My Thoughts on "Still" the Michael J. Fox Documentary

Well, well, well. If it isn’t my Back to the Future obsession rolling back in for the past month. It all started because I finally picked up a copy of Michael J. Fox’s newest memoir Future Boy, which was Michael telling the story of what it was like to get the role of Marty McFly. It was absolutely incredible hearing about how my favorite movie was made, and there were so many little details about filming and behind the scenes that I enjoyed learning about!


Like, for example, for the first half of his time filming Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox was shooting the movie exclusively at night because he was also still filming Family Ties at the same exact time! So he would wake up, film Family Ties in the morning, drive 45 minutes to the set of Back to the Future, film all night, and go to sleep for a few hours and do it all again the next day.


He also shared some of the behind the scenes of what it was like in regards to creating the character of Marty, such as discussing with costume design about his sneakers, and how they ended up using Michael’s favorite pair of Nikes for Marty’s shoes in the film. And also other little fun facts too, like how Christopher Lloyd was afraid of heights, but still had to film that clock tower scene!


I am not sure why it took me so long to get around to learning so much about the film that changed my life, but it got me into a little deep dive lately. And that reminded me that a few years back, Apple TV actually made a documentary with Michael called Still. I finally watched it the other night, and it was incredibly moving.


I loved how they intertwined real clips of Michael, along with clips of an actor from behind to showcase his story in a very theatrical way. I also liked that both the Future Boy book and the Still documentary had some things in common, but how they also were still different enough to give some unique perspective each time about Michael’s story.


I loved learning about what it was like for Michael to move to L.A., and how he literally was stealing jelly packets to get something to eat before he was getting gigs, only to then have his whole life changed when he began filming Family Ties. And how his life changed even more when he finally got the role of Marty! It’s just absolutely incredible.


I would highly recommend both the book, and the documentary on Apple TV if you love Back to the Future and/or Michael J. Fox. Especially the documentary. It was so moving, and at times even made me tear up. To see him go from struggling actor, to movie star, to father, and then learning and dealing with his Parkinson’s diagnosis was so interesting, and it was so wonderful that Michael was willing to share that story with everyone. Michael J. Fox is such a gift in this world, and we are so lucky to have him and what he has shared artistically with all of us.


Have you watched the Still documentary, or read any of Michael’s autobiographies? What did you think? Feel free to leave some thoughts in the comments! I would love to see your opinions!
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