Footloose (1984)

Paramount, 1984
Starring Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, and Chris Penn
Directed by Herbert Ross
Music by Kenny Loggins and others; Lyrics by Dean Pitchford and others

The popularity of MTV in the 80's inspired a spate of musicals with dynamic, quick editing, flashy costumes and sets, and melodramatic stories to appeal to more jaded teen audiences. This was one of the earliest, and one of the bigger hits of 1984, with a great up-and-coming cast and a smash soundtrack of rock and pop tunes. The title song and "Let's Here It For the Boy" were even more successful, hitting number 1 on the Billboard charts and getting nominated for Oscars for Best Song. How does this very 80's tale look nowadays? Let's head to a church in a small town in Utah to find out...

The Story: Ren McCormick (Bacon) isn't happy to move from Chicago to tiny Bomont, Utah to live with his aunt and uncle. He's even less thrilled when Willard (Penn), the nice guy he befriends on his first day, tells him that dancing and rock music have been banned in town by the strict preacher Reverend Moore (Lithgow). Moore lost his son to a car crash after he'd been out dancing. Ren would rather crush on his daughter Ariel (Singer) and face down her obnoxious boyfriend Chuck (Jim Youngs) in a tractor chicken race. Moore grounds her after that and forbids her to see Ren again, but she, Willard, and her friend Rusty (Sarah Jessica Gellar) sneak out to to a country music bar to see what dancing is all about anyway.

Ren and the other teens want to hold a real senior prom, but Moore continues to hold out and insist that dancing and rock will lead to no good. It takes a talking-to from his wife Vi (Dianne West) and witnessing a book burning to make him understand that his protectiveness is causing more harm than good.

The Song and Dance: Kevin Bacon may still be best-known for his performance as the young man whose rebellious spirit eventually inspires others to defy the music ban. He's especially good at the hearing to overturn the ban, where he reads quotes from the Bible on the importance of dance and expression. Penn and Gellar are even more fun as Ren's goofy best buddy who eventually learns to stand up for himself and Ariel's supremely sarcastic friend. Lithgow and West are also excellent as the parents who think they're doing what's best in the face of tragedy.

Extra points for the on-location filming in and around the movie's Utah setting. It adds a note of dusty reality to this old-fashioned story.

Favorite Number: The title song is used at least three times; my favorite version is the opening credits, where dancing feet moving to the catchy music gives us a hint of what's to come. "Let's Hear It for the Boy," with the girls prancing and having fun, has some great choreography, as does Ren's driving dance solo "Never" and the title song finale.

My personal favorite "number" isn't really a musical number in the traditional sense. "Holding Out for a Hero" makes perfect background music for the tense, excitingly-filmed tractor race, even if Ren's not quite the hero that the music makes him out to be.

Trivia: This is loosely based after a real-life incident. There really was a town in Oklahoma that banned dancing. They finally overturned it in 1980 when the high school wanted to hold a prom.

A Broadway version debuted at the Richard Rodgers Theater in October 1998. It was a hit in its own right, running through early summer 2000. The film remake in 2011 also did fairly well at the box office and even better than the original with the critics.

What I Don't Like: For a movie intended for teens, the story is resolutely old-fashioned and ridiculously melodramatic. It sounds more like a teen movie from the 1950's than the 1980's. As good as Bacon is in the dramatic scenes, I wish they'd found someone who could dance as well. The use of a double in "Never" is glaringly obvious. And yeah, if you don't like 80's rock music, teen movies, or are looking for something lighter, this isn't going to be your thing.

The Big Finale: It's too bad that the iconic numbers and performances are occasionally drowned out by the dated story. The melodrama was a little much for me, but if  you're more into heavy drama and the music video-influenced musicals of the mid-80's than I am, you may want to dance on over and check this one out.

Home Media: Can be found on DVD solo or paired with the remake or fellow mid-80's musical Flashdance, along with several streaming companies. The solo DVD can frequently be had for under five dollars.

DVD
DVD - Flashdance/Footloose Double Feature
DVD - Flashdance 1984/Flashdance 2011 Double Feature
Amazon Prime