Footloose (2011)

directed by Craig Brewer (2011)

The town that banned dancing!  This is a ridiculous premise for a movie, but I guess when you're doing remakes from the 80's you're forced to stay within the confines of whatever terrible concept.  I mean, you don't absolutely have to, some remakes only borrow the name to bring brand familiarity to the game.  This remake is not one of those though.  Too bad. It could have been about a dude who dances his way across America in a wheelchair after a terrible tour in Iraq,  or maybe a guy who couldn't stop dancing, like in that fairytale The Red Shoes. Or even a thiller solving the mystery of all the feet washing up on the shores of B.C.

Whatever, I don't remember the original very well except for the song and Kevin Bacon dancing around in tight jeans and cowboy boots to the Kenny Loggins' song.  I have vague recollections of the plot.

Actually, watching the remake revived more memories, like it was John Lithgow doing the preacher dude, I mean he wasn't doing him haha,  just portraying him.  This time it was Dennis Quaid playing the holy roller, and I kept thinking that it was kind of appropriate that Jerry Lee Lewis got all religious and turned his back on rock and roll.

I don't remember why the town banned dancing in the original, but I'm assuming it's because of a terrible drinking and driving auto wreck which wouldn't have happened if there hadn't been dancing before that to loosen the morals of the kids towards all that boozing for sexy time made them forget about how stupid it is to drink and drive, at least that's what happens in the remake.  The accident is pretty shocking.  I didn't expect it because I forgot that it was about a town that banned dancing and I was just enjoying the opening party dancing scene.  Gotta gotta cut loose.  I have to tell you it was a pretty harsh contrast and brought the start of the movie way down low.

When the Kevin Bacon replacement (Kenny Wormald) goes to school and almost gets into a fight with a tall hayseed, (Miles Teller),  I suddenly remembered, oh yeah, Christopher Penn  (RIP) played the local, because this guy is totally doing Christopher Penn doing that hayseed part.  It was my fave part of the movie.  Hayseed don't know how to dance so he's got to learn in a montage sequence, first the Kevin Bacon replacement's little cousins are teaching him their cute little girl dance moves - I guess they know the moves from watching TV or the kids teach each other, dance knowledge was only suppressed 3 years back, so I dunno, these girls are young, they probably only remember a town without dancing so dance osmosis potential has got to be the highest at their young age.   Whatever, it's a cute sequence, him all bumbly toed and then bringing it home with proper line dancing and what not.  I liked him the best in the film. Christopher Penn replacement, you dun good.

IMO, for a movie about kids being all footloose, there is too much emphasis on NON-dancing.  I know this is a town that banned dancing and the kids have to dance in secret, like the drive in hoedown, (btw it was kinda ridiculous that the old dude was smuggling in the crunk sounds - did this town ban the internets too?)  I just think there should have been more depictions of secret dance clubs and West Side Storyesque dance fighting or something, because the replacement activity - reckless car driving at the track, was not as much fun.  I mean it was OK, just I didn't expect Fast and Furious in the fields ya know?  And really, not as many people can race cars as can dance.  And the only racing that has a plot point is actually school bus racing which is not that fast to be honest.

The movie is dumb, but it's based on a dumb movie.  It's fun, but it has stretches of boredom and eye rollery stupid dialogues.  I particularly liked "You're hotter than socks on a rooster." I think the original was the same though.  Still I think the original is probably better.  The 80's version has better acting, but less dancing, though more iconic dancing I'm guessing.  I'm not sure though, the angry dance scene in the remake is maybe better, for sure more over the top with the emotive expression.  He is really venting with his choreography. They are both campy, so probably hit the old one if you're a retro hound with principles of holding out against the future or if you're feeling the 80's and want to see old stars when they were young. Check the remake if you want to hear remixes of the old tunes and  see new stars before they fizzle or shoot up or  should that be out? Who knows, both probably, this is the folks what live in n Hollyweird, and odds are some of these folk will end up in rehab.   Not Miles Teller I hope.  He's got a bright future I'd bet.