Breaking out in the early 1980s with the hit sitcom Family Ties, Michael J. Fox has had a successful career that has spanned four decades. He has starred in numerous television shows and movies, and has also written four books about his life and career. Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991 at only 29 years old, Fox has been an advocate for the disease and has devoted much of his life to Parkinson's research. He even founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation dedicated to Parkinson's research in 2000, two years after publicly announcing his disease. He is both a talented actor and a family man as he has been married to his wife Tracy Pollan for almost 35 years and is a father to four children.
Fox is inarguably best known for his iconic role as Marty McFly in the equally iconic Back to the Future trilogy where he plays a high school teenager who ends up time traveling with a disgraced scientist. After proving to the film industry that he was capable of leading a movie on his own, Fox went on to star in many other films in the '80s and '90s before settling back into television roles in the 2000s and 2010s. His successful career is evidence that not only is he a talented actor and author, but also a determined individual who has not let the obstacles life has thrown at him deter him from achieving his goals. Here are nine of Michael J. Fox's best movies, ranked:
9 The Secret of My Success (1987)
Perhaps not one of his most popular movies, The Secret of My Success follows a well-educated young man named Brantley Foster from Kansas. After quickly finding out that making it big in New York is not an easy task, he visits his distant uncle, who happens to run a multi-million dollar company. He gets a job working in the mail room but after realizing how poorly the company is being run, decides to create a position under a fake name to influence the company's business decisions.
At this point in time, MJF had mostly played teenagers, despite being 26 years old at the time of this movie's release. It's a nice change of scenery for him to finally get to play a young adult in the workforce rather than high school kid. The movie itself is nothing special, but Fox's energetic portrayal of a young man desperate to climb the corporate ladder is entertaining enough.
8 Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Picking up directly where its predecessor left off, Back to the Future II sees Marty and Doc, along with Marty's girlfriend Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue), travel forward in time rather than backward to the year 2015. They must stop Marty's future son from getting into a fight that would cause him to go to jail, but when things go awry, Marty must once again travel back to 1955 to fix 1985, without changing what he fixed during his first trip to the past.
It may not capture the same charm and wonder that the first movie provided, but it certainly delivered on the laughs and the excitement. In addition to Marty, MJF plays his future daughter, son, and his future self this time around, making for some hilariously weird moments when they are in 2015. He also has to watch his own back when he goes back to 1955 because he can't let that Marty see this Marty without running the risk of disrupting his future and his family's future. It's delightfully cheesy.
7 Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
A young bulldog puppy named Chance (Michael J. Fox), a Himalayan cat named Sassy (Sally Field), and a wise golden retriever named Shadow (Done Ameche) are left behind when their family goes on vacation. Unsure of what happened, the three of them embark on a long journey across the Sierra Nevada to reunite with their family. Meanwhile, the humans are searching for their beloved pets as well.
MJF is part of the voice talent in this film as the vibrant puppy Chance, and he channels the same energy used in his live-action roles into the heart of this sweet pup. Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey is a heartwarming tale about the loyalty that animals have for their humans, and the love that humans have for their pets. It is almost guaranteed to make any pet parent shed a tear.
6 Casualties of War (1989)
During the Vietnam War, Private Max Erikkson clashes with Sergeant Tony Meserve (Sean Penn) when Meserve orders the abduction of a young Vietnamese woman to be used as a sex slave. Erikkson refuses to take part in torturing the woman, leaving him an outsider among his own squad. When the woman is killed, Erikkson is determined to ensure that justice is served.
This is quite a different role for MJF. Up until this point, he had mostly been seen in family-friendly movies or comedies. He got to showcase his acting chops here, proving that he was capable of more serious dramatic work in addition to comedy and adventure. Casualties of War is not an easy watch, and you sympathize with his character while simultaneously being frustrated at him for not doing more to stop these soldiers from harming this innocent woman.
5 Doc Hollywood (1991)
A hotshot rookie with his sights set on fame and success heads west to Los Angeles for a new job opportunity. While on the road, he gets into a car accident that leaves him stranded in a small rural town in the middle of nowhere. Forced by the local officials to provide community service while waiting for his car to be fixed, he starts to become attached to the people of this little roadside town.
If you were thinking about the Disney and Pixar movie Cars while reading that description, you wouldn't be wrong. Doc Hollywood essentially shares the same plot as Cars, with the only major difference being that one is about people and one is about talking cars. Ben Stone is a bit different from other characters he has played, so we get to see him be more self-serving and unlikable in the beginning. Ben has to learn that he is not the center of the universe, and that just because some people don't care about material things, doesn't mean they are less than anyone else. The movie is an underrated dramedy that more people should give a try.
4 Bright Lights, Big CIty (1988)
Disillusioned writer Jamie Conway seeks solace in cocaine and the nightclub scene in New York City to cope with the death of his mother and his wife leaving him. With his hard-partying friend Tad (Kiefer Sutherland) tagging along each night they go out, Jamie finds it increasingly difficult to function at his job as a fact-checker for a literary magazine.
Bright Lights, Big City is a stylish film with an interesting score, but it mostly coasts on Fox's strong performance. He convincingly portrays someone clearly struggling with addiction but who also refutes any acknowledgment that he has a problem. His life slowly spirals as his ability to function day-to-day is impacted by his nights out partying that only encourage his bad habits.
3 Back to the Future Part III (1990)
The third and final entry in the beloved Back to the Future trilogy sees Marty McFly traveling back in time to 1885 where he must save Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd). Left without any fuel for the DeLorean, the two must figure out a way to escape the old west before Doc is murdered by Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen. The old west setting of Back to the Future Part III is a welcome change of scenery from the previous two installments that shows our time-traveling hero live out most kids' cowboy dreams. MJF is as charming as ever in his final outing as Marty McFly and gave fans a satisfying conclusion to one of the most loved trilogies of all time.
2 Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
Milo James Thatch, the grandson of renowned researcher Thaddeus Thatch, is recruited by a friend of his grandfather's to lead a crew of explorers to through the Atlantic Ocean in search of the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Atlantis: The Lost Empire is one of the best Disney movies of the 2000s and, really, one of Disney's best movies in general. The voice work MJF does for Milo makes the shy, awkward tendencies of the character even more realistic by giving Milo an almost timid voice to a man who is striving to be taken seriously. The animation is beautiful, the story is engaging, and all the characters are interesting in their own ways.
1 Back to the Future (1985)
The movie that earned Michael J. Fox a spot in Hollywood, Back to the Future follows Marty McFly's first time travel adventure in Doc Brown's DeLorean time machine. He is accidentally sent back 30 years to 1955 when his parents were teenagers themselves. In order to make sure that he doesn't impact the future by showing up in the past, he must make certain that his parents meet and fall in love at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. Otherwise, he and his siblings will cease to exist.
This is the movie that made Hollywood realize that MJF was a capable actor and capable of leading a movie. Before this, he was mostly known for his role as Alex P. Keaton in the sitcom Family Ties. MJF was the first choice for Marty McFly, but scheduling conflicts due to his commitment to the show hindered him from accepting. Eric Stoltz was then cast as Marty and even started filming the movie before he and Robert Zemeckis realized he just wasn't right for the role. Luckily, by that point MJF had enough room in his schedule to finally commit to the role. Imagining the BTTF trilogy without MJF in the starring role is a bit like imagining Tony Stark played by someone other than Robert Downey Jr or Hugh Jackman not portraying the Wolverine. It just doesn't seem right. MJF completely charismatic and charming in BTTF. He brings a distinctive brand of humor and comedy to the role that makes Marty McFly one of the most adored characters in cinema.