A city teenager moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned, and his rebellious spirit shakes up the populace.
Cast:
- Kevin Bacon as Ren McCormack
- Lori Singer as Ariel Moore
- John Lithgow as Rev. Shaw Moore
- Dianne Wiest as Vi Moore
- Chris Penn as Willard
- Sarah Jessica Parker as Rusty
- John Laughlin as Woody
1984 viewing
A new mall opened in my hometown in May 1985. Along with all the shiny new stores came the best gift any mall can offer, a multi-screen movie theater. Our new theater was called Cinema V and it had, you guessed it, five movie theaters.
When it opened it was a huge hit. Five theaters in one place! Before Cinema V opened there was only one theater running in town and the Drive-In which was only open in the summer. Having five screens to watch five different movies felt like the big time. I talked about the new theater and that glorious summer in another series of posts.
The mall and Cinema V opened on the Thursday before Memorial Day. As a promotion for the new theater they offered free movies on the first day, only they weren’t new releases. The bad part was the first day was a Thursday and school was still in session.
After school, my friend, BJ and I headed down to the mall to watch Footloose. Not knowing where to go, or what to do we entered the first door that looked good. It seemed weird, we were in the back half of the theater. We made are way to the one playing Footloose and grabbed a seat in the theater. We had, inadvertently, skipped the ‘waiting in line’ process by coming in the back door! Had we waited in line I don’t think we would have made it into the theater.
I loved Footloose, I don’t know if it was the experience of a brand new movie theater or if it was the movie. The theater was great except for one thing, no balcony to sit in. It didn’t have bats flying around either so that was a plus.
Footloose was filled with great music and a great story. I loved everything about it.
We watched Footloose last year with my daughter, I know it still holds up after forty years. I’m going to watch it again for a fresh(er) perspective.
40th Anniversary Re-watch
Yeah, it’s still great.
It’s the fish-out-of-water story with a bit of a twist. Usually it’s a small town kid going to the big city. In Footloose, Ren (Kevin Bacon) is a big city kid moving to a small town.
Ren and his mother live with her sister and family. After moving to town the family attends church service and Ren meets Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), his wife and his daughter, Ariel (Lori Singer).
Ren is amazed and amused at the small town culture. While driving home with a new friend, Willard, (Chris Penn) Ren is pulled over and given a ticket for playing his music too loud. One night, Ren goes out with Ariel, Willard, Rusty (Sarah Jessica Parker) only to discover they need to go to the next town to go dancing. On the way home Ariel explains how one night a group of teenagers were driving home drunk after going out dancing and they all died in a car accident. One of the teenagers was her older brother.
After the accident Rev. Moore persuaded the town to enact strict laws and outlaw all alcohol and dancing within city limits. Ren makes it his mission to get the laws overturned and bring music and dancing back to town.
Footloose has a great script and great acting. A young Kevin Bacon holds his own against the seasoned John Lithgow. Penn, Singer and Parker do a great job as well. Bacon and Penn had been in a few movies before but Singer and Parker were in their first starring roles.
It’s impossible to talk about Footloose without mentioning the music. The music is key to the story. Footloose has one of the best soundtracks of 1984.
Favorite Line:
I get the feeling you’ve been kissed a lot, and I’m afraid I’d suffer by comparison.
The track list is perfect for any party; “Footloose,” “Almost Paradise,” “Holding Out for a Hero,” “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” and more. All are instantly recognizable. Footloose was nominated for two Best Original Song Academy Awards for “Footloose” and “Let’s Hear it for the Boy.” It lost to “I Just Called to Say I Love You” from The Woman in Red.
Footloose director Herbert Ross also directed Protocol (1984), which we already covered in this series. It also features a game of tractor chicken, classic cinematic moment.
Footloose hit theaters on 17 February 1984 and it was an instant hit making over $8.5 million it’s opening weekend. Altogether Footloose would make over $80 million on a $8 million dollar budget. It lands in 7th place for the highest grossing movies of 1984.
Did you watch Footloose? If so let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on X(Twitter). The main Geekster channel is @GeeksterMedia and I’m @MileHighSamurai You can also find me on Bluesky @MileHighSamurai
9/10 stars
Not sure if you ever read it, but I have a really cool interview with Dean Pitchford who wrote the movie and co-wrote most of the music as well. It is posted on Rediscoverthe80s if you search for it there!