Back to the Future
in 3 Acts
The Problem: Marty's Parents are Losers. Marty Doesn't Connect with his Parents. Doc. Brown is killed. Marty gets Stuck in the 50s.
BttF is very much a character driven movie. By definition, character driven stories are less "plot driven" which I think does one of two things: The plot is much less complicated- therefore easier to identify the 3 acts ~or~ The plot is buried underneath and hidden behind so much character drama to the point that you wonder if there's a plot at all. And in some cases there isn't. If I think of what is resolved by the 3rd act, I immediately think of the change in Marty's family's life. But while that is an awesome, emotionally fullfilling end of the movie... I propose it is not the plot. It is not "The problem." The problem is a simple one: Marty gets stuck back in time. The movie presents other problems, but this is the only one it contracts with the audience that it will resolve.
Act 1:
As you might expect from a character driven story, the first act is much more focused on introducing each of the characters and hinting at what their problems are and what their arcs might be. Eventually Marty is sent back in time, and I propose that this is when the plot of the movie is actually introduced. What drives the movie until this point? I'm not sure. The characters are interesting... I guess we're all just patient.
Act 2:
When does Act 2 actually start? I'm not sure. Again, I think these things are more liquid than that. There's no curtain drop, no intermission, no 3 year wait between Macro acts. So the actual breaks are sometimes impossible to call. But I can say that the defining moment of Act2: The Problem Gets worse is that Marty's siblings are starting to disappear from his family photo and he is given the information that he is going to cease to exist unless he can hook his parents up... again. The problem is definitely worse: he's not just stuck back in time, but he'll fade away if he doesn't fix the 1955 first.
Act 3:
I'll admit, I'm going off of memory here, so someone who's seen the movies more recently should maybe chime in. The third act is basically the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. The problem continues to get worse, with little hope of resolve. Until, just like that, George lays out Biff, Doc Brown gets the extension cords connected, and Marty headbutt starts the DMC and gets back to the Twin Lone Tree Mall. And he even saved Doc. And his parents are actually in love now. And his siblings aren't lame. But most importantly, Marty got back. Back to the future.
Am I wrong?