Broke My Heart

One of the great movie experiences of my life occurred while watching 'Back To The Future' for the first time. It was just about the most perfect movie I can remember ever seeing. Everything wrapped up so neatly and nicely and between the beginning and the end there was this great time travel family adventure. Michael J. Fox was the perfect teen hero saving his parent's marriage and the life of his friend and mentor, Doc. Brown. From casting to props to that terrific last minute save that got Marty back from the past - I found it thrilling. Even 25 years later the movie stands up.

Tonight I watched Michael on 'The Good Wife' playing a lawyer with Parkinson's who defended a corporation that made a bad drug. It was so depressing watching how hard he was trying to do what he loved - act - and how much his conditioned had advanced since I last saw him do anything on TV.

If you remember the 80s like I do, you remember what a force of nature he was. 'Family Ties' was a great sitcom and he was the energy that propelled that show. There was nobody like the character Alex P. Keaton. He was iconic. He had such a natural style and comfortably wore any role he was placed in.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I admired his courage. I admired the way he has been able to find work that incorporates his condition into the character he is playing. I still admire him. Anyone else would have hidden his disability from the world but he has embraced it and became a poster boy for everyone who struggles daily with medical issues. That makes him a hero to me.