Footloose (1984)

A city teenager moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned, and his rebellious spirit shakes up the populace.

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writer:

Dean Pitchford

Stars:

Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Bacon	...	Ren McCormack
Lori Singer	...	Ariel Moore
John Lithgow	...	Reverend Shaw Moore
Dianne Wiest	...	Vi Moore
Chris Penn	...	Willard Hewitt (as Christopher Penn)
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Rusty
John Laughlin	...	Woody
Elizabeth Gorcey	...	Wendy Jo
Frances Lee McCain	...	Ethel McCormack
Jim Youngs	...	Chuck Cranston
Douglas Dirkson	...	Burlington Cranston
Lynne Marta	...	Lulu Warnicker
Arthur Rosenberg	...	Wes Warnicker
Timothy Scott	...	Andy Beamis
Alan Haufrect	...	Coach Roger Dunbar

Storyline

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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Plot Keywords:

dancing | teenager | dance | city | prom | 

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Taglines:

One kid. One town. One chance.

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Foot-loose

Filming Locations:

American Fork, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,200,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$80,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, IndieProd Company Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Lithgow filmed scenes for Terms of Endearment while on a break from shooting this film.

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Goofs

When Ariel is making the switch from the car to Chuck's pickup and the tractor-trailer is headed for them, they are about to converge at a railroad crossing, but when they do meet, there is no railroad crossing to be seen.

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Quotes

Ren: I'll tell you, there was this place called the Blue Heaven. It was great. Had to steal IDs to get in, but it was incredible. It was like a huge underground circus, you know. Hot pink neon climbin' up the walls. And astro music. And millions of girls, like from the university mostly. If we could get one to dance, just one, then that was it. We'd get out on the floor and we'd really start to smoke. We'd start cuttin' in, and these girls would stop. - And they'd look.
Willard: They'd look how?
Ren: You know, ...
[...]

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Connections

References Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

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Soundtracks

"The Girl Gets Around"
Written by Sammy Hagar and Dean Pitchford
Performed by Sammy Hagar

User Reviews

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!