Footloose

EVERYBODY CUT FOOTLOOSE As we all know 1984 produced a lot of great things. One of the best was "Footloose". Here's my thoughts on this timeless masterpiece which I brought on DVD this week

-Most good movies have a great opening and Footloose is no exception. A bunch of feet dancing showcasing the great footwear of the 80's to the soundtrack song "Footloose". Immediately gets you in -Kevin Bacon's character has one of the all-time great movie names: "Ren McCormack" -Funny how this is probably Kevin Bacon's greatest role, maybe only challenged by "Flatliners". It's amazing how so many actors never repeat their efforts of their first breakthrough movie (See Lou Diamond Phillips, Chris Rock and Madonna for starters) -Also starring in this movie is one of Hollywood's greatest lesser known brothers, Sean Penn's brother Christopher. He's way better than Dan Swayze or Charlie Murphy. -Kenny Loggins will go down as one of the greatest contributors to movie hit songs ever. Footloose's "Footloose" and Top Gun's "Danger Zone". -This is another one of those movies built around a town's overzealous pastor's. Reverand Shaw (John Lithgow) is even more intense than that guy in "Chocolat" -Great action scene at the start with Lori Singer car surfing (watch the slightly impossible way she gets back in the car) -Also look for the great David Hasselhoff 2 second cameo -Great scene where the Rev turns off Lor Singer's ghetto-blaster. Everyone stops talking, eating and dancing. Possibly slightly dramatic -Will (Christopher Penn) tells us several other towns have also banned dancing. How wasn't that fact used as the premise for heaps more sequels with Ren going from town to town and reviving dance? Each time he'd face a new obstacle. -Ren mentions his love for "Men at Work" and "The Police", yet he only listens in his car to bad 80's electric rock. Strange. -Weird town. Here a face off equals a tractor fight. -One of the funniest moments is when Chuck gets onto his tractor and puts "I need a hero" on on his ghetto-blaster. That would be awesome to do at a basketball game when you sub in. -Another great Dianne Weist performance. That girl can just capture the whole audience when she wants. Underrated actress. -"Moment I regret now"- Christopher Penn's dance sequence to "Let's Hear It For The Boy" (although it's a great sequence in the movie) -Kevin Bacon's speech to the council was possibly the greatest speech up until that time in cinema history. That is until Sly Stallone raised the bar with his "If I Can Change...." in Rocky 4. Which was then overtaken by Matthew McConaghuey's "Can you see her..." speech in "A Time To Kill"

A film of enormous charm. It's about dancing but unlike many films about dancing it doesn't take itself seriously. It's loose-limbed and goofy and it lifts you up. It's set in a high school in a small mid-western town where dancing has been banned; (it reminds me of a joke I heard here in Ulster; 'Why do Free Presbyterians disapprove of making love standing up?' 'It might lead to dancing').

Kevin Bacon is the new kid in town who wants the ban lifted. Indeed, this boy seems to live to dance and he's immensely likable. He uses his killer smile to great effect. In this movie the dancing is integral to the plot and it evolves from it naturally and, for once, the director Herbert Ross takes things easy. As well as Bacon, the film has Lori Singer, (the obligatory love interest), and John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest as her parents. He's the bible-thumper who thinks that dancing is sinful and Wiest, with her wan, other-worldly smile, is the wife who doesn't as well as a very young Chris Penn as the over-weight farm boy Bacon teaches to dance in a wonderful sequence choreographed to Denise Williams' 'Let's hear it for the boy'

Aw, come on IMDb'ers, why the low rating? Where's your sense of loyalty? I can't hear that Kenny Loggins title song and see those pairs of dancing feet during the opening credits without sitting down to watch this whole movie. And even if it's largely to make fun of it, I still love it for old times' sake.

Kevin Bacon is the tough city kid stuck in some podunk Midwest town where dancing has been outlawed. John Lithgow is the preacher who serves as Bacon's arch nemesis; Lori Singer is the preacher's daughter who has a hankering for the new dangerous kid. Dianne Wiest is the reasonable mom who acts as referee between dad and daughter. The whole thing is sillier than an episode of "Laugh-In," but many of the actors (particularly Lithgow, Wiest and Bacon) are good enough to actually sell the material. And come on, admit it, you know you like the music.

Grade: B+

'Footloose', despite being an enormous hit back in the 80s, seems to be a very divisive love it/hate it film critically now.

This reviewer neither loves or hates 'Footloose', from personal opinion it falls short of being great but the immense appeal is definitely understandable.

Its biggest weak point is the story. Conceptually it's daft, and further hampered by laying it on too thick with the ridiculousness (the drug scene and the basic concept) and over-sentimentality (the Reverend's somewhat tacky reform that didn't really ring true compared to how his character was written in general). Ren's dance routine in the abandoned warehouse was far too randomly placed, coming at an unrealistically weird point in the film.

Lori Singer being too old didn't bother me as much as it did other reviewers, but the overacting, constantly looking as if she was trying too hard, was less forgivable. The script is uneven, sometimes it's humorously light-hearted and feel good and there is a laudable attempt at providing depth with some more mature themes but too much of it is also cheesy and flimsy.

However, the songs are toe-tappingly great, especially the title song "Footloose" and "Let's Hear it for the Boy". The dancing is spirited, and apart from that one scene with Ren the choreography and dance numbers are finger-snappingly infectious. 'Footloose' is a good-looking film too, beautifully shot and smartly photographed with some inventive visuals in the title song, while the direction is solid enough and the pacing sharp and energetic constantly.

Singer aside, the cast are simply terrific, with Kevin Bacon in the role that made him a star making for a good free-spirited lead and the sadly late Chris Penn proving that he had the talent to make it bigger than he did. Dianne Wiest doesn't seem capable of giving a bad performance, while John Lithgow is effectively subtle and wisely reigns in in a role that could easily have been the opposite.

Overall, falls short of being a great film but the appeal is definitely understandable, because there are a lot of good elements that outweigh the still quite big flaws. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Teenager Ren (Kevin Bacon) moves to a small mid Western town with his mom after his parents divorce. It seems the Reverend Moore (John Lithgow), of the town's only church, has totally banned rock and roll music from the entire town. He has a daughter named Ariel (Lori Singer) who is basically a hell-raiser--yet loves her father. Rem decides to stop the ban and bring the town back to life.

OK--we're not dealing with reality here at ALL! A town banning rock music entirely is ridiculous and the town only has ONE church? And the game of chicken using tractors was just silly. And don't get me started on how Bacon, Singer, Chris Penn and Sarah Jessica Parker look WAY too old to be high school students--Singer was THIRTY when she did this! And how the heck did all the kids from the town learn how to dance so quickly? But, as a no brain musical, this does work.

The opening sequence alone is great (it shows various feet dancing to the title tune). Also the acting helps a lot. Bacon is just great--he doesn't take the movie too seriously and gives out a very good performance. He also has a big dance number (to a song called "Never") which is him and THREE different stuntman doing the more unrealistic moves. Singer is too old for her role but she tries. Penn is pretty good as Bacon's best friend--his learning how to dance sequence is a highlight. Parker did this before she was known and she's not bad. Lithgow and Wiest are just great as the Reverend and his wife--Wiest has a great scene where she calmly tells him off and Lithgow (wisely) does not play the Reverend as a one-note character. You see him trying to understand his daughter and slowly realizing that music isn't bad.

So--this is no "Singin in the Rain" but for a 1980s teen musical it's lots of fun. Great songs too. Just turn off your brain and enjoy!