MovieChat Forums > Back to the Future (1985) Discussion > Other Things That Could Have/Should Have...

Other Things That Could Have/Should Have Changed....

posted 6 years ago by Sandman81 (1510)
11 replies | jump to latest

The McFly's house. We have to figure that George has a much better job and more money in this timeline, so wouldn't they have a nicer house in a better neighborhood.

Marty's room. Even if they were still in that house, Marty probably wouldn't have recognized his own room. Since he grew up in a very different, and probably more positive environment, his personality would be different (like his brother and sister) and he would have different things around his room. Plus his parents had more money, so he probably would have had better stuff.

The ages, number of, and possibly even the names of the McFly kids. Its been discussed on other threads that wouldn't they have considered naming their eldest son Marty or Calvin. Of course we don't know the reasoning for going with Dave/David. Could be a family name. But the possibility of his middle name changing, or Marty's name now being Calvin Klein McFly exist.

Marvin Berry keeping the idea of Johnny B. Goode for himself.

Marty dating Jennifer. Again, different childhood environment, different personality. Maybe they aren't as compatible this time around.

[–] PaladinNJ (21772) 6 years ago

Movie Magic preserved his family

[–] Stratego (31072) 6 years ago

Marty's siblings were succesful, but still seemed to be living at home???

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Well , in 2018 thats probly more likely, given the ridiculous house prices in a lot of areas

[–] Stratego (31072) 6 years ago

True, but it's just weird still having them live there when showing the contrast.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2412) 5 years ago

They're in California...sky high prices. If they live where they are the can instead spend money on other things.

[–] Sandman81 (1510) 6 years ago

Wasn't Marty's sister wearing a sweatshirt that said "Class of '84" in the picture Marty had? If that's true then she's only two years out of high school so it wouldn't be that strange for her to live at home. Not likely that she would have a great job yet, but maybe she had an internship or an entry level position at an office.

Dave would be little more strange since we know he has an office job and is older. But I knew guys from that time who lived at home until they got married in their mid to late 20's. Or maybe he didn't live there and was waiting for his parents to get back so they can go to brunch (end of Part III).

[–] Stratego (31072) 6 years ago

If she were succesful, wouldn't she be at college or something? I know lots of young adults still live at home, but it wouldn't exactly be a prime example of a succesful life. I always imagine they're just visiting.

[–] strntz (12773) 6 years ago

Heheh.. my youngest son is 28 and still living home.

He's saving his money so that's OK with me. Once he finds someone to settle down with he'll move. In the meantime, he's welcome to stay.

[–] kwestmo (4385) 6 years ago

I asked the same questions when I saw the film back in the day. As a would-be writer I understood it would be a whole another movie if Marty came back to his house and another family lived there. He would have to search for his family and then his life would be radically different ( as you said). That would actually be an unhappy ending. As Hitchcock once said: "It's just a movie."

[–] kwestmo (4385) 6 years ago

I asked the same questions when I saw the film back in the day. As a would-be writer I understood it would be a whole another movie if Marty came back to his house and another family lived there. He would have to search for his family and then his life would be radically different ( as you said). That would be one unhappy ending. As Hitchcock once said: "It's just a movie."

[–] strntz (12773) 6 years ago

The McFly's house. We have to figure that George has a much better job and more money in this timeline, so wouldn't they have a nicer house in a better neighborhood.

Not necessarily.

Original Timeline George probably extended himself to buy that house and lived month to month to keep it - perhaps even spinning his wheels with an "interest only" loan. He even had to scrape together that crappy small screen portable tv to put on top of the old console tv.

New Timeline George was smarter and didn't buy a bigger house just because he could afford it. He just furnished it nicer and took advantage of the lower taxes, insurance, HVAC costs etc. that a more modest home would provide. With the extra money, he could better provide for his children's education, buy a BMW and apparently buying Marty that wimpy pickup.

My wife and I have a very nice home in a suburb, but we could have "afforded" a much larger house (according to our mortgage broker) We didn't. Spent that money on putting our two sons through college and paying our mortgage off 8 years early.