Back to the Future is the 123rd episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Dan Murrell, and Andy Signore. It parodies the sci-fi comedy Back to the Future film trilogy, including Back to the Future (1985), Back to the Future Part II (1986) and Back to the Future Part III (1990). It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It was published on October 21, 2015, which was declared "Back to the Future Day" in reference to the date Marty McFly arrives in 2015 in the second film. It is 4 minutes 57 seconds long. It has been viewed over 5.2 million times.
Watch Honest Trailers - Back to the Future on YouTube
"To celebrate the original's 30th anniversary, revisit the creepiest blockbuster ever, for a story about Marty planning to molest his mom so his dad can have sex with her, except his mom is totally into it, which means her future son looks identical to the guy she had a crush on in high school, and her attempted rapist does chores around the house." ~ Honest Trailers - Back to the Future
Script[]
(multiple comments requesting the trailer pop up)
Marty: Oh, this is heavy.
From Steven Spielberg... 's buddy (Robert Zemeckis), comes the blockbuster hit that stands the test of time, the sequel that launched a million B.S. Facebook posts, and the third one.
The Back to the Future Trilogy
Doc: Great Scott...!
Prepare for a trilogy of era-defining films, that made everyone who wasn't Black want to go back in time...
Lou: A colored mayor. That'll be the day.
3-D: --beat it, spook. This don't concern you.
...featuring the one where they travel to the past, beat up the bully, fix the future, and set up the sequel (Back to the Future); the one where they travel to the past, beat up the bully, fix the future, and set up the sequel (Back to the Future Part II); and the one where they travel to the past, beat up the bully, fix the future, and leave open the possibility for a sequel. (Back to the Future Part III) Man, if you marathon these things, they start to get really repetitive.
Marty: Mom? Is that you?
Biff/Buford: Hey, McFly!
Biff/Griff/Buford: Chicken?
Old Biff: There's something very familiar about all this.
Journey to Hill Valley, a place where the gene pool is so shallow, that everyone's ancestor looks the same as their descendants (shows Thomas F. Wilson as Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen and Biff Tannen, James Tolkan as Marshal James Strickland and Stanford S. Strickland, and Michael J. Fox as Seamus McFly and Marty McFly), and meet Marty McFly, your average 80's teenager who just wants to play guitar...
Marty: Rock 'n' roll.
...hang from cars, and not get clock-blocked.
Clock Tower Lady: (interrupting Marty and Jennifer as they lean in to kiss) Save the clock tower!
When Marty's handed the keys to a time-traveling DeLorean, he'll journey from 1985 to 1955, to 1985, to 2015, to a dystopian 1985, to 1955, to 1885, then back to 1985, all in the span of about a couple of weeks. Great Scott, that would be a mindf*ck!
But Marty's not doing it alone; along for the ride through the fourth dimension is Dr. Emmett Brown, an old man who lives alone, and whose only friend is a teenage boy. Huh... He's a mad scientist who steals nuclear weapons from terrorists...
Doc: They wanted me to build them a bomb, so I took their plutonium and, in turn, gave them a shiny bomb casing full of used pinball machine parts!
...tests dangerous experiments on animals...
Doc: Have a good trip, Einstein. Watch your head. (closes the car door on Einstein)
...and chose to build a time machine out of one of the most unreliable cars of all time. (montage of Marty failing to start the DeLorean)
Doc: Damn! Gotta fix that thing.
To celebrate the original's 30th anniversary, revisit the creepiest blockbuster ever, for a story about Marty planning to molest his mom so his dad can have sex with her, except his mom is totally into it, which means her future son looks identical to the guy she had a crush on in high school, and her attempted rapist does chores around the house.
George: --if it wasn't for him...
Lorraine: We never would have fallen in love.
It's still not as creepy as Doc's kid from the end of the third one.
Doc: (as Verne gestures towards his crotch) It means your future hasn't been written yet!
What is he doing?!
But it's not just the original you loved; it's also... parts of the other ones, like... uh, the, uh... the--the train, and the version of 2015 that got so many things right about today, from the endless 3D sequels (shows Marty screaming in fear as a holographic shark approaches him), to FaceTime...
Fujitsu: (through a video feed) MCFLY!!
...to the 80's nostalgia...
"Ronald Reagan" Video Waiter: Welcome to the Café '80s...
...you'll almost forgive them for tricking you into thinking hoverboards were real.
Robert Zemeckis: They've been around for years; it's just that... parents groups had not let the toy manufacturers make them, and we got our hands on some... and we put them in the movie.
Stop trolling, Zemeckis!
So return to a simpler time, when this was the future...
Marty: (after trying on a pair of self-tying shoes) Power laces. All right.
