Year of release: 1984 Year of release: 2011
Director: Herbert Ross Director:
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Starring: Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough,
Dianne
West Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell
I’ve recently booked to go and see Footloose at the theatre,
so I’ve been recapturing my love of this story by re-watching the movies – yes,
movies. As with any good film, there is usually a follow up or remake somewhere
down the line and this one is no exception. This much loved story was brought
back to the screens in a modern version released in 2011. I’m often wary of remakes
as I always worry they will completely ruin the story, but since I loved the
first one I figured I’d give it a chance. Thankfully, the plot stayed very much
in line with the original so I didn’t have to shout at the screen while
watching it – it drives me crazy when they start adding or changing bits! If it
ain’t broke, don’t fix it as they say.
The film follows the story of city teenager, Ren McCormack
(Kevin Bacon, 1984/Kenny Wormald, 2011), who moves to the small town of Bomont.
Life in the town comes as quite a culture shock for young Ren upon discovering
that the local minister (John Lithgow, 1984/Dennis Quaid, 2011) has enforced a
strict ban on dancing and rock music following the tragic death of a group of
youths returning home from a dance. The ban is pitched as an effective way of
“protecting” the youth of the town (dancing and music are considered a sin),
but really it’s just a convenient way of keeping them in line. But rules are
there to be broken, bans lifted and laws changed, and in the ban on dancing, rebellious
and free spirited Ren finds a worthy cause to fight for – his chance to do
something that can make a difference.
Lori Singer (1984) and Julianne Hough (2011) both did a
great job in their performance of the wild and unruly ministers daughter Ariel,
capturing both her defiant spirit and vulnerability perfectly – although
Hough’s version was by far the more promiscuous. I found the character of Ren a
little more likeable in the 1984 version, as I thought that Kevin Bacon brought
a lot more charm to the role. The performance by Kenny Wormald, whilst
likeable, didn’t quite have as much appeal – Ren came across as a bit too cocky
and arrogant, whilst Bacon’s effort made Ren hard not to like.
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| Ren and Ariel, 1984 (left) and 2011 (right) |
The dancing – an integral part of this movie – was done well
in both versions, but I do think the original is slightly better purely because
of Bacon. Ren’s big solo dance scene in the warehouse is probably the most
iconic and well-known scene from the film, but I don’t think Wormald pulled it off
nearly as well. The guy can dance, sure, but he just didn’t seem to have as
much slickness or natural rhythm that Bacon has. To me, his performance came
off as a bit stiff and stilted – a little too wooden – unlike Bacon who
delivered the dance with coolness and with ease. Whilst Ren was easily the
standout character of the original, I thought Willard (Miles Teller) was the
star of the remake – and was by far the better dancer, outshining his co-star
by a mile in the final dance scene.
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| Kenny Wormald (left) and Miles Teller (left) cut loose |
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| Kevin Bacon shows 'em how it's done |
Also, I just have to comment on the first big dance scene in
the remake – this scene never fails to irritate me every time I see it. Why why
why do modern day dance movies insist on putting in street dancing scenes?!
This is a film that is supposed to be set in the 80’s, the height of the disco
craze, yet for some reason they had everyone dancing to hip hop. This scene
completely ruined the feel of the movie. It just felt so out of context and out
of synch with the time in which the film was meant to be based. The inclusion
of this song was just bizarre and I can only guess that it was included in an
attempt to modernise the film and appeal to a wider audience, but for me, it
just didn’t fit.
To give the remake some credit though, the dance numbers are
a lot more energetic and are very well choreographed – the dance scene in the
country and western bar scene in particular was fantastic. The line dance,
performed to ‘Fake I.D’ by Big & Rich, was just brilliant and after
watching it repeatedly I will unashamedly admit that I am desperate to learn
it! I do also have to commend the remake for sticking very closely to the
original story. The film is kept very much as a drama filled with dancing, as
opposed to rehashing it as a full blown musical with singing, dancing, the lot.
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| The ultimate line dance scene |
Both version of the film are enjoyable, with an interesting
plot and likeable characters, but for me the original is the better of the two.
Ren is much more appealing and charming in the original, –Wormald’s more cocky
portrayal made the character a bit unlikable at times – the dance numbers are
fun and are delivered with style and ease and they didn’t spoil it by throwing in
a hip hop number! But the newer version isn’t bad at all and with the exception
of a few performance misses, it is still a very well done remake of a classic
movie. Whichever version you might decide to watch, I’m sure you will enjoy.
Favourite bit: In both I absolutely love the scene where
Ren teaches his friend Willard to dance. It’s brilliant. The line dance scene
in the remake is also a favourite of mine – the dance is fab.
Overall rating for both: 8/10
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