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
Lori Singer	...	Ariel
John Lithgow	...	Rev. Shaw Moore
Dianne Wiest	...	Vi Moore
Chris Penn	...	Willard (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".

---

Plot Keywords:

teenage rebellion | small town | high school dance | church | cowboy boots | 

---

Taglines:

The music is on his side.

---

Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Footloose

Filming Locations:

American Fork Community Presbyterian Church - 75 North 100 East, American Fork, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,556,935, 19 February 1984

Gross USA:

$80,035,402

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Phoenix Pictures, IndieProd Company Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the liner notes for the re-released "Footloose" soundtrack (1999), there's a brief introduction by Kenny Loggins, which mentions that the script for the film was loosely based on actual events which transpired in the young life of his longtime friend, Dean Pitchford.

---

Goofs

When the Rev. arrives at the library he takes a stack of books and gives them to a boy to return. He then takes another stack of books which he holds onto but then he takes another stack of books in his empty hands and holds them through the scene.

---

Quotes

Mr. Gurntz: He was trying to teach *that* book down at the school.
Mrs. Allyson: Slaughterhouse-Five, isn't that an awful name?
Ren: Yeah it's a great book... Slaughterhouse-Five, it's a classic.
Mr. Gurntz: Do you read much?
Mrs. Allyson: Maybe in another town, it's a classic.
Ren: In *any* town.
Mr. Gurntz: Tom Sawyer is a classic!

---

Alternate Versions

The UK cinema version was cut by 2 minutes 48 secs by the BBFC to receive a PG certificate with heavy edits to the fight scenes and Ariel's beating by her boyfriend, some cuts to raunchy dialogue (including Ariel's line "I'm not a virgin") and the entire removal of the scene showing Ren being offered a marijuana joint. The cuts were fully restored in all 15-rated video and DVD releases.

---

Connections

Referenced in Family Guy: Viewer Mail #2 (2012)

---

Soundtracks

I'm Free
Written by Kenny Loggins and Dean Pitchford
Performed by Kenny Loggins

User Reviews

Jump Back!

Ah, yes, I did travel back to the 80's this morning watching the film Footloose starring then new comer, Kevin Bacon. The funny thing is that I performed Footloose in my high school, it's now like 5 years later and I realized when I bought this film yesterday that I had never seen the movie. I figured since it was so cheap for 5 bucks on DVD, I'd buy it for fun and I watched it this morning. Footloose is an absolute blast of a movie that I'm sure that anyone could get into. Yes, it's a bit of a time capsule, but it's still all in good fun. I liked how this wasn't necessarily your typical musical, it just had an awesome soundtrack with the movie. The story is just so much fun and original, you just fall in love with Ren McCormick from the start.

Ren is a new guy from the big city of Chicago coming into a small town and now this small town has banished dancing since a big accident that happened years ago that killed several teens after a dance, there were drugs and alcohol involved, so naturally these folks think that it's all apart of dancing. But Ren's getting a hard time from everyone because of his fun loving nature, but he makes friends with a wanna be cow boy, Willard. Soon he also becomes the preacher's rebellious daughter, Ariel's love interest. He wants the kids to have fun though and wants a big dance thrown for the town and must convince them to cut their foot loose.

Footloose is just a fun movie that I'm sure you'll have fun with. It's charming, it's funny, it's just a blast to watch, and it's an 80's classic. The acting was actually pretty good, we have a great cast that looked like they enjoyed themselves. Of course we'll always question how the kids just managed the skills of dancing, you'll see what I mean when you watch it, but it's all good. I would highly recommend this film, it's a fun one to watch. Kevin Bacon is totally cool and a must see for Footloose.

6/10