The remake of the 1984 classic, Footloose was released on October 14th 2011. Director, Craig Brewer, stuck to the original plot line, as is typical of most remakes, but he also infused the story with a modern perspective. Footloose follows the life of Ren, a rebellious teenager who moves to a small town where he is shocked to discover the strict rules against public dancing and loud music. Ren falls in love with the preacher’s daughter and works to hold a public dance for the town’s young people. Though much of the original plot-line was used, the film’s opening was changed. The film immediately captures the audience’s emotions with a tragic car accident in which five local teens were killed after returning from a party involving dancing and loud music. From there, the plot is nearly identical to the original with the main character, Ren, moving to town three years after the accident and shaking up the town’s views by fighting for the right to hold a dance.
The classic dance sequences are infused with modern music along with Blake Shelton’s revamped version of the original Footloose theme song. The perky dance tunes are catchy and add a contagious energy to the film.
The film featured up-and-coming actress Julianne Hough, a professional dancer on the television show Dancing with the Stars, as Ariel. She acted alongside seasoned actor Dennis Quaid, who starred as Ariel’s father. The role of Ren, made famous by Kevin Bacon in the 1984 original, was played by Kenny Wormald. Quaid was a commanding presence as the town’s preacher and Hough added her dancing expertise to many of the song and dance sequences. Whereas Wormald simply could not live up to the expectations set by Kevin Bacon’s original performance. Wormald gave an adequate but lackluster performance that failed to captivate.
Footloose is mindlessly enjoyable. Although it will probably not be winning any Oscars, Footloose is a feel good remake of a timeless classic. I highly recommend it for fans of High School Musical.