By REGINA IANNIZZOTTO
Opinion Editor
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 1, 2011
We all know the story of Footloose. Boy moves to small town. Boy meets girl. Boy falls for girl. Boy gets girl. The difference between this and regular movies is the plotline of the town laws. Due to a car crash that killed five high school seniors, one being the minister’s son, the town created laws against public dancing and drinking. Everyone knows the 1984 version with Kevin Bacon. We also know that remakes usually do not do the originals justice. However, the 2011 version of Footloose is surprisingly wonderful.
Ren MacCormick, played by Kenny Wormald, arrives from Chicago to Bomont after his mother dies of cancer to live with his uncle. He meets Ariel Moore, played by Julianne Hough, the minister’s (Dennis Quaid) daughter. Once Ren finds out about the law against public dancing, he makes it his mission to fight it, and get the girl in the end.
In comparing and contrasting the original version and this version, I have found that there are obvious differences, but many similarities as well. Certain scenes that some may recall from the 1984 version are used in the 2011 version, such as the scene in which Ren throws away the pot given to him by an adversary and ends up in the principal’s office. Another reused scene was shot almost word for word from the original; the scene where Ariel comes to Ren at work and tells him to meet her bad boy boyfriend, and that she “volunteered” to tell him.
A major difference that neither hurt nor helped the new version was that of Ren’s mother. Originally, she was alive and trying to help him with the transition of Chicago to Bomont. Now, she has passed away from leukemia and Ren has to make the transition on his own from Boston to Bomont.
One personal annoyance was Wormald’s accent. He was supposed to be from Boston, but his accent gave me more of a British vibe and I was not feeling it. Other than that, his acting was not half bad and his dancing really showed at the end, not so much during the movie itself.
Hough did a spectacular job. She is a lot prettier than the original Ariel, Lori Singer. She seemed to fit into the high school age group, which was a shocker when I found out she was 23. Wormald as well, upon finding out he is 27!
My favorite character, however, was Willard, played by Miles Teller. He had many comedic lines and the faces he made were priceless. He was such a good choice when it came to casting. I did find that the girl that he was paired up with to play his girlfriend was a little out of place. I would never have pegged them to be a couple. They just seemed awkward together.
Personally, my favorite part about the new Footloose was the fact that it did not try to be a completely different movie with a new take on the original, while trying to stage an extravagant musical. I was expecting huge dance scenes that looked completely unrealistic and seemed way too good to actually be fun, like Step Up-type movies. In films like those, the dance scenes are so overdone and overdramatic that the movie itself becomes irrelevant and it is just about the dancing. Footloose (2011) is not like that at all. It is just a slightly revised version of the original. The dancing during the movie itself was very minimal until the end and, of course, the famous solo dance scene. This, I felt, was done much better than the original. With Kevin Bacon, it seems rather random, if you will. To me, it seems out of place and unnecessary. In the 2011 version, it may not seem necessary, but it makes sense. You can tell he just needs to let off steam and his gymnastics background in the movie really helps make it more of a gymnastics routine than an awkward dancing scene.
The moral of the story is to stand up for what you believe and do not let anyone tell you it is not possible. I think this movie was a very good remake, for the first time ever. It was just a modern take on an older movie. I absolutely loved it and I hope you do as well.
