Footloose

I will be the first person to admit that I thought remaking Footloose was possibly one of the worst ideas I’d heard of. Whilst the original 1984 film wasn’t exactly ground-breaking, who could help but fall slightly in love with Kevin Bacon’s Ren MacCormack, with his endearing teenage angst and youthful optimism? I was completely ready to be disappointed by Craig Brewer’s attempt; in fact, I wanted to dislike it, even if just to be faithful to one of my favourite films. So imagine my surprise when I left the cinema almost two hours later having thoroughly enjoyed myself.

It’s obvious from the very start that this film is going to be a version for the modern generation: shot after shot of feet dancing to a cover of Kenny Loggin’s Footloose amid beer and stereotypical American red cups gives us a sense that whilst this is set in modern America, the story will see little change. In the opening scenes we’re shown the vivid car crash in which five of Bomont High School’s seniors are killed driving home from a party, including Bobby, Reverend Moore’s son. Moore takes it upon himself to help the parents of Bomont to protect their children, and so the town council imposes various laws on Bomont’s minors, including banning public dancing. Enter Ren MacCormack, fresh from Boston, who feels that small-town Bomont needs shaking up, starting with the removal of the dancing ban.

Kenny Wormald has big shoes to fill in playing Ren, reprising Kevin Bacon's compelling role. Brought in for his dancing abilities more than anything, Wormald manages to carry off the achingly cool character of Ren, although some of his acting shows definite room for improvement. Rebellious Ariel is played by Julianne Hough, who gives a great performance (despite a slight hint of Disney-Channel-starlet), mixing bubbly arrogance with a somewhat darker, emotional side, something that doesn’t come through so much in the original. The only character who hasn’t changed is Willard (Miles Teller), who is perhaps the best character in this film, still dressed in dungarees, and wearing a cowboy hat in almost every scene.

In fact, this is where there are some problems with a film that follows so strictly a story written almost thirty years ago: the eras don’t mix. It takes a slight leap of imagination to accept that nowadays dancing could be banned; Willard’s dungarees don’t in any way fit with the clothes that the other characters wear, and the same can be said for Ariel’s prom dress, which looks almost exactly the same as it did in 1984. The recreation of Ren’s dance doesn’t work, either – the moves are too different, and it doesn’t have the same impact as the original. But despite all this, as an avid fan of the original, I enjoyed it.

Should you go and watch it? Not if you like deep, artsy films, action films, or are opposed to anything cheesy. But if you want something light-hearted, enjoyable and easy to watch, go for it. Even if it’s just to see how bad Ariel’s prom dress is.

See Footloose at York's Reel Cinema. For more information visit http://york.reelcinemas.co.uk/

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