Before I say anything about the new Footloose movie, I would like to congratulate FVHS alumnus Craig Brewer, the director of Footloose, for his amazing accomplishments in the film industry as a screenwriter and director.
For those who are unfamiliar, Footloose is about a teenager, Ren MacCormack, who moves from the big city to the small town of Bomont, where music and dancing have been outlawed. He uses his rebellious nature to shake things up and change the law and mindset of the townspeople.
Although the Footloose remake is a well-made movie, it failed in comparison to the original. It’s an hour and a 53 minutes of contradiction. Many of the scenes, including when Ren gets pulled over for playing music too loud, are almost identical (costumes, dialogue, characters, etc.) to the original. I feel as though the original just isn’t old enough to simply “re-release.”
However, there were some major differences that I found to weaken the storyline. First, the movie begins with the horrific death of Bobby Moore (the preacher’s son). The 1984 version only implied the car crash, without showing the car bust into flames. I didn’t think this was a very good way to begin the movie.
Ren was apparently from Boston, Massachusetts in this film, not Chicago (as it was in the original). Although the actor, Kenny Wormald is very talented, I couldn’t get my mind off his heavy Boston accent. It was distracting to the point that sometimes I didn’t even know what he said, only how he said it.
The rural ways of Bomont are exemplified in the tractor scene. Ren and Chuck Cranston are playing chicken on the tractor. Ren, being unfamiliar with this particular farming tool, can’t stop the machine and ultimately wins. However, in the remake, they race buses. Yes, buses. I didn’t understand the purpose at all. I mean really, who races buses?
Ren’s uncle, Wes Warnicker, is actually quite supportive. I expected him to be on the side of the townspeople and try to make Ren’s life miserable. But it was just the opposite; at one point, he even talks the judge out of giving Ren a ticket. Come to think of it, it seems as though everyone was much nicer to Ren. However, with more people on his side, he loses the audience’s pity and isn’t the underdog anymore. Ren is supposed to be alone and rejected in this world, with nothing to console him but his music. However, in the new version, he’s a rebel who has a following.
Bonnie Tyler’s iconic ‘80s anthem “Holding Out for a Hero,” was covered by Ella Mae Bowen, who turned the powerful song into a slow, sad, mopey mess. It lost all of its energy and excitement and made me yawn a few times. At this, I was not happy.
However, my favorite scene is definitely when Willard learns to dance. It took much longer for Willard to learn to dance in this movie than it did in the old one but it was filled with great music, dance moves, and hilarious scenes. I thought this was a great improvement and somewhat redeemed the rest of the movie. In fact, Willard as whole was a superb character and added the much needed comic relief to a movie like this.
The new Footloose can’t hold a candle to the original, but is a decent movie in its own right. I didn’t feel as though it captured the essence of Footloose, but it could just be too soon. Let’s just say, if you’ve seen the original with Kevin Bacon, wait until this movie comes to the $3 theater on Beach and Warner.
