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97 reviews in total

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40 out of 46 people found the following review useful:
Unfair reputation., 19 November 2002

Author: Howlin Wolf from Oldham, Gtr Manchester, England.

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...

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34 out of 38 people found the following review useful:
Silly, but lighthearted caper, 24 June 2002
Author: Alain English from London, England

"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.

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31 out of 39 people found the following review useful:
Sure it's silly but it's an 80s teen musical, 6 April 2005

Author: Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) from United States

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!

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36 out of 49 people found the following review useful:
Jon Monsarrat review: underrated teen flick, 8 May 2002

Author: jonmon from United States

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.

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13 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Dance Machine, 8 September 1999

Author: Thaleia from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

City boy moves to small town and doesn't fit in. A film based on the same old story that follows the same old lines yet somehow manages to make you enjoy. Nothing new happens in this movie but you will watch with a smile on your face (especially during Kev's big drinking/dancing scene.) A great representation of what an 80s flick is all about.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Guaranteed to lift you up, 30 July 2006

Author: Martin Bradley (MOscarbradley@aol.com) from Derry, Ireland

A film of enormous charm. It's about dancing but unlike many films about dancing it doesn't take itself seriously. It's loose-limbed and goofy and it lifts you up. It's set in a high school in a small mid-western town where dancing has been banned; (it reminds me of a joke I heard here in Ulster; 'Why do Free Presbyterians disapprove of making love standing up?' 'It might lead to dancing').

Kevin Bacon is the new kid in town who wants the ban lifted. Indeed, this boy seems to live to dance and he's immensely likable. He uses his killer smile to great effect. In this movie the dancing is integral to the plot and it evolves from it naturally and, for once, the director Herbert Ross takes things easy. As well as Bacon, the film has Lori Singer, (the obligatory love interest), and John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest as her parents. He's the bible-thumper who thinks that dancing is sinful and Wiest, with her wan, other-worldly smile, is the wife who doesn't as well as a very young Chris Penn as the over-weight farm boy Bacon teaches to dance in a wonderful sequence choreographed to Denise Williams' 'Let's hear it for the boy'

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19 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
Hot....white hot..., 31 May 1999

Author: meryl-2 from Los Angeles, CA

There is no doubt about it, this film is pure cheese.

You absolutely must see this film if only for the unbelievable scene in which Kevin Bacon "works out some emotions" in the warehouse. The soundtrack is fierce! Let's hear it for the boy??? This film is what the 80s were all about.

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11 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
It makes me feel like dancing, 15 October 2005

Author: tastyhotdogs from Australia

EVERYBODY CUT FOOTLOOSE As we all know 1984 produced a lot of great things. One of the best was "Footloose". Here's my thoughts on this timeless masterpiece which I brought on DVD this week

-Most good movies have a great opening and Footloose is no exception. A bunch of feet dancing showcasing the great footwear of the 80's to the soundtrack song "Footloose". Immediately gets you in -Kevin Bacon's character has one of the all-time great movie names: "Ren McCormack" -Funny how this is probably Kevin Bacon's greatest role, maybe only challenged by "Flatliners". It's amazing how so many actors never repeat their efforts of their first breakthrough movie (See Lou Diamond Phillips, Chris Rock and Madonna for starters) -Also starring in this movie is one of Hollywood's greatest lesser known brothers, Sean Penn's brother Christopher. He's way better than Dan Swayze or Charlie Murphy. -Kenny Loggins will go down as one of the greatest contributors to movie hit songs ever. Footloose's "Footloose" and Top Gun's "Danger Zone". -This is another one of those movies built around a town's overzealous pastor's. Reverand Shaw (John Lithgow) is even more intense than that guy in "Chocolat" -Great action scene at the start with Lori Singer car surfing (watch the slightly impossible way she gets back in the car) -Also look for the great David Hasselhoff 2 second cameo -Great scene where the Rev turns off Lor Singer's ghetto-blaster. Everyone stops talking, eating and dancing. Possibly slightly dramatic -Will (Christopher Penn) tells us several other towns have also banned dancing. How wasn't that fact used as the premise for heaps more sequels with Ren going from town to town and reviving dance? Each time he'd face a new obstacle. -Ren mentions his love for "Men at Work" and "The Police", yet he only listens in his car to bad 80's electric rock. Strange. -Weird town. Here a face off equals a tractor fight. -One of the funniest moments is when Chuck gets onto his tractor and puts "I need a hero" on on his ghetto-blaster. That would be awesome to do at a basketball game when you sub in. -Another great Dianne Weist performance. That girl can just capture the whole audience when she wants. Underrated actress. -"Moment I regret now"- Christopher Penn's dance sequence to "Let's Hear It For The Boy" (although it's a great sequence in the movie) -Kevin Bacon's speech to the council was possibly the greatest speech up until that time in cinema history. That is until Sly Stallone raised the bar with his "If I Can Change...." in Rocky 4. Which was then overtaken by Matthew McConaghuey's "Can you see her..." speech in "A Time To Kill"

