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Footloose | Year: 1984 Classification: Drama Directed: - Herbert Ross Actors/Actresses: - Kevin Bacon - Lori Singer - John Lithgow - Sarah Jessica Parker - Kavin Bacon One of my personal favorite movies from the '80s I was watching VH1 over the holiday weekend and came across a showing of "Footloose". "Footloose" is one of my favorite movies from the '80s. I actually saw the film in the theater with some friends. We wanted to see "Splash" but tickets for that movie was out so we settled on "Footloose". At the time I thought the premise of the film of a hip teenager rebelling against an ultra conservative town with its anti-rock music and dancing rules, was a bit farfetched, if not silly. I still do to this very day but I like this movie more now than I did back twenty years ago. It's amazing how much Christopher Penn has changed since then. Not to mention Sarah Jessica Parker (still with her "Square Pegs" look), and Lori Singer. Kevin Bacon remains the same today. John Lithgow gave me one of his best performances I had ever seen before that godawful sitcom he starred in years later. Dianne Wiest was also good in the movie. The stars of the film I thought were Kevin, Lori, Sarah, and Christopher. The music was great. I love Bonnie Tyler's "I Need a Hero" and John (Cougar) Mellencamp's "Hurt So Good". "Footloose" was one of those movies where music and film went well together. To the reviewer who thought this film deserved a PG-13 rating...um? Hello? There was no PG-13 back in 1984. It was either PG or R. I would hardly qualify "Footloose" as being R-rated material. Compare "Footloose" by today's movies, it is a tame comparison. Despite being cheesy at times, "Footloose" remains a blast to watch. Fun and entertaining movie, but rated PG? I don't think so.. 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 Very classic movie and soundtrack As I said in the title, great nostalgic movie, story, acting, etc. I enjoy watching the movie over and over. I would give this 5 stars but I will give the DVD tech guys an F for not putting any features (besides ws format) on this. I think some trailers, interviews, and other stuff would have fit. They could have done a little segment on all of the songs featured here. Aside from this, great DVD. Buy Footloose at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Footloose Search with the Priority Search Engine on Footloose This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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