Footloose

Rating:
Summary: Fun and entertaining movie, but rated PG? I don't think so..
Review: Teenager Ren MacCormack (Kevin Bacon) moves with his mom from big city Chicago to a small town in the Midwest after his parent's divorce. Ren is suprised to find that it's against the law to listen to rock 'n' roll and the law also prohibits dancing! Ren can't understand why these laws were brought about but tries his hardest to fit in with the town people. Unfortunately, though he's accepted as a friend by fellow student Willard (Chris Penn), no one else seems to like him, calling him a 'big-city kid' and a trouble-maker. After a while, he comes up with a plan to try to make it possible for the Senior students to be able to have a prom dance. He'll be going against the whole town, most specifically the Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow) and the town council. Will Ren be able to change the stiff necked town people's minds? At the same time, Ren begins to fall in love with the Reverend's wild and unpredictable daughter Ariel (Lori Singer) while trying to keep his distance from her boyfriend Chuck (Jim Youngs). Also starring is Sarah Jessica Parker as Ariel's best friend Rusty, Dianne Wiest as the Reverend's wife Vi, and John Laughlin and Timothy Scott play Woody and Andy Beami, two of Ren's allies.

*PLOT* - This is my first and only 80's dance movie to watch and I must say that I very much enjoyed it. The plot was interesting though of course some points were a bit unrealistic. Basically the movie is in a way a 'coming-of-age' film. I loved the way each of the characters are portrayed. Kevin Bacon's character Ren represents the 'hero' of the movie. At first when I read the reviews I thought Ren would be your typical rebellious teenager. A bit on the contraire, he is responsible and you can't help but feel proud of him when he brings his case up to the council. It's hard to explain and I can't tell you much since this is only a review, but I must say that Ren's character was extremely well-done. Ariel on the other hand is very rebellious, and flaunts it to her father. I loved how she and her father were able to resolve their problems at the end.

*ACTING* - Kevin Bacon definitely steals the whole movie with his acting. He plays the part of a teenager perfectly, even the way he walks. His dancing was also spectacular, most notably his solo dance at the warehouse to the music, "Never" by Moving Pictures. If he was doing only half of what we see on screen, I'd still be impressed. John Lithgow is also outstanding, it was interesting to see his dramatic abilities after watching him on goofball comedy tv series, "3rd Rock from the Sun". He certainly can put power in his 'sermons'! Lori Singer beautifully stunning as Ariel, a perfect example of the category of 'wild and beautiful'. Besides the character of her father, Singer's character of Ariel has the most development in the movie.

*DANCING* - The dancing is just pure fun to watch, especially for people who loves 80's dancing. The last dance was not only the best dance, but the best part of the whole movie. If by chance somebody didn't enjoy the movie, I'm sure the end will make up for it. I loved it so much, I downloaded that segment onto my computer so I can watch it any time.

*SOUNDTRACK* - The soundtrack is another plus side to the movie. Besides the "Top Gun" soundtrack, "Footloose" is on my top list of favorite movie soundtracks. Great songs include two by Kenny Loggins, "Footloose" and "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man". Other of my favorites include "Let's Hear It For the Boy" (Denise Williams), "Almost Paradise" (Ann Wilson/Mike Reno), "Somebody's Eyes" (Karla Bonoff), and "Hurts So Good" (John Cougar Mellencamp). Plus there's plenty more!

*PG Rating* - From here I will be giving you the downside to the movie "Footloose". I was extremely disappointed that the movie does not hold true to what a real PG movie should be. There are many reasons as to why this movie should be changed to a PG-13 rating. Though the movie is about a small town which has a dislike for rock music and dancing, the movie portrays some of the teenagers there as being very immoral. Besides having sexual innuendo, some violence, and drugs scattered all over the movie, the language is also pretty strong. I strongly recommend parents not to have younger children watching this movie. Best for kids 15 and older.

Overall, "Footloose" has the great elements to make a good movie; great story, terrific acting, nice music, and cool dancing. But it also shows some of the immoralities of teenagers so parents should be cautioned. The movie is more aimed towards teenage viewers and adults might not find this movie terribly entertaining. But then again, adults might enjoy the movie for they might be able to relate to John Lithgow's character as the father who does not want to let go of his daughter because of his love for her.

Rating:
Summary: One of the many standout movies of the 80s
Review: Ren (Kevin Bacon) is a city boy who has moved to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned. Of course, since Ren is the new kid in town, he has some problems with some people accepting him and fitting in in general. But what bothers Ren a lot more than fitting in is not being able to dance or play music when he wants to. He then organizes a plan to try his best and convince the leaders of the town to have a dance in the high school for his senior year. But it won't be as easy as it sounds because Ren's main opponent is his girlfriend's father (John Lithgow), who is the town's pastor.

