If marty was 16..

You know, I never thought about it like this until now, but you're totally right. I wouldn't have wanted anything to be different, not a different kiss or anything....but her age being a little more appropriate would make a lot more sense.

Hmmm... maybe the writers chose her age to be only 13 precisely to guarantee that nothing would really happen. The idea was for Willy to grow up, mature, and then marry his adult girlfriend in the end.

A 16-year old Marty would have been confusing... some of us viewers would have seen sexual tension between them (even if there was none). Making her a 13-year old simplified things. Now, there's nothing wrong with imagining a sequel where Willy is divorced 3 or 4 years later, and he comes back home and...

I disagree; if you make it 16, then the implications automatically become sexual in some Western developed countries like the U.K. Willie is very clear about it not being sexual, and as awkward as it may be for some viewers with Marty only being 13, if we buy into the character then we have to take him at his word...

This is not one of those movies that tries to make you sympathise with an ephebophile, so there has to be nothing sexual about her appeal... An audience wouldn't buy that if she were fully developed and sexually mature. If she were obviously attractive to an adult man, then there's no longer any way to make the platonic relationship touching, and this unintentional anomaly crops up which the makers would suddenly find themselves obligated to explain.







"I've been turned down more times than the beds at the Holiday Inn; I still try"

Like everyone on this link, I love this movie. I think some of the other respondants were correct in their writing that the 13 yr old Marty was much more intriguing as there was no sexual tension. In addition the writers, in my opinion, wanted her to appear pure. Willy even says in the film "I'm formed & your not...". Marty being 13, this detail, was intentional and it works perfectly.

The whole struggle for Willie is a universal struggle for all (OK many) men. He has an intelligent beautiful girl-friend, Tracy, who loves him & he's still searching for the seemingly unattainable represented by Marty and Andera.

The last thing I wanted to throw out was the very representation of Marty & Andera actually the same person, or soul. Marty says she's "an old soul". She's beautiful, cool and wise beyond her years. Then you have the magically odd appearance of Andera ("girls like her are BORN with boyfriend" remember). She's intelligent, beautiful, cool, drinks shots, tries to help Paul make his ex jealous. And what finally tied it all together for me was the Winnie the Poo/Christopher Robbin dialogue between Willie & Marty. Willie talks about himself being Poo & Marty portraying Christopher. When Christopher grows up, he realizes that he doesn't need Poo anymore. Andera's character plays out exactly that scenario in real time during the movie. She is the grown up Christopher Robbins that doesn't need, or want Willie's Poo (ha ha). They both actually nudge him back into the arms of Tracy, making him realize how lucky he is to have her. Once both of these "beautiful girls" help Willie come to this, to quote Marty "...life decision if you will", Andera then magically disappears.

Making Marty 16 would have been a huge mistake.


The whole point of their relationship was that both of them knew it couldn't develop into anything.

If Marty was 16 that wouldn't be true anymore (16 is the age of legal consent in most states) and all of a sudden the idea of Willie running off with her, while still far-fetched, would not be necessarily illegal (although it certainly would be borderline). Too much confusion to mess up the whole storyline.

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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.

People obsess over Marty's age but I believe they're missing the point. Marty is an example of a sort of beauty that reminds older folk of the magic of the lost innocent years. He felt that around her and became protective because of it. Thinking he wanted anything more from her is a good way of cheapening the film and missing out on a very key aspect of what Hutton was experiencing during his journey.

The age of consent in Massachusetts is 16 so if they made her that age they actually could have legally hooked up which would have defeated the purpose of the situation.

I actually wished that it could have ended with Will making a promise to Marty that if by the time Marty is 18 and they're both still single, that they would be together. I actually thought they had good chemistry.