Footloose (2011)

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

Director:

Craig Brewer

Writers:

Dean Pitchford (screenplay), Craig Brewer (screenplay),

Stars:

Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kenny Wormald	...	Ren MacCormack
Julianne Hough	...	Ariel Moore
Dennis Quaid	...	Rev. Shaw Moore
Andie MacDowell	...	Vi Moore
Miles Teller	...	Willard
Ray McKinnon	...	Wes Warnicker
Patrick John Flueger	...	Chuck Cranston
Kim Dickens	...	Lulu Warnicker
Ziah Colon	...	Rusty
Ser'Darius Blain	...	Woody
L. Warren Young	...	Andy Beamis
Brett Rice	...	Roger Dunbar
Maggie Elizabeth Jones	...	Amy Warnicker (as Maggie Jones)
Mary-Charles Jones	...	Sarah Warnicker
Enisha Brewster	...	Etta

Storyline

Ren MacCormack moves from big-city Boston to a small southern town, where life is very different. He lives with his aunt and uncle after his divorced mother's painful death from leukemia. An accident, in which five teenagers were killed after a night out, shocked the small town's community. The local councilmen and Reverend Shaw Moore reacted to the incident by banning loud music and dancing. Ren stands up to the outmoded ban and, in the process, falls in love with the Reverend's daughter Ariel Moore.

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Plot Keywords:

small town | dancing | breaking up with boyfriend | religious leader | slapping | 

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Taglines:

There comes a time to cut loose

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some teen drug and alcohol use, sexual content, violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Footloose - A Música Está do Teu Lado

Filming Locations:

Acworth, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$15,556,113 (USA) (14 October 2011)

Gross:

$51,780,537 (USA) (6 January 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Dylan Sellers Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Miles Teller had played his on-screen role of Willard Hewitt in a high school version of "Footloose: The Musical".

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Goofs

At the beginning of the town hall meeting, the meeting is called to order with three raps of the gavel. According to Robert's Rules of Order, a guide for meeting room procedure, meetings are to be called to order by two raps of the gavel.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rev. Shaw Moore: *He* is testing us. Our Lord is testing us. Especially now, when we are consumed with despair. When we are asking our God why this had to happen. No parent should ever have to know the horror of burying their own child. And yet, five of Bomont's brightest have lost their lives. Among them, my only son... my boy, Bobby. We have other children to raise here in Bomont. And one day, they will no longer be in our embrace and in our care. They will belong to the world. A world filled ...

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Crazy Credits

This film is dedicated to Herbert Ross = 1927 - 2001.

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Connections

Featured in Jump Back: Re-Imagining 'Footloose' (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Let's Hear It for the Boy"
Written by Dean Pitchford & Tom Snow
Performed by Jana Kramer
Produced by Scott Hendricks & Chris Stevens
Jana Kramer performs courtesy of Elektra Nashville / Warner Music Nashville

User Reviews

Despite not having a reason to actually exist, Footloose entertains and captures the charm of the original.

As a cynical movie writer, all the lines were ready to go once the chance to review Footloose finally arrived: "It's a BLT without the Bacon", "1980s cheddar is already old, now molding thirty years later.", and "(Insert rant on Hollywood remakes here)".

But damn-it, the Footloose remake doesn't suck; even if it has no reason to exist.

In the hands of director Craig Brewer, Footloose manages to overcome a one note plot (which was apart of the original as well), potentially obnoxious covers of the original soundtrack, and pulls out memorable performances from each of its leads.

The Footloose remake doesn't make any major changes to the plot line of the original, which essentially boils down to kids being legally prohibited to dance because of a car crash where several teenagers tragically died (they say drink responsibly in the TV ads... isn't that enough?)

Apparently, an epic fail of that size just can't go unpunished by forcing everyone who wants to dance to keep those moves at home – where they belong. Despite the law, young Ren McCormack (Kenny Wormald) is determined to shake things up and get his boogie on. Along the way, he'll attempt to woo the reverend's daughter, Ariel Shaw (Julianne Hough), while also taking down the preacher man himself (Dennis Quaid) at the city council.

The plot is laughable, cheesy, and amazingly Brewer manages to make it seem dramatic. No, there's never really a scene that moves past shallow, but there are moments where Hough and Wormald are able to engage in real emotions that have back-story and plausible reasoning. It's an accomplishment that should probably be awarded with an Oscar, but alas, it's not that kind of award show.

Among the many triumphs of Footloose, first and foremost is the dancing. It's simply stunning to watch, and is a mixture of step by step reproducing the original dance moves, and adding a new flare as well. The music is the same combination of old and new, and doesn't miss a step (except for the fact that Kenny Loggins's original Footloose plays during the opening scene where the aforementioned teenagers crash -- an obvious and egregious mixing of separate universes).

Special note should also be given to Miles Teller , who plays Willard, originally portrayed by Chris Penn. It seems blasphemous to say, but Teller is as charming as Penn was in 1984. It's once again proof that Brewer knew exactly what he was doing with this project, and each gamble paid off. Brewer didn't pull any punches (or slaps for that matter) in his attempt to update Footloose for the MTV generation… err from the MTV generation.

Okay, the whole MTV generation thing is confusing. Brewer achieves the update however, despite everything working against him, managing to gives the audience something between a choking laugh and a smile.

Overall

Casting two professional dancers in the lead roles turned out to be a winning decision in regards to dramatic elements, as well as the physical/musical ones. it's a shame that Footloose has to exist in the world, but now that it does, this reviewer is okay with it. Strip away all the years of Saturday night on TNT love for the original, and Footloose (2011) is just as exciting, cheesy, and engaging as the original (even without the Bacon).

On the Side

It's nice to see Dennis Quaid in a role that he doesn't phone in. Still, he's borderline. Maybe he just Skyped it in this time.