...this was the present (shows George laughing at an old sitcom), and this was terrorism...
Doc: The Libyans!
Libyan Terrorist: (shouts in Arabic while driving a Volkswagen Type 2)
...as you try not to panic when you realize you're as far away from the first movie's release as Marty was from 1955. Wow, I am old.
Starring: Rick & Morty (Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown); Donald Trump (Thomas F. Wilson as Biff Tannen); The Three Stooges... Hey, That's Billy Zane! (Billy Zane as Match, Jeffrey Jay Cohen as Skinhead, and Casey Siemaszko as 3-D); Crisping Lover (Crispin Glover as George McFly); MILF (Lea Thompson as Lorraine Baines McFly); Legit Musician Cameos (Huey Lewis as Battle of the Bands Judge, Flea as Douglas J. Needles, and ZZ Top as Festival Band); and Hot Car Time Machine (the DMC DeLorean).
Doc & Marty's Excellent Adventure
Honest title for Back to the Future - Doc & Marty's Excellent Adventure. Title design by Robert Holtby.
You know what? The timeline continuity really holds up, until they throw it all away for that Chuck Berry joke!
Marvin Berry: (to Chuck) You know that new sound you're looking for?
I mean, if Marty changed the past, that means he never traveled back in time, but if he inspired Chuck Berry to write "Johnny B. Goode", that means he always went back, and then-- A-Augh, my head! I hate time travel!
Trivia[]
- This Honest Trailer published on October 21, 2015, which is the date Marty McFly arrives in the future in Back to the Future Part II. This meant the Honest Trailer was released on a Wednesday instead of the usual Tuesday.
- Honest Trailers have been produced for several other time travel movies including Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Star Trek (2009), X-Men: Days of Future Past, Happy Death Day and Doctor Who. For more, see list of Honest Trailers.
- An Honest Trailer Commentary for this episode was recorded and was available on the Screen Junkies Plus until the website/app was discontinued. Screen Junkies don't currently have any way of releasing the video.
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - Back to the Future has a 98.7% approval rating from YouTube viewers. Bustle said the Honest Trailer was "nothing short of hilarious," and "the team over at Screen Junkies are nothing short of legendary — so, it shouldn't surprise anyone that their honest trailer for the Back to the Future trilogy is amazing." In the same article, Bustle also noted "the repetition in the Back to the Future movies is most certainly purposeful, and Screen Junkies ribbing it is so damn endearing." Slate also highlighted the Honest Trailer for pointing out how repetitive the franchise is. Slash Film said the Honest Trailer was mostly "light-hearted jabs" and remarked that Screen Junkies "doesn’t really have much to nitpick on the filmmaking side of things. Instead, they turn their focus on how the sequels are just a repeat of the same formula and point out some of the uncomfortable racism that exists in the past, not to mention the incestuous plot point between Marty McFly and his mom."
Nerdist wrote "one of the best jokes in this week’s Honest Trailer blames the trilogy’s use of Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Tom Wilson, and James Tolkan as their own ancestors as evidence of Hill Valley’s shallow gene pool. It also calls out Doc Brown for building a time machine out of one of the most unreliable cars of all time." In addition, Nerdist also appreciated Screen Junkies' comment about how creepy the blockbuster is because of Lorraine's lust for her son and the continued presence of her attempted rapist in the household years later.
In contrast, CinemaBlend said the Honest Trailer was "really mean," and that releasing it on "Back to the Future Day" was "like telling a kid on his birthday that he’s failed so miserably, he has to repeat a grade." In addition, CinemaBlend took issue with Screen Junkies' criticism of the incest plot, writing "as with every Honest Trailer, sometimes they are just nitpicking details that your everyday audience member is going to be able to overlook in the name of it being, you know, a movie. Like, for instance, the incest claims between Marty (Michael J. Fox) and his mom (Lea Thompson). It’s integral to the plot!"
Production credits[]
Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - Back to the Future
Voiceover Narration by Jon Bailey
Title design by Robert Holtby
Series Created by Andy Signore & Brett Weiner
Written by Spencer Gilbert, Dan Murrell, and Andy Signore
Edited by Anthony Falleroni and Dan Murrell
External links []
- The Back To The Future Honest Trailer Is Really Mean On This Special Day - CinemaBlend article
- The 'Back To The Future' Honest Trailer Is Something Every Fan Needs To Watch — VIDEO - Bustle article
- Travel Back to the Future Again and Again With The Latest Honest Trailer - Slate article
- NEW HONEST TRAILER DOUBLES BACK ON THE BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY - Nerdist article
- Honest Trailer: Back To The Future Trilogy - Geeks of Doom article
- ‘Back to the Future’ Honest Trailer: There’s Something Very Familiar About All This - Slash Film article