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Despite being a major hit at the time, the original Footloose movie was rather absurd in the way it refused to acknowledge that people existed that weren't white, then again, it was full of 80's fluff so we tended to overlook the bad points and just get into the groove ‘baby’. The original still possesses a charm, albeit it kitschy. The title sequence was one of the best, and the young cast outstanding; Kevin Bacon epitomized the bad boy from out of town with his collar permanently standing to attention and sneer in place. Lori Singer, best know at the time as one of the stars of Fame, was the daughter of the preacher with the rebellious streak just waiting to be unleashed and Chris Penn was the hayseed who became the sidekick. This is one of those movies when you hear that there is a remake in the offing, you ask yourself one thing, why? Will the story transfer to a different time and represent it as well as the original, and the answer is no. The new Footloose is situated around the time of 'Step Up' and the ilk, while the original cashed in on the Flashdance era. Craig Brewer, the director, has clearly tried to inject grit and plausibility into the proceedings, and has tried to make more of the rebellious teenagers who need to get their kicks from more than playing chicken in tractors. The remixes are evident from the kick off, where a DJ yells over the iconic title track from Kenny Loggins, and many will find this sacrilegious. One of J T's former backing dancers, Kenny Wormald, steps into Bacon's dancing shoes as Ren MacCormack, who now hails from Boston instead of Chicago. The one improvement here is that Wormald is an exceptional dancer, where as Bacon needed a double for all the dancing sequences. Ren comes to Bomont, GA, and is an outsider from the outset. A recent tragedy has befallen the small town and there has been a blanket clampdown on teenage activities including, obviously, dancing. Ren is frustrated by the small-mindedness of the town and does what all self respecting teenagers do to release their frustrations, does some fast and furious dancing in an empty warehouse. Ariel (Julianne Hough) is the daughter of the local preacher, this time played by Dennis Quaid, and Ren soon sets his sights on her. Hough is a pro dancer and has won Dancing With The Stars, and struts sexily through the movie in her cowboy boots, looking like Jennifer Aniston's younger sister. The movie is shot virtually identically to the original, which seems a bit of a cop out. There is good casting; Miles Teller as Willard is the lucky guy who get to take part in the trademark montage of dance lessons, and bad casting; Andie McDowell is greatly inferior to Dianne Wiest as the preacher’s wife. Overall, while this lot are better dancers, the chemistry is missing, the music nowhere near as good and including line dancing as a form or rebellion is just stupid. Worth a look, but not great. Watch Footloose 2011 Online Free
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