Film Review: STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE (2023): An Informative Look at the Life of One of the Most Popular Actors from the 1980’s and 90’s

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie Review

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Davis Guggenheim, written by Michael J. Fox and starring Michael J. Fox, Tracy Pollan, Danny Irizarry, Hannah Galway, David Diamond, Shayn Walker, Angela Galanopoulos, Michael McDonald and Bradley Peters.

When Back to the Future came out in 1985, I attended a screening with the day camp I attended and realized how people my age (at the time) adored the charisma of Michael J. Fox while watching the movie. For me, his personality was addictive and I wanted to be just like him. Not sure if it was Fox himself or Marty McFly, his character from the film, that won me over, but still. So trying to impress a girl in fifth grade, I started riding a skateboard around her house. This is how I was introduced to Michael J. Fox. Sure, I’d seen him on “Family Ties” where he got his big break. But, Marty McFly was a character who transformed the world and people loved him enough to watch Fox play the role two more times. In Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, we are reminded of the sad diagnosis Fox received and kept secret for many years during the height of his career. Fox was a legend for playing Marty McFly and is now one for his fight to raise money and awareness regarding Parkinson’s disease which is what he started having symptoms of in 1990 and was later diagnosed with.

Davis Guggenheim directed Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie which feels like a documentary at times but, at others, plays like a history lesson on all the great roles Fox played throughout the years he was truly relevant as an actor in Hollywood. He appeared in one of my top 100 films of all-time in the late 1980’s, Casualties of War, which was a rare dramatic role for the performer. He was known mostly for his lighter work, though, and that sense of humor he had would be impossible to duplicate. Think of the scene in The Secret of My Success where he is half naked on an elevator (don’t ask, if you’ve seen the film you know why) and Fox’s character puts on a hysterical pose. Nobody but Fox could have played that scene as hilariously as Fox did.

Guggenheim documents the rise of Fox as he fought for success at a young age. He was reeled into show biz but didn’t make the kind of money he needed to support himself until “Family Ties” came along. Then, Eric Stoltz was kicked off Back to the Future, they started the movie from scratch and Fox took over Stoltz’s role, and the rest is history.

In this new picture, there is also an exploration of Fox’s love for his wife, Tracy Pollan who he met on “Family Ties” then later appeared in a movie alongside her. They fell in love and Pollan promised him “in sickness and in health” that she would love him, and when Parkinson’s hit, it was a promise she kept.

This new film shows how Back to the Future catapulted Fox to fame as Siskel & Ebert loved it. However, when he made movies like Life with Mikey and For Love or Money, Siskel & Ebert weren’t as kind. Fox was struggling with the fact that he couldn’t make them like Back to the Future anymore because he was grappling with his own personal difficulties. But, Fox had some moderate success back on television with “Spin City,” had a juicy part in another of my top 100 films, The American President, and ultimately started to write about his struggles with Parkinson’s disease.

Ultimately, Guggenheim’s film is so absorbing because it shows how relevant Fox was at the time of his most popular role (Marty McFly) and how the actor is still relevant now as he gets up and lives his life despite all the physical and emotional pains he has suffered and continues to manage. Fox humorously dealt with his diagnosis on talk shows by finding comedy in the situation which is evidenced by his responses to talk show hosts’ questions.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is about an actor who could never stay “still” when he was young. He’d work two jobs and keep moving and wouldn’t stop working as a performer until he had to stop because of his physical diagnosis. But, he really didn’t stop living. He continued to be a family man and an advocate for Parkinson’s research. Fox is a fighter and someone who doesn’t give up despite the odds.

In the end, Guggenheim has also made a love story. When Tracy Pollan thought Fox was a jerk when working with him, it was a wake-up call to the actor. Fox was never really an “a-hole” if you ask me. He just sometimes ran away with himself. If you asked me now, if I still wanted to be like Marty McFly, I’d say ‘yes’ because McFly was smart, funny and confident. Fox, himself, is still all these things. He hasn’t let Parkinson’s defeat him. Guggenheim’s film is well worth seeing and an example of a life that has changed the world for the better. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is a great picture.

Rating: 9.5/10

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