Footloose | | Cast : | Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer | | Director : | Herbert Ross | | Studio : | Paramount Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | February 17, 1984 | | DVD Released Date : | September 28, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 05, 2005 | | Summary | Footloose (Special Collector's Edition) | Content
 | The grand kids loved it, danced all night at the birthday party |
| Rating | | | Date | July 23, 2005 | | Summary | Captures the Heart and Soul of the MTV Generation | Content
| Footloose is viewed with immense affection both by those who remember its original release and new fans alike. It actually deserves that high regard. On the surface, it would be easy to dismiss Footloose as "just another teen movie": Chicago teen Ren MacCormack (Kevin Bacon in his starmaker role) relocates to small-town Bomont (actually filmed in Provo, Utah). There he finds himself in conflict against a town ordnance forbidding public dancing, primarily in the person of Bomont's Baptist minister (John Lithgow). In the process, Ren romances the minister's daughter Ariel (Lori Singer), engages in a Rebel Without a Cause game of chicken with tractors instead of hotrods, and orchestrates the first high school dance Bomont's seen in years, along the way taking part in some pretty freakin' incredible dance numbers.
Not exactly Citizen Kane material, but elevating Footloose above what it might have been is (a) Dean Pitchford's script never condescends to the characters, (b) all the main characters are portrayed by talented actors investing them with believability and dignity, and (c) wonderful choreography.
Footloose came out just after MTV started up, and it was the right film at the right time, a very early instance of the symbiotic relationship between MTV and movies. To promote Footloose, use of MTV was key. Well before its theatrical release, songs from the soundtrack, the two biggies being Kenny Loggins' "Footloose" (of course) and Deniece Williams' "Let's Hear It For the Boy" were cut as videos for MTV. This was one of the first times anyone ever used the idea of a soundtrack, and THE first time they used MTV videos of music from same, to really push a movie into being a major hit. It worked like gangbusters. The soundtrack put six songs into the Top Forty. By the time Footloose hit theaters there was already a nationwide awareness of it, of its music and dance scenes. Immense numbers of people wanted to see the film, and were already disposed to like it, because they loved the soundtrack and videos.
20-plus years later, Kevin Bacon's portrayal of Ren MacCormack is still the role with which he's most identified. Strangely enough, Paramount did not want him in the part. At this point in his career, Bacon was regarded as a character actor, best-known for playing Fenwick in Diner, a very quirky, unhappy young man. So the studio's view of Kevin Bacon was, "Yeah, great actor, but for supporting character roles, not possessed of the charisma of a leading man." (Boy, were they wrong.) Veteran director Herbert Ross was already attached to the project, and he believed in Kevin Bacon. That carried weight because Ross was very well-established, had already directed many, many actors to Academy Award winning performances, and said, "If Kevin Bacon doesn't get this role I'm walking off the film." Given how things turned out, Ross had to feel incredibly vindicated when Footloose was a smash hit, and because of it Kevin Bacon became a star.
As good as Kevin is as Ren, I have to single out John Lithgow as the Reverend Shaw Moore, Ariel's father and head of the anti-dancing fraternity, for special mention. It would have been so easy for the writer and director, and Lithgow, to portray Moore as the villain of the piece, a caricature, a stereotype, the narrow-minded, Bible thumbing, overbearing Baptist minister. Instead he's really the beating heart of the movie, a kind, decent man whose son died in a car crash several years before, and as a result he's become extremely protective and over-controlling of his daughter's life. This is something people can understand as a very human reaction, motivated by love even if it expresses itself badly. Lithgow's portrayal of Rev. Moore and the story of his troubled relationship with his daughter gave Footloose its crossover appeal, turning it from "just another teen movie" into something adults could watch and enjoy, as well.
Diane Wiest is excellent in the small but crucial role of Vi Moore, the Reverend's wife. Chris Penn is just amazingly good as Ren's new friend, Willard Hewitt. Some of the most indelible imagery in Footloose, what comes to mind first whenever I think of it, are the scenes where sophisticated, worldly-wise Ren takes awkward, small town Willand and teaches him to dance. Lori Singer is great as Ariel, the wild child who's sexy, angry, and sweet by turns. Really there are no slackers in this movie, every major role is filled by actors who totally inhabit their characters.
Not to put more weight on this piece of mass market entertainment than perhaps it can support, but at its heart Footloose does ask the question "What is moral behavior?" Is it unswerving adherence to a preset code of conduct, or do we have a moral responsibility to judge the status quo, and if our sense of morality says we must, rise up against it? Footloose is about people, in a small way, on a grass roots, real world level, fighting against oppression, a sort of spiritual/intellectual lockstep mentality.
So that's Footloose. A film that, once you start digging into it, is really one hell of a lot more than "just another teen movie." But in the course of doing all that impressive stuff, it never forgets how to entertain and have fun. The DVD has superb extras, including the original trailer; commentary tracks by Kevin Bacon, producer Craig Zadan and writer Dean Pitchford; and three "making of" featurettes. I would have liked to see the videos for "Footloose" and "Let's Hear It For the Boy" and the Kevin Bacon audition tape "cut like a rock video" mentioned in one of the featurettes (assuming it still exists) included as extras. Oh well, maybe in a future special edition. For now, Footloose is definitely a movie worth owning on DVD. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 27, 2005 | | Summary | One of my favorites. :) | Content
| I grew up with this movie and I find it one of my personal favorites. If you love dancing. You'll love this. :)
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| Rating | | | Date | May 23, 2005 | | Summary | I'd Like To Boogie Woogie With Ms. Singer!!!! | Content
| This movie stars Kevin Bacon who plays the new guy in a small overtly religious town. Rock music and dancing is forbidden in this town due to a tragedy that occurred years ago. Gee. Sounds like a fun place to visit.Remind me not to take my Gibson guitar and Marshall stack to this place. Kevin Bacon is well supported in this movie by the gorgeous Ms. Lori Singer who plays the town Preacher's daughter with a rebellious streak. This movie takes me back to a better time when albums were released on black vinyl. For all you younger people reading this those are the thin round things that your Dad owns. This movie also takes me back to the days before some ambitious no talent guy who couldn't sing wanted to be a STAR anyway and invented Rap .This fun movie has fine acting, good looking guys and girls PLUS a great soundtrack!!! What more could you ask for except a date with Ms. Singer? |
| Rating | | | Date | March 26, 2005 | | Summary | My sister Barb's favorite movie | Content
| ...and Bacon isn't just for breakfast anymore! LOL Well, anyway, this move is pretty bad. The homoerotic overtones are about as subtle as a car crash...the church's close-minded response to the young man, who only wants to take his buddy out in the fields or in the empty gym and hold his hands and gyrate to "Let's Hear It For the Boy" man alive, give me a break! At least they weren't wearing leg warmers, which is about the only 80's fashion statement they failed to use and overuse in this flick. Sarah Jessica Parker shows us early on how un-talented she is, and the final scene, where kids who have heretofore never danced are able to look like the trendsetters on "Soul Train"- whatever genius thought this script up should definitely look into another line of work. I hear McDonalds is hiring. |
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