"Footloose" is a great all-around movie. I'm sort of surprised that I liked it because I myself don't like dancing, but this really is a good movie. Its plot and acting are well done, it's entertaining, and best of all, it has some great music. Another good thing about the movie is the speech that Ren makes concerning the dance, it's one of the best speeches ever in any movie. As a matter of fact, the Footloose soundtrack is the best soundtrack ever in my opinion, and it is just as classic as the movie itself.

"Footloose" was one of the movies that stood out in the 80s and it's still a standout and a great movie to watch today. I recommend anybody who likes great movies to get "Footloose."

Rating:
Summary: Nostaligia
Review: I grew up in a rural, religous community on the edge of the Appalachia. We were not allowed to dance. It didn't strick me at all odd at the time, and it doesn't now, that a town council could make dances illegal or that the local pastor could almost single handedly control the town council. And yes, a small town police officer could, without getting into any legal trouble, in that part of the world in the 1980s confiscate a rock and roll cassette tape (Remember those things?) for being played too loudly or simply because he didn't like the attitude of the driver.

Having said that, the movie is extremely dated and so some parts of it look and sound a little silly today. Just like today's hip teen movies will look and sound silly two decades from now. But I still like this movie. Probably because some of these seens could be right out of my life. I too went to church and looked at girls acrossed the aisle. And after church we really did ride around in cars and pickups and hang out on family farms on Sunday afternoons doing really stupid teenage stuff with farm equipment. All of these seens are caught pretty realisticly and are done very sympatheticly. People with simple value systems are not mocked here, as they so often are in Hollywood. And the story line isn't all silly. The pastor character is especially well written and well played. And I should point out that girls really did wear their hair like that back then and really did wear tight sweaters and even tighter designer jeans. Youngsters now days don't know what they are missing. Buy this movie and watch Ariel move around the screen and you'll see what I mean.

Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: I saw this movie in the theatre on opening night. I still enjoy watching it. The acting in this movie is great, and the storyline is top notch as well. I think the movie represents the attitudes in small town America as they were. I know of many cases in real life that were a lot like this plot, but in real life the protagonists faired worse than Kevin Bacon. I have heard a lot of bad reviews about this movie from people who watch it today. Mostly because it is a "white" film with almost no racial diversity considering the subject matter. Well, you have to look at the social and cultural context in which the film was made to begin with. I happened to live in a small colorado town during my teen years and HELLO we only had 1 black family in the town. That was reality, as it was in many small towns. And as for the music, mind you, this was about 4 years before the forthcoming of the rudimentary forms of rap and hip hop. Micheal Jackson had more white fans than black, and most blacks listened to rock and roll. You cannot judge this film by modern standards and do it justice. I think that if you keep an open mind you will enjoy this film a great deal.

Rating:
Summary: 6 out of 5 Stars!!!
Review: What can I say. This is the Godfather of dancing movies. You got served, Save the Last Dance, and Dirty Dancing 2 would not exist without Footloose. Kevin Bacon is sensational, that kid has a few moves!

Based on a true story (According to E!), Footloose is about a pack of high school kids fighting for their right to DANCE. "There is a time to laugh, and THERE IS A TIME TO DANCE," quote Kevin Bacon. You see, these kids live in a redneck town where people wear cowboy boots don't want kids to dance. Dancing was thought of as dangerous, and the leading cause of teenage pregnancy. So they want to ban dancing... but when the kid from Chicago (Kevin Bacon) showed up, he taught his redneck friends how to dance and decided to fight the resistance and want to be freed from the
anti-dancing act.

As with any movie, there has got to be antagonists. Besides crazy dancing and tight 80's style jeans, this movie is loaded with action scenes. There is a scene where Lori Singer's ex-boyfriend shows America how to beat up Lori Singer, and there is a scene where Kevin Bacon drop kicks Lor Singer's ex-boyfriend and helps young Chris Penn (when he wasn't all fat) kick 5 people's @SS. This movie is also loaded with testosterones: scenes of pickup trucks, roll bars and dancing on football field bleachers proves me right!

In many ways, this movie reminds me of the importance of Freedom. The need for Americans to fight for the right to party! Some people may laugh at the cheesy lines, lame outfits and the fact that Kevin Bacon's choreography is entertaining, but it should be taken just as serious as movies like T2 and Matrix in which the protagonist fight for the FREEDOM of fellow mankind.

If you are looking for a lighthearted film with plenty of action and laughter, you do not want to miss this great film. Kevin Bacon, I always knew you are a talent... Superb Cast and Excellent Film!

