Essential Breathing: Dreaming, Time Travel, and Dad Goals

As WordPress continues to recycle old prompts, I pulled another prompt from The Coffee Monsterz Co to respond to today

Think of a movie, TV show, or book that you consume over and over again. What do you like about it?

This prompt is actually from a year and a day ago on the website, but it seemed very timely, so I figured I would use it.

Sunday was “Christmas Part Two” for Kid 2. He opened his presents, and I did everything I could to make it feel like a true Christmas morning. To be honest, I managed to convince myself it was Christmas all over again, so I must’ve done something right.

The timing of this prompt is perfect because Kid 2 asked for a lot of “physical media” this year: Blu-rays, 4K discs, and DVDs. I was able to complete the Star Trek: Lower Decks series and pick up the Back to the Future trilogy on Blu-ray. A collection of all 12 Star Wars movies is also on its way.

Star Wars: Learning How to Dream

I mention Star Wars, of course, because it is the ultimate “go-to.” Anyone who has read this blog for any decent amount of time knows how highly I think of the original film. I told Kid 2 today what I’ve said here many times over the years: “Star Wars taught me how to dream.”

Even though the movie was released when I was only three, I literally don’t remember a time when it wasn’t a part of my life. The 1977 original transcends being “just a movie.” That’s not to say it’s merely background noise—that would be a demotion. To me, Star Wars is as essential as breathing. Every now and then, I just need to immerse myself in it, listen to the dialogue, and recite the lines. I quite literally can’t imagine a time in my life when I won’t be a fan of the original Star Wars.

Back to the Future: The Perfect Film

On the other hand, Back to the Future was released when I was 11. I remember liking it then, but my appreciation has only grown over the years. As I got older and learned more about filmmaking and film appreciation, I realized what a masterpiece it actually is.

I’ve written before about how directors like Quentin Tarantino and James Gunn describe Back to the Future as “the perfect film.” They are usually referring to the pacing; there isn’t a single wasted moment or bit of filler. I talked about this in my recent review of the movie when Kid 2 and I went to go see it as part of the film’s 40th anniversary.

For my money, it covers everything: humor, romance, suspense, action, and science fiction, all rolled into one hour and 54 minutes of pure cinema magic. But most of all, it has heart. Marty McFly is a kid we can all relate to, and we’ve all known a “George” or a complicated “Lorraine” in our lives. And I can’t say enough about Thomas F. Wilson’s performance as Biff Tannen. He plays a villain with a combination of charm, humor, and an evil malevolence that he can flip like a proverbial light switch.

A New Generation of Super-Fans

I border on being a super-fan of that movie. I think one day in the near future, I will finally travel to California to visit Universal Studios and take part in some of the various Back to the Future fan fests around the country. As it is, I also attended my first performance of Back to the Future: The Musical this past November, which I wrote about here.

Something happened when Kid 2 and I went to see the 40th-anniversary screening. Something ignited in him. We’ve seen other movies in the theater—Dogman, The Minecraft Movie, things of that sort—but the theater experience for Back to the Future pulled him in completely. He’d seen it before, but I don’t know if he had ever watched it from beginning to end in one sitting. I remember him telling me afterward, “This is the best movie I’ve ever seen.”

Dad goal unlocked

This is film-making 101.

I could go on and on about Back to the Future, but I think you get the point. This movie covers the entire emotional spectrum and gives you a feel-good, happy ending. We are 40 years on from this movie, and my love and appreciation for it is only growing every day.

And now I’ve turned both my kids onto it…

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