Blu-ray

If you grew up in the 80’s (or early 90’s… re-runs), it’s quite possible that one of the staples on your television screens was Family Ties. Arguably the standout actor from that great ensemble was Michael J. Fox and as we all know he went on to make some truly iconic movies. While the obvious huge success of Back to the Future ensured he had a household name… he packed a lot of acting work into that era and thanks to Madman Entertainment we get to enjoy three of his, perhaps lesser known/remembered, films from the late 80’s to early 90’s.

This collection contains The Secret of My Success, The Hard Way and For Love Or Money: aka The Concierge. All three are light hearted pieces and rely on Michael J. Fox’s charm to keep viewers on board, there’s also a pretty heavy dose of the ol’ 80’s greed (which of course tied in to his Family Ties character). It could certainly be argued that the three films share a similar thematic element (albeit The Hard Way is a little different in overall tone)… that of someone starting off with a clear set goal (typically financial aspirations)/personality type… then having a change of heart or at least finding their true desire rests elsewhere (typically in a romantic interest). But as with many stories… it’s not so much about the story itself, it’s how it’s told that makes the difference and in these films Michael J. Fox is, I think, the element that makes them all enjoyable.

I’m pretty sure growing up I’d only seen The Secret of My Success and For Love or Money (and my memory is too shoddy to remember if we in fact called it The Concierge in Australia or not), so it was fun to finally get to watch The Hard Way. All three films have a respectable presentation on Blu-Ray, only really suffering from the quality of filming materials of the day, but generally present very well. Anyone hoping for some behind the scenes footage will be disappointed as these are pretty minimalist and only provide trailers as bonus content. I do suspect part of the reason for this may be due to the popularity of extra material of the day… ie electronic press kits I think were a lot less common in the late 80’s early 90’s and especially so on films that weren’t really geared to be big budget blockbusters. So I’m content with the good quality transfers.

Should you buy this set? Well if you enjoy Michael J. Fox as a performer then absolutely, as these are all full of his charismatic performances. Even if you just want a bit of nostalgic viewing or a few giggles here and there, this is still a good set of movies to add to your collection.