Arts & Entertainment
Movie Review: New 'Footloose' Movie Is Same Old Song and Dance
The movie that made kids dance in the 80s is back with a new cast and new moves, but basically the same storyline.
A remake of the original from 1984, "Footloose" pits old farts who hate rock and roll against wild, young, dancing teens who want to shake their groove thing all night long.
The story remains basically the same. Some teens, including the son of a local reverend, are killed in a car accident after a night of dancing and partying. The reverend (Dennis Quaid) then leads the drive to pass an ordinance forbidding public dancing. Fast forward a few years. Now the reverend's daughter Ariel, played by Julianne Hough, starts to stir up controversy by participating in some forbidden, underground dancing. Plus the new kid in town, Ren McCormack (Kenny Wormald) stirs up even more controversy in the role originally played by Kevin Bacon.
McCormack, along with the town's teens, petition the city to allow dancing. This just spells trouble. For a town that hasn't had any public dancing in a while, those kids seem suspiciously well choreographed. Look, when you do a remake of a movie that's not great to begin with, you are going to get, well, another not so great movie.
The tunes were catchy and perhaps the best thing about the film. Some songs were remakes of the originals, some others are new. "Footloose" is good clean fun, ridiculously far-fetched and, for the most part, too cute and loaded with gobs of sap.
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The flick-o-meter gives "Footloose" barely a three out of five. Fans of the original may like it and teens will should have a decent experience as well. It just doesn't have that dancing edge the original had -- sorry.
Footloose is playing at
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About this column: About this column: Brett Martin is a familiar face in the Atlanta area. He was the Entertainment reporter and Road Warrior for Fox 5 and Good Day Atlanta for many years (1999-2007). Brett continues to be a film critic and a member of the BFCA (broadcast film critics association). He has personally interviewed nearly every major movie star and academy award winning actor and actress over the past two decades. You can catch all his reviews and find out more about Brett on his two websites. His movie reviews can be seen at www.flickedup.com. His video production business, which specializes in online commercials, can be seen at www.brettervideo.com. If you have any specific questions contact Brett through his email. flickmeup@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook www.facebook.com/brettervideo. You can also follow him on Twitter at @imbrettmartin.
