Movie Review: FOOTLOOSE

FOOTLOOSE
Director: Craig Brewer
Starring: Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, Andie McDowell



What do many teenagers do on the average weekend? They party with their friends. Some activties may involve drinking, debauchery, drinking games, music, drinking, and maybe some dancing. Five students die in a fatal car crash after an evening involving all of the above actions. The residents of Bomont, including Reverend Moore (Quaid), come to rash decisions and decide to put a limit on or ban certain activities. There shall be no loud music, no drinking, early curfews, and most importantly, NO DANCING. Clearly, dancing and loud music killed these students. Three years pass by and the town is living a newer quieter peaceful life. Dancing and music may still happen, but it's either under strict supervision or completely done in secret. Ren McCormack (Wormald) moves to Bomont from Boston after his mother passes away to live with his aunt, uncle, and cousins. Soon enough he gets a ticket for playing music in his car too loudly. In the eyes of the Reverend and the other upstanding citizens, he is a rebel and a bad influence. The Reverend's daughter, Ariel (Hough), instantly grows an attraction to Ren. What a bad girl. Being the smooth dancer that he is, Ren grows increasingly irritated by the strict laws caused by the tragic accident. With the help of Ariel and his best friend, Willard (Miles Teller), they set out to stand up to the city council to abolish these strict guidelines.



Quite some time has passed since my last viewing of the original, so I was able to free myself from comparing the two of them. This is one of Kenny Wormald's first starring roles, and he does a fine job. He's cute and charming without being too one-noted. Julianne Hough is new to the film world after having a career on "Dancing with a Stars" and a country singing career. She does a capable job in a role that isn't too dramatically challenging. Footloose is an enjoyable good time. It's full of fun dancing from hip-hop to country line dancing. Some of the music from the original movie like "Footloose", "Almost Paradise", and "Holding Out for a Hero", and others are used in this movie. Some arrangements are the same while some of them are new takes on the songs.



The idea that a town bans dancing seems a little archaic. If you let yourself get over that fact, you can let yourself go and have some fun. You also need to get over the fact that this is a remake or re-imaganing. I'm not sure what the technical term the studio is using for this outing. This is the kind of movie you don't need to think through. Don't go in expecting any sort of Academy Award winning movie. It's not going to be that kind of movie. You have to let your mind go, kick off your Sunday shoes, and have a good time.


RATING: **** (4 out of 5 stars)