Movie Review: Footloose

I've been working so hard and I'm punching my card. The classic Kevin Bacon film, Footloose, has been remade and I must say I had low expectations going in. Remakes are normally alright or really bad and this one had so many speedbumps during production that I was expecting it to be a dud. I've never been happier to be proven wrong.

Since 2007, there has been a revolving door of famous actors tapped to fill Bacon's shoes and play the lead character of Ren. The final selection, Kenny Wormald, was a virtual unknown, but I thought he did a great job. As I walked out of the theater, I did hear a few complaints about his fake Boston accent, but I didn't think it sounded bad. Even funnier is that according to Wikipedia, Wormald is a Boston native.

The basic story of Footloose is that a teenager from the city relocates to a small town only to learn that loud music and dancing are illegal following the death of some high school seniors in a car accident following the prom. Ren works to convince the town council, influenced by the local minister, that music and dancing don't lead to sinful behaviors such as drinking and sex.

The story was updated for the current times and characters did have iPods and cell phones. Ren's hometown was changed from Chicago to Boston and the events that led to his relocation also changed. I liked that they kept some of the more iconic scenes including the dancing in the abandoned factory. Julianne Hough, of Dancing with the Stars fame, played his love interest and while she wouldn't have been my first choice, I was impressed with her acting skills. The two together had some amazing dancing skills. The dance scenes were updated as well including one scene which was screaming of Step Up in my head.

Another part of the film that was updated for the new film is the soundtrack. Big names added their own spin to the classic songs and other songs were also added to round out the sound. My favorite of the covers was Let's Hear It for the Boy which was changed to a more upbeat version.

My personal opinion of this film is that it was a really good remake and you should consider seeing it. There were a lot of good one-liners that I wanted to quote in my review, but I didn't want to spoil anything for you. I am a fan of the musical genre and broadway but I think that anyone could enjoy Footloose.

Footloose will be released nation wide on October 14, 2011. The new Footloose soundtrack is currently available for sale.

Movie Rating for Footloose

The passes for this pre-screening were printed from Footloose Friday which was set up by Paramount Pictures for this special event. Check out my information post for more information about free movie screenings.