Format:DVD
From Tom Cruise getting down in his tighty whiteys in "Risky Business" to Jennifer Grey having the time of her life in "Dirty Dancing", eighties movies were filled with great moments involving dancing. They were one of a kind, and can't be recreated with the same impact. If you asked me before I saw the reviews, I would have said that the cinematic world did not need a remake of "Footloose." Mainly, because I can't think of a remake of an eighties' film that bettered the original. In this case, I've only seen bits of the original, so I thought this was pretty good.
The plot is the same as the `84 version. When a group of teens are killed in a drunk driving accident, the minister (Dennis Quaid) whose son has also died, and the town officials ban virtually everything teens do for recreation, including dancing. (Drag racing busses aflame, does get a pass.) Three years later, Bobby's younger sister, Ariel, played by Julianne Hough, is busy doing everything that's been banned and not caring if she's caught. She also has the requisite bad boy older boyfriend, who doesn't respect her. Naturally, she's a perfect match for new kid in town Ren (Kenny Wormald reprising the Kevin Bacon role), who's moved in with his uncle's family, following the death of his mom from cancer. Ren is a good kid, but after a series of run-ins with the local authorities, he decides to cut loose, kick off his Sunday shoes and with his new friends, get the ban on dancing revoked.
The lead does a good job, but if you ask me, Miles Teller, playing Ren's pal who must overcome his fears of being a "dancing dork" stole the show. Also excellent is Andie McDowell, in the role of the preacher's wife, who has stood by her man for too long and is about to tell him some uncomfortable truths. Oh yes, and the dancing is totally awesome.
The plot is the same as the `84 version. When a group of teens are killed in a drunk driving accident, the minister (Dennis Quaid) whose son has also died, and the town officials ban virtually everything teens do for recreation, including dancing. (Drag racing busses aflame, does get a pass.) Three years later, Bobby's younger sister, Ariel, played by Julianne Hough, is busy doing everything that's been banned and not caring if she's caught. She also has the requisite bad boy older boyfriend, who doesn't respect her. Naturally, she's a perfect match for new kid in town Ren (Kenny Wormald reprising the Kevin Bacon role), who's moved in with his uncle's family, following the death of his mom from cancer. Ren is a good kid, but after a series of run-ins with the local authorities, he decides to cut loose, kick off his Sunday shoes and with his new friends, get the ban on dancing revoked.
The lead does a good job, but if you ask me, Miles Teller, playing Ren's pal who must overcome his fears of being a "dancing dork" stole the show. Also excellent is Andie McDowell, in the role of the preacher's wife, who has stood by her man for too long and is about to tell him some uncomfortable truths. Oh yes, and the dancing is totally awesome.
By Avisso
Format:Blu-ray
They remade Footloose? I groaned when I even thought about how bad this was going to be. I liked the original, and didn't even consider seeing this when it came out at the theatre. Flash forward to a cold and rainy night, and my teenage kids decide to rent this on pay per view. I groan again, thinking how awful this is going to be. I couldn't even watch it, so I puttered around the house doing everything else but sit there and watch a somewhat iconic movie be destroyed. Two hours later, and my kids could not stop talking about it. They loved it. Curious, I plopped down and watched it. They wanted to see it again. I was shocked. The first thing that grabs your attention is how my kids kept thinking the clothes and hair were cool. I told them that in the ancient 80's, we used to flip our collars up, have our pants cinched at the ankles, and wear our hair short on the sides and long on top. I also told them we used to dance. It was a blast from the past, but a bridge to the present. The story seemed fresh to the teenagers, and was even fresh to me. The dancing is great. The acting is decent, and this movie is fun. There are a few scenes that are not appropriate for younger kids (a girl having sex for the first time, drug references, underage drinking, a girl getting slapped by her boyfriend, some swearing), but very tame stuff when compared to the groundbreaking stuff John Hughes did in the 80's. It was a way to connect with the kids. The movie is certainly way better than expected. Way better than the garbage some remakes are. Well done. Well done indeed.
Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase
It wasn't too bad a remake. I really liked some of the new actors and still preferred some of the old ones like Bacon. I liked that they didn't add too many new dance styles with people just constantly break dancing all over like most new dance movies these days. I do wish they would have kept it back in that time era though, i find it hard to believe a town would pass a no dance law in 2011. However, all in all it was a pretty decent remake.
