SYNOPSICS
Footloose (1984) is a English movie. Herbert Ross has directed this movie. Kevin Bacon,Lori Singer,John Lithgow,Dianne Wiest are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1984. Footloose (1984) is considered one of the best Drama,Music,Romance movie in India and around the world.
Classic tale of teenage rebellion and repression features a delightful combination of dance choreography and realistic and touching performances. When teenager Ren McCormack and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small Midwestern town, he's in for a real case of culture shock. Though he tries hard to fit in, the streetwise Ren can't quite believe he's living in a place where rock music and dancing are illegal. However, there is one small pleasure: Ariel Moore, a troubled but lovely blonde with a jealous boyfriend. And a Bible-thumping minister, who is responsible for keeping the town dance-free. Ren and his classmates want to do away with this ordinance, especially since the senior prom is around the corner, but only Ren has the courage to initiate a battle to abolish the outmoded ban and revitalize the spirit of the repressed townspeople. Fast-paced drama is filled with such now-famous hit songs as the title track and "Let's Hear It for the Boy".
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Footloose (1984) Reviews
Unfair reputation.
Prior to seeing this movie, all I had heard suggested that I was better off not watching it unless it was to ridicule. I looked at my uncle dancing round his living room to some of its music and asked myself if anybody expected me to take that seriously. It's got a place in movie history even for the title song alone, though, so I decided I couldn't live with myself unless I gave it a chance. It was definitely worth it. The style is reminiscent of a whole host of other '80's teen flicks, but only a handful are better. Most of the cast do great things with their roles. Kevin Bacon actually manages to make the clichéd concept seem kinda cool, here showcasing an easy charm that was to become the hallmark of much of his later work. Crucially, the music is actually pretty good too! (Even if I am torn between wanting to cringe and dance when I hear the theme!) On reflection it's no cheesier than something like "All the Right Moves" (which has a great cast doing their best but suffers from a plodding story) In fact, it's miles better! At least the music in "Footloose" gave the makers a viable way to pep things up whenever the story begins to flag. This film is much, MUCH better than I had been led to believe, so give it a chance if you ain't seen it yet but thought you knew the score. Chances are, you don't...
True Story People!!
Yeah you heard me... Footloose is based on a TRUE STORY. Unlikely as it seems, it really happened in the small town of Elmore City, Oklahoma in 1980. My dad, Leonard Coffee (a.k.a. Ren McCormack a.k.a. Kevin Bacon...all breakfast items? what a coincidence...lol) was a junior at Elmore City High School. This was a minuscule town, with a population of around 750, and there were about 50 or so Baptist churches...so naturally the town's rules and regulations were a bit extreme. There was an archaic town ordinance that banned dancing in public, and it hadn't been abolished. Elmore had never had a junior/senior prom! So my dad fought the system with the help of his best friend, Rex Kennedy (the junior class president), and they were allowed to have a prom for the first time, and Elmore has had prom every year since. I don't know who sold the story, but unfortunately we got no money lol! There were a few things in the movie that didn't actually happen (Ariel Moore, Reverend Moore, the book burning, oh and playing chicken on the tractors!), but it is mostly accurate. The kids did have to go to surrounding communities like Pauls Valley and Lindsay to dance and party, and my dad drove the exact same car that Ren drives in the movie! So there you have it, the REAL story of Footloose. If you haven't seen it...watch it!
Silly, but lighthearted caper
"Footloose" is a fun and very lighthearted motion picture that promises a good time and delivers. The film has a simple, if unlikely, plotline. Streetsmart but gentle teenager Ren MacCormack(Kevin Bacon) arrives from the big city with his mother in the backwater town of Bomont. Enrolling at the local high school, he is appalled to discover the town's adults have imposed a law on "public dancing" and rock music, as enforced and practiced by the local preacher(John Lithgow). Ren quickly sets about changing things, falling in love with the preacher's daughter Ariel (Lori Singer) in the process. The story is a little unlikely yet it is perfectly suitable for the teenaged audience at which it is pitched. The script takes some time to explore its simple theme - dancing and rock music, and what they symbolise for young people. Three scenes help to lay this out. The first sees Ren dancing by himself in a barn; the town meeting where Ren presents his case to the townspeople and explains to them the meaning of the dance; and the final prom sequence in which the teens of Bomont revel in their newfound liberation. As the leading man, Kevin Bacon carries off his role very well. Ren isn't really a macho hero revelling in coolness, he's a down-to-earth young man trying to the right thing by his peers. His romance with Lori Singer's character Ariel is formulaic but perfectly inoffensive. The film could have perhaps done with a little more nastiness to fully contrast against Ren's earnest intentions. Even Ariel's brutish boyfriend(Jim Young) fails to inject much tension in this respect and the final fistfight between him and Ren comes across as being a bit lame. John Lithgow's characterisation is very good but it is a little too subtle. As the town Reverend and preacher of all things pure and holy, his extreme views come across not so much as puritanical, just merely uptight. The change that eventually occurs in his attitudes is hinted at very early on. The result is that he is nowhere near is frightening or intimidating a character as he could have been. At the same time his troubled relationships with his rebellious daughter and quiet wife(Dianne Wiest) are very well written and acted. In these scenes he excels and his character's development seems very natural. On the technical side, the film is well-shot and the gloriously Eighties soundtrack complements the proceedings very well, bringing the necessary exhuberance and bounce to the whole movie. Whilst "Footloose" is certainly no masterpiece, it succeeds in being a lighthearted knockabout caper, and as such is a very enjoyable movie.
Jon Monsarrat review: underrated teen flick
OK, maybe I'm giving in to nostalgia here but I rented "Footloose" recently and thought it was great. Yes, it's definitely a teen flick, similar to "Dirty Dancing", and aging a little now. But the music is great and the plot and themes do as much for me as "Grease" ever did. As teen movies go, it is somewhat original and interesting. Who should see this film: -- Teens with nothing better to do on a rainy day -- People reliving the 1980s, you won't be disappointed to see this one again I'll give Footloose a 9 out of 10 because it cheered me up on a day I needed it.
Sure it's silly but it's an 80s teen musical
Teenager Ren (Kevin Bacon) moves to a small mid Western town with his mom after his parents divorce. It seems the Reverend Moore (John Lithgow), of the town's only church, has totally banned rock and roll music from the entire town. He has a daughter named Ariel (Lori Singer) who is basically a hell-raiser--yet loves her father. Rem decides to stop the ban and bring the town back to life. OK--we're not dealing with reality here at ALL! A town banning rock music entirely is ridiculous and the town only has ONE church? And the game of chicken using tractors was just silly. And don't get me started on how Bacon, Singer, Chris Penn and Sarah Jessica Parker look WAY too old to be high school students--Singer was THIRTY when she did this! And how the heck did all the kids from the town learn how to dance so quickly? But, as a no brain musical, this does work. The opening sequence alone is great (it shows various feet dancing to the title tune). Also the acting helps a lot. Bacon is just great--he doesn't take the movie too seriously and gives out a very good performance. He also has a big dance number (to a song called "Never") which is him and THREE different stuntman doing the more unrealistic moves. Singer is too old for her role but she tries. Penn is pretty good as Bacon's best friend--his learning how to dance sequence is a highlight. Parker did this before she was known and she's not bad. Lithgow and Wiest are just great as the Reverend and his wife--Wiest has a great scene where she calmly tells him off and Lithgow (wisely) does not play the Reverend as a one-note character. You see him trying to understand his daughter and slowly realizing that music isn't bad. So--this is no "Singin in the Rain" but for a 1980s teen musical it's lots of fun. Great songs too. Just turn off your brain and enjoy!