From the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, It's Retro Nerd Girl with a film review for you.
Today I'll be reviewing the movie Footloose released in 1984.
Starring:
Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow
Directed by:
Herbert Ross
Genre:
Drama, Music, Romance
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA):
PG
Budget:
$8,200,000
Current IMDb Rating When Reviewed:
6.5
The Synopsis is:
Chicago teen, Ren McCormack moves to a small town where he quickly learns that dancing is banned and attracts the attention of the rebellious preacher’s daughter, Ariel. Together, they help the town heal after tragedy.
Story:
The story was written by Dean Pitchford who loosely based the script on an actual 80 year old ban on dancing that was placed on the small religious farming town of Elmore City, Oklahoma in 1978 until a group of high school teenagers challenged it.
I think it’s a beautiful story that appears to be about this trivial thing, the right to dance, but it actually has a deeper significance about tolerance and trust.
Pacing:
At 1 hour and 47 minutes feels too long. It has some very slow pacing and redundant moments that could have been trimmed.
Challenge:
The challenge in this story is the town. And the leader of the town is Rev. Shaw Moore, who incites the town to stay dedicated to their ban on smoking, drinking, but most absurd of all dancing and any kind of modern music.
The film opens in the church with the reverend giving a stirring speech to his congregation, his voice menacing and passionately announcing to them how he has taken personal responsibility over them.
The reverend never actually does any of the mean things that the town executes to uphold their rules, but the audience knows that he is the one responsible. In a way he is unknowingly pulling all of the strings.
He is built up as the bad guy but he is just really a guy trying be the hero. He’s concerned about them all and even considers them his children as he refers to them at his last speech to the congregation in the film.
There is a genuine worry on his face as he hears his wife’s point of view about what is going on. You can see the frustration on his face as he fights a losing battle to stay relevant in his daughter’s life.
He struggles to keep her in line and in her eyes he seems like the gate keeper to her freedom and happiness.
What I love is that the film wonderfully uncovers that Reverend Moore is grieving his son’s death and is having some trouble moving on. In many ways, the film is really about him.
There are other members of the town that are more villainous. Just about everyone has it out for the new guy, but Ariel’s rejected ex boyfriend Chuck Cranston and the uptight Mr and Mrs. Dunbar are the ones to stand out a bit more.
When Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar burn the local library books, this opens the reverend's eyes to the potential harm his influence could be doing to the town.
Empathy:
When Ren McCormick confronts the Dunbars about their rigid views on the book Slaughterhouse 5, I knew immediately that I liked him.
He is very feisty and stands up for what he believes in and that makes him likeable right away. He tolerates it just about as much as he can, but the town makes very little effort to make him feel welcome.
Luckily he is befriended by Willard and a few others right off the bat, who look out for him.
There is this attraction between Ren and the reverend’s daughter Ariel but she is initially with Chris. She dumps Chuck to be with Ren as soon as he proves he’s tougher.
Ariel is not very likeable at all. I understand that she is dealing with her frustration and anger by seeking thrills so she can feel alive. Being daddy’s little girl is a role she has grown to despise.
She’s mostly unlikable because she has everything and yet she treats everyone around her like dirt. And that is one reason that when Chuck hits her, I hardly felt much sympathy. I think it's wrong for any man to hit a woman... no matter the reason. It's just wrong. But at the same time I don't think its OK for a woman to hit a man either.
And that brutal scene is very uncomfortable because, she definitely punches him first, trashes his car all the while breaking his heart. At a very basic level Chuck really likes her, or at least the fact that the Reverend's daughter is his girlfriend has imprinted on his sense of possession over her. It's no worse than her reasons for being with him in the first place, to be with someone so vile as a human being, so that she could rebel against her father. Both of them are wrong and wrong for each other.
It doesn’t make it right, but it feels so messy, a lot like real life.
At first you think Ren is going to go ballistic and seek some kind of revenge for her, but no. Ren doesn’t get involved with her battles with Chuck and her beef with her father. He even says, “You don’t get to turn my fight into a screw you to your old man.” And that actually makes me like Ren even more. He's not going to be manipulated and he is going into this relationship with her with his eyes open. OMG! I love that.
More towards the end Ariel gets more likable, more human and I think that is because Ren brings it out of her.
Technical:
Technically this film is caught in a time warp in 1984 but it doesn’t hurt the film in my point of view, but helps tell the story of the year itself.
Everything about the clothes, music, dancing, and spirit of the era, is completely encapsulated and I love it!
One incredible feature of the film I just absolutely love is the cinematography by Ric Waite. Wow, I just love the way he captures the grit and dirt with unique perspectives. You just feel as if you are actually there, smelling the grass, the gasoline, the sweat, feeling the hot sun.
The location and details placed into each shot was really exquisite.
Can you believe that the writer, Dean Pitchford also co-wrote 9 of the 11 awesome hit songs in the soundtrack. Most of these songs are just iconic for the year and the decade.
