miles away from the original (how could they not be without Crispin Glover!).

So, that’s my story.  That’s how this sickness began.  I owe it all to my Mom making a random suggestion in an Okey Dokey parking lot in 1985.  What’s your gateway “drug” to movies?

Cory