Hollywood remakes are often a disappointment and can leave you feeling annoyed, but the new “Footloose” is an exception to the rule.
Ren McCormack, played by Kenny Wormald, is a Boston city boy who experiences a culture shock when he moves to small-town Belmont. Through a run-in with the law for blasting his radio, McCormack is quickly informed on the town’s peculiar law; prohibition of loud music and dancing.
A few years earlier, the town was devastated when five teenagers traveling home from a party were killed in a car accident.
Right away, the movie captures the audience’s attention and makes them feel empathetic, making us forget about the slightly unlikely dramatic factor. The town’s response was to abolish loud music and dancing in hopes of keeping the town’s young people safe and was enforced by Reverend Shaw Moore, who lost his son in the accident.
McCormack decides to take the matter into his own hands by challenging the law so anyone can dance freely “wherever and whenever they want.” He makes it his goal to show the whole town that dancing is a good thing, falling in love with the reverend’s spirited daughter, Ariel, along the way.
Like the original, McCormack soon finds himself standing before the city council with a Bible. He reads to the town verses about dancing as a way to express joy and happiness, stating that this is exactly what the town has been missing since the tragedy. The movie ends happily and how you would expect, with McCormack successfully bringing Belmont back to its feet. Literally.
Inevitably, the movie is full of cheesy moments, but it makes up for it with its charm. Especially with its supporting actors: McCormack’s new friend Willard, played by Miles Teller, and Uncle Wes, played by Ray McKinnon.
I wasn’t sure this movie would work in today’s age since it’s hard to picture a community so religiously strict that they outlaw music and dancing, but surprisingly, it did. Wormald delivered lively dance sequences and with people from teenagers to middle-aged women commenting about his appearance throughout the movie, I expect him to be the new heartthrob.
“Footloose” is a fun, exciting and humorous movie for fans that have seen the 1984 version along with those who haven’t.
Grade: A-
