Footloose Review
by
Caroline Hackett
Literally four beats into the opening titles, with the original title music blasting out to a new selection of dancing shoes, I was a kid again, grinning away & wanting to get up and dance.
Opening with people out having an amazing time, at a party you really want to just step into the screen and be part of. Then it brutally changes. For the first time we actually get to experience why the town folk saw fit to ban dancing and music in the town. And in a tragic way, it all seems to make sense. They mean well, but moments of high emotion are probably not the best time to be making laws.
There is the obvious great music with most of the original sound track being ‘refreshed’ fantastic dancing, excellent cinematography and developing romance between characters. Ren previously played by Kevin Bacon is now brilliantly played by relative newcomer, Kenny Wormald, he has the looks, uniform and swagger of James Dean, but because of his life experience, this rebel knows exactly want he wants. That may all sound quite heavy, but the movie is incredibly funny. The sequence where Willard played by Miles Teller uncannily resembling the originals Chris Penn is learning to dance is worth the price of the ticket alone, Julianne Hough is mesmerisingly beautiful as the preachers wayward daughter. A very troubled teen, but this time around we understand why she’s behaving this way.
There are loads of loving references to the original movie, a few much needed touch ups and some inspired changes. You don’t have to have seen the original to enjoy this remake but if you have, I do recommend watching it again before seeing this version just to see how much better they have made it.
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