Aside from Tom Hanks, it’s hard to think of an actor more beloved and respected by both the general public and his fellow peers than Michael J. Fox, a man for whom the word “likable” feels invented (it wasn’t; we checked). It was over 40 years ago that the eternally boyish-looking Fox ventured from his small town in Canada to the rolling hills of Hollywood, where a few seasons of guest-starring gigs on various television shows finally lead to his big break, as Alex P. Keaton on Gary David Goldberg’s long-running NBC sitcom Family Ties. It wasn’t long before film offers started pouring in, and Fox ultimately nabbed the lead in one of the biggest and most beloved films of all time, 1985’s Back to the Future, produced by the one and only Steven Spielberg. It seemed like nothing could stop Fox, who nabbed multiple Emmys for his television work while starring in a string of box office hits, Teen Wolf and The Secret of My Success among them. And then, in 1990, Fox noticed an unusual tremor in his right pinkie finger, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, a long-term degenerative disorder that mainly affects the human motor system. Fox would not publicly announce his diagnosis until 1998, at which point hiding its devastating effects proved nearly impossible. Director Davis Guggenheim’s documentary, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, chronicles these events using archival footage, modern-day reenactments, film clips, voiceover narration, and talking-head interviews with Fox himself to bring the generation-defining actor’s unique story to life.
Published as part of InRO Weekly — Volume 1, Issue 5.
