How Justine Bateman Flipped the Script on Michael J. Fox
HOLLYWOOD – In the mid-1980s television landscape, few forces were as unstoppable as Alex P. Keaton. The briefcase-toting, junior conservative powerhouse played by Michael J. Fox was built on speed, intellect, and the ability to verbally steamroll anyone in the room. But as Fox reveals in his new memoir, Future Boy, there was one co-star who figured out exactly how to jam his radar: Justine Bateman.
Fox’s memoir, which primarily chronicles the chaotic making of Back to the Future, offers a nostalgic detour into his day job on the set of Family Ties. The show thrived on the friction between Fox’s right-wing firebrand and his liberal hippie parents, but the sharpest barbs were often reserved for his materialistic sister, Mallory.
For the first season, the dynamic was predictable. Fox would unleash a merciless barrage of intellectual insults, and Bateman was directed to simply take it usually responding with a scoff or an eye-roll. However, the repetition began to wear on the actress. It started to bother me personally, to have to keep taking it, Bateman recalls in the book.
That frustration birthed a brilliant improvisational pivot. Bateman decided that Mallory would no longer be the victim of the joke; she would be immune to it. She began playing the scenes as if she didn’t understand she was being insulted, responding to Alex’s vicious zingers with a sincere Thank you.
This shift did more than just confuse the character of Alex Keaton; it forced the writers to evolve the show. Fox notes that Bateman’s decision to interpret insults as compliments put a spin on the dialogue that the writers might not have intended, but the audience loved it. It transformed a one-sided firing squad into a comedic tennis match.
Despite the on-screen acrimony, Fox insists the tension evaporated the moment the director yelled cut. He describes their off-screen relationship as sympatico, noting that while Alex and Mallory were at war, he and Bateman were the best of friends. It was this genuine trust that allowed them to experiment with their timing, creating a rhythm Bateman describes as two well-fitting pieces.
What if she responded to Alex’s digs by saying, ‘Thank you.’ And that would confuse him: ‘No, I meant that to be an insult. You can’t take it as a compliment!’ – Justine Bateman
Bateman’s reflection highlights a crucial moment of agency for a young actor. rather than accepting a passive role, she manipulated the character’s perceived lack of intelligence and turned it into a shield, effectively neutralizing Alex Keaton’s greatest weapon.
While Family Ties served as the launchpad for Michael J. Fox’s transformation into a global superstar, Future Boy serves as a reminder that he didn’t get there alone. The show’s endurance through 1989 wasn’t just about a breakout star; it was about an ensemble that learned to punch back. Bateman’s ability to flip the script proves that in comedy, the smartest person in the room isn’t always the one talking the fastest.