Footloose
Written by Kenny Loggins and Dean Pitchford
Performed by Kenny Loggins
Let's Hear It for the Boy
Music by Tom Snow
Lyrics by Dean Pitchford
Performed by Deniece Williams
Dancing in the Sheets
Music by Bill Wolfer
Lyrics by Dean Pitchford
Performed by Shalamar
Never
Written by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford
Performed by Moving Pictures
I'm Free
Written by Kenny Loggins and Dean Pitchford
Performed by Kenny Loggins
The Girl Gets Around
Written by Sammy Hagar and Dean Pitchford
Performed by Sammy Hagar
Holding Out for a Hero
Written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford
Performed by Bonnie Tyler
Somebody's Eyes
Written by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford
Performed by Karla Bonoff
Bang Your Head (Metal Health)
Performed by Quiet Riot
Waiting for A Girl Like You
Performed by Foreigner
Hurts So Good
Performed by John Mellencamp (as John Cougar)
Almost Paradise
(Love Theme)
Music by Eric Carmen
Lyrics by Dean Pitchford
Performed by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson
Performances:
Kevin Bacon was excellent as Ren Mccormack. To prepare for the role, 24-year-old Kevin Bacon actually attended the Payson Utah High School for a day as "Ren McCormack", a transfer student from Philadelphia to research his role.
There are a few scenes where you can see that he is really enjoying himself on screen and it just puts a smile on my face.
Kevin did a lot of his own dancing, but Peter Tramm stepped in as his stunt dancer for many of the intense acrobats and fancier moves.
Many people complained about Lori Singer’s acting in the film as Ariel. But I thought she did well. Her character was not well liked and I feel that was part of the reason she doesn’t get enough credit for her work in the film.
John Lithgow was excellent as Reverend Shaw Moore. Wow, what an amazing mesmerizing performance. I felt his torture.
Dianne Wiest was great as Vi Moore. Just a class act.
Chris Penn played Willard, which would have been a pretty forgettable character if we didn’t get to fall in love with him as he learns how to dance. Oddly enough, that was not in the original script. It was added because in real life Chris couldn’t dance and was taught. By the end of the film, he’s doing great.
Sarah Jessica Parker has a very small part in the film as Rusty but she makes a big impression.
Best:
There are so many amazing parts in the film.
The dancing feet in the opening credit sequence was pretty cool, setting the stage with energy. It contained many of the cast and crew. Over 150 different pairs of feet were shot, however, the dancer with the gold shoes was actually Kenny Loggins.
I loved Ren’s solo dancing scene in the warehouse along to the song Never by Moving Pictures. It had so much energy and is one of the more iconic visuals from the film.
I enjoyed the scene when Ren opens up to his mom about why he is trying to get the town to allow the high school students to have a dance. It was a very sweet character moment.
When Ren speaks at the town meeting quoting passages in the bible that Ariel has highlighted for him was a great highlight. At that moment he does what Ariel and her mother can not do, confronting Reverend Moore with his own oppressing weapon.
I loved the scene when the reverend and his wife are looking on as the dance is happening. Their relationship is so sweet and you get to see what a caring guy he really is.
And the best part of the film for me was the music.
The ending:
The ending was very good. Very satisfying. The reverend gives the dance his blessing, Chuck gets his comeuppance, and the kids get to have some fun at the dance!
There is something really cool about getting to see all of the kids let loose at the end at the dance. It gets your feet tapping and your fingers snapping.
Wish List:
I wish Ariel wasn’t a brat, but a little sweeter and nicer to her friends in the beginning of the film.
I wish Ren’s mother would have taken up for him more at least had made an impact in the story. She is just placed in the story as a passive character.
I wish the story had better pacing.
And I wish there was an explanation as to why Chuck didn't receive any consequences for beating up Ariel. Did the town think it was fair? Or did she make the decision it was fair? It's a little baffling to me. In either case, some mention of it would have been nice.
Enjoyment:
My enjoyment of this movie is actually more complicated than I had ever imagined.
When this film came out, I don’t think I actually saw it in theaters, or at least I don’t remember seeing it there. I remembered the music videos to the many songs from the film like “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins, “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler, and “Let’s Hear it for the Boy,” by Deniece Williams.
I liked the movie but it wasn’t really didn’t impress me. It seemed like an effort to mix the teen drama and dance performance genres together to make an OK film.
It had been years since I saw this film and I picked a weekend to watch this film along with 4 other films and this was the film that stood out the most. For days I just couldn't stop thinking about how good it was, story wise, when for many years I had dismissed it.
This was a complete surprise to me, but I have a brand new appreciation for this film and I absolutely love it.
It’s a great story, with a lot of heart, and much more than just an 80’s dance flick with great original music.
My Rating:
8.9
That sums up my review. I hope you liked it. This is Retro Nerd Girl signing off! Take care movie lovers! I'm off to the next review!
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