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Well worth renting!, 21 October 2005
Author: Prolox from Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

KEVIN BACON stars as a high school student transfered to a small town where dancing has been banned by the towns people all led by the towns local minister, due to an accident that occurred a few years prior that was blamed on "evil rock music", this does not sit well with Bacon's character REN, so he decides to fight back to change the law with a few of his new friends, including the ministers daughter, which brings about the wrath of the towns people & other enemies down on him. Despite being a teen picture, FOOTLOOSE was surprisingly sympathetic to adults, where in other teen pictures, they were portrayed as dumb morons who didn't know anything & were often made fun of. There's plenty of drama in this film & it's handled quiet well, the actors were so good & they really made their characters believable & likable, the dance sequences where well choreographed & the songs were great & the script writers even managed to add in some humorous bits sprinkled through out. FOOTLOOSE is never boring & it keeps you watching right through to the very end by always having something happening & the direction is perfect. There's a rumor circulating that this is being remade, let's hope that's all it is, just a rumor, because it scares me to think what Hollywood might do to a great film like this! Highly recommended!

**** stars

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6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
At least we get to see Chris Penn dance, 20 November 2003

Author: FilmOtaku (ssampon@hotmail.com) from Milwaukee, WI

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I used to LOVE this movie, and I remember I got the soundtrack for Easter when I was like, 11 or something. It really is a crummy movie, but oddly engaging... mainly because it is so incredibly surreal and laughable in how it takes itself so seriously.

*Possible Spoilers*

I remember even as a kid, I thought "Holy cow, for a town that didn't allow dancing and music for years, these kids sure can dance well." What are even funnier are the people who are in it - Lithgow did this film two years after Garp. Did he think that this was going to be a meaty role? But then again, he did willingly star in Third Rock from the Sun. And Dianne Wiest - Woody Allen staple and Oscar winner, who has about 4 lines in the movie. Her job is to pretty much look pensive and pious. I don't think I even need to bring up Mr. Kevin Bacon and his goofy dance through the grain mill.

While this film is not as inherently horrible as say, Xanadu, it's also not nearly as hilarious because it takes itself waaaaaaay too seriously. Of course, it has its moments, especially the part where the dance is beginning and no one is dancing. Why? Let's pretend it's not because Kevin Bacon isn't there in his stupid outfit to scream "Let's Daaaaaaaance!!!!!!!!", (rather, is outside getting his ass beat down by the head redneck until he somehow manages to pull out of it and kick said redneck's ass. How the hell did THAT happen?) But in reality because the song playing is the Loverboy guy and Ann Wilson's "Almost Paradise." I think that as kids if we were sexually oppressed and sheltered and that song came on we wouldn't have danced to that crap song either. Yes, this was the 80's, and mid-80's to boot so the clothes, dancing and dialogue are hilariously dated. These kids must have somehow obtained pirate copies of Radio Free Solid Gold Dancers or something, especially the skinny white kid doing "The Robot".

This movie is up there with 80's `classics' like `Flashdance' where we find that while most of us loved the movie as kids, we see it through adult eyes twenty years later and realize what our parents probably thought: `What a crap movie.' The difference being, our nostalgia sometimes compels us to avoid averting our eyes, like a train wreck.

--Shelly

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