FOOTLOOSE

I know, I know – all you care about knowing is how this remake stacks up to its 1984 original. We’ll get there, but for now stick with me.

FOOTLOOSE begins with a tragic car accident. After a night of partying, five teenagers in Bomont, GA are killed on the drive home. The town feels an increased desire to better tend to their younger generation and led by the church Rev. Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid), they immediately pass laws banning unauthorized parties, any music that is unnecessarily  loud or improper, and all forms of dancing.

Three years later, a bus brings young Ren McCormack (Kenny Wormald) to Bomont from his hometown of Boston. His aunt and uncle are taking him in since his mother has recently passed away after fighting leukaemia. Not long after Ren gets to town, he quickly starts tripping over all of the conservative rules, but not one to push too hard too fast, he takes his lumps for a while.

While he’s taking those lumps, he starts casting an eye towards the Reverend’s daughter Ariel (Julianne Hough). She seems to be equally fascinated with Ren, but also doesn’t seem to be unspoken for as her big brute of a boyfriend is often within a stone’s throw. While Ren can’t exactly figure out whether she’s interested in him or not, what he can tell is that she is the sort of wild spirit who has a little use for Bomont’s strict rules as he does.

With his new friend Willard (Miles Teller) backing him up, and what’s left of his family trying to speak for him whenever they can, Ren seeks to reawaken the town of Bomont to the joys of life, namely the joy of dance.

On the surface, the idea of a town banning dances is absurd. I would think it completely implausible, except that a little bit of research tells me that such towns existed as recently as thirty years ago. What those towns probably learned, as FOOTLOOSE underlines, is that young people have a knack of expressing themselves with or without their elders’ approval. The exuberance of youth will always cling to its vices – once they were wine, women and song, now they are sex, drugs, and rock & roll. So as silly as the story of FOOTLOOSE seems at first glance, we have to remember that there are communities out there that clung to such misguided notions for as long as they could.

Misguided as I might believe such ideas to be, the film never shortchanges the motivations. It’s said that there is no greater pain than a parent having to bury their child. A parent’s first job is to protect their children, and the death of their children will deliver a sense of failing at that job that could never go away. FOOTLOOSE makes no bones about the fact that as backwards as the town’s laws and conservative attitude might seem, it comes from a place of genuine concern.

If you ever forget that, Dennis Quaid will look at you earnestly and remind you in a pretty convincing tone.

Where FOOTLOOSE gets things right is with its energy. It is not spastically constructed for an ADD gereation, but it is given a shot in the arm for a few key moments such as the dance scenes. While leads Wormald and Hough might not be the best young actors for the job, there’s no denying that they can dance with soul and intensity (unsurprising, since both are dancers first and actors second). Regardless of whether the music behind them is crunk or country, both young performers bring the pure joy of dancing to every scene.

What’s interesting about FOOTLOOSE is its chemistry isn’t found where you’d think it should be. The scenes that tend to play the best – and by a country mile at that – are the ones between Ren and Willard. Wormald and Teller have an easy-going way about them everytime they are in a scene together, and the pair of jokers never fail to bring a smile. The story wants us to believe that these two boys come from very different backgrounds, but become fast friends. If that’s what the film wants to sell us, then they couldn’t have picked two better salesmen. Whether Willard is learning how to dance, or backing up Ren as he gets dragged into another dumb situation, their friendship is palpable and makes you want to go for a drink with them (even though the town doesn’t allow drinking).

So, how does it stack up to its original?

Directed by Craig Brewer (HUSTLE & FLOW, BLACK SNAKE MOAN), FOOTLOOSE is a film that is very much aware of what it is and what it wants to be. It is loving and respectful of it’s source material and wants very much to do right by it. So much so, that much of it is a direct pull. This is what allows the film to succeed and what holds it back. The original was harmless fun and nothing profound. A bit more than 25 years on, we are given something else that is harmless, fun, and not profound. It all begins and ends with the concept – teenaged outsider fights for a town’s right to dance. If that never grabbed you before, it sure won’t grab you now.

There are plenty of winks to the original film – most notably Ren’s vintage VW Beetle and a song or two. There are a lot of direct lifts, including scenes, lines, songs and dances. But while much of FOOTLOOSE is a direct pull, there are a few changes that go beyond updating the music style and technology. One complete sequence has been changed – for the better – and the role of Ren’s family has been shaped into something better suited for the story. Do either one of these changes make the film better? Hard to say.

FOOTLOOSE reminded me of a singer I like picking up a guitar and doing a faithful cover song by another singer I like. The notes are very much the same, but the melody comes with a different lilt than I am used to. This isn’t a bad thing as the good stories are always worth retelling, and especially so when the person telling the story is doing it with appreciation for what people loved about the story in the first place.

Matineescore: ★ ★ 1/2 out of ★ ★ ★ ★

What did you think? Please leave comments with your thoughts and reactions on FOOTLOOSE.