Rating:
Summary: Total Dance Flick With a Story
Review: Footloose is one of the best dance movies ever made and considering that I hate Kevin Bacon that is a definate compliment. So anyway here is this little town in the middle of nowhere in which no one is allowed to dance and who moves into town...the boy who loves to dance. He decides to challenge the policy and during the challeging of it lots of dramatic things happen but can the town survive after this comotion only time can tell. Footloose has one of the best dance scenes ever full of drama and intelligence this movie is a true classic. I recommend this to everyone especially people who love to dance and movies about dancing. I hope that this review has helped you in making a decision about this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Somebody's eyes are watching...
Review: Somebody's eyes are watching...

So this film was made during the mid eighties, so what? I thought it was a pretty good movie, during it's time and still is whenever I watch it on DVD. I particularly don't think it was a dumb movie. For those who bag this movie, please do some research first and you'll be surprised to know that there are some states or towns that, unfortunately, still ban dancing and rock music for which this movie was based on. My question is, who isn't cashing in on teen dance movies or teen dance music to this day? Yeah sure, some people might be ashamed of certain past decades and wonder how we even went through those years with certain fads, fashion and music, but still Footloose was a hit in those days as rap is with this current decade, not to mention all those generic and mass produced all boy or all girl dance groups currently around with similar or the same style dance moves and tunes. I believe Footloose can still hold it's own with some of today's movies, disregarding the decade it was made in. I also agree with everything Priscilla from Japan reviewed on the movie. Excellent and thoroughly enjoyed!

Going back to "Footloose" itself, I thought the music selected was perfect for the movie. Why else would they have recently produced a stage show/play production of the movie? The first time I saw Footloose in 1984, I got so hooked on the music, I bought the soundtrack the next day and listened to it for months on my walkman. It was also the only music I took with me during my first time vacation to the States in 1984. I love all the songs on it and to this day, I still think the Footloose soundtrack is one of my top 10 soundtack favorites. I'm glad that the record company re-released the soundtrack with extra tracks from the movie. I only wish that there were extras and special features added into the DVD. Perhaps Paramount Home Video will re-release a "20th Anniversary Footloose Special Edition" DVD with extra special features in time for 2004.

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Rating:
Summary: Everybody cut footloose!
Review: Ah......... those small, Midwestern towns. One bad accident, and the entire town looks for someone, or something, to blame. In this case, they blamed dancing and rock & roll music. As a result, they outlawed both. For those of us who can't dance a lick or keep a tune to save our lives, this might be a pretty good place to live in. But for Ren (Kevin Bacon), he's just arrived in a town that will always seem like Friday the 13th to him.

Ren and his mom have just moved to this small town from the big city of Chicago. Naturally, Ren is a fish out of water here. Everytime there's trouble, people start pointing at him, whether it was his fault or not.

But don't feel too bad for Ren. He has made some friends in his High School, but he's also ticked off a few too. And his plan to have a Senior Prom (an event that has not happened in this town for 6 years) is threatening to divide the town in half.

Many people will not like this movie for the sole reason of the 80s music and dance. But there is a story behind the music, one that was brilliantly told. I have seen this movie many, many times, and each time I watch it I catch something that I had missed before. This was not a teen movie made for the sole purpose of cashing in on the teen movie craze at the time. It has a message worth listening to.

Unfortunatley, the DVD is lacking in extras. Of course, this movie was made back when DVDs were nothing more than an idea in somebody's head. Still, considering the popularity both then and now that this movie has enjoyed, it would have been nice to get the cast back together and produced something new to offer us.

Rating:
Summary: Period piece from a bad period
Review: This film was silly and dumb the day it came out, and it remains so today, even given the nostalgic smirk that it will conjure up from most of its viewers. The eighties was a time of teen dance movies, and this one cashes in as best it can. A reviewer below is right to point out that the premise of a town that outlaws dancing is utterly ridiculous. (Perhaps had the film been set in the late 1600s it would have been believable, but then they wouldn't have been able to sell the cheesy pop soundtrack.) Along comes the inevitable good-looking rebel to shake things up with his slinky moves. As a period piece, this formulaic eighties film might be good for a few warm guffaws. Otherwise it's pretty insipid, and holds up even less well than many Elvis movies from the sixties.

Rating:
Summary: Does anybody notice!!
Review: Does anybody notice that this movie is about a town that outlaws dancing? I mean Christ on a Cracker, this script actually went through executives that said, "Yeah, this movie is great, lets do this thing." And how does a town that hasn't been able to dance for 6 years so good at dancing. Go figure. Also the song footloose is the 2nd gayest song in the world (The First is Jitterbug by WHAM"). If I could give no stars I would, but unfortunately I cannot.