I have been overly excited, waiting for the new remake of the Movie Footloose to come out! I think I was about 19 years old when the original came out (just a couple of years ago!) :) I had taken dance classes all through High School & love dance movies, and Footloose was one of the best! As a Christian girl I also loved the storyline of the Pastor's daughter. I saw that movie too many times to count in the theater & then on VHS after that! I now own it on DVD & made my kids all watch it with me before the remake came out!
A remake is always a scary thing though. Can it ever even come close to the original? Especially a well loved original? Well, you will have to see it for yourself to see if it does! I have to say I LOVED it! It is still one of my favorite movies! Now I don't want to spoil it for you, so if you haven't seen it yet, I'm going to say something I thought I'd never say to you: Stop reading my Blog! :) Go see Footloose, then come back & finish reading this post! I don't want to persuade you one way or another. I'm gonna share what I loved about the Original & what I liked & didn't like about the new one! (And let me tell you, there are a few things I like even better in the second one! shocker, I know! But true) So before you read any further let me just say "Spoiler Alert!" You've been warned.
First and foremost is the heart of the Movie; the Dancing! The new one has everything from Country line dancing to Crumping! (Yes, I watch So You Think You Can Dance, I know what Crumping is! I'm hip like that!) :) Some of the dancing though in this new version is too sexually suggestive for High Schoolers to be doing. And yes I know the actors aren't really high schoolers, but they are playing them. And being me, I seized the opportunity to have a conversation with my Daughters about trying to grow up too fast & acting older than you are can lead you into trouble. We also talked about the character of Ariel, and how she is acting out due to her feelings of sadness & helplessness in loosing her brother & her Hero, & is rebelling against her Father & the laws in the town the only way she knows how. Thankfully she figures it out before she does irrefutable damage.
And speaking of Ariel, I have to say Julianne Hough vs Lori Singer in dancing is no contest! I don't know anyone who could say she was a good dancer in that original movie. Julianne (from Dancing With The Stars) is really good! And she does a good job acting as well. And I really liked how the new movie explored more the reasons behind her rebellion! It allowed you to see why she did what she did & how she was feeling when she did it. Lori's version was just a Rebel!
Some of the other characters that stand out is Rens Uncle & Aunt. They are so much more relateable in the new version. They are on his side & stand up for him. I love that! Ariels parents are basically the same in both versions. Her Mother especially. You could dub in lines from the first one & not know the difference. With her Father, again I loved that they allowed you to see more of his heart. Or maybe, it's just dawning on me, it's because as a parent now seeing this one, I understand why he'd do some of the things he did. I could only see the first one as a teenager would see it, since that's what I was! hmmm.
The characters I liked better in the first one are first of all Rusty, Ariel's BFF. The girl in the new movie is adorable, but you just can't help but like Sarah Jessica Parker! She is after all just so likable! You want her to be your BFF! I still want her to be my BFF in my 40's! (Hey, we both are Mother's of Twins now too! See, we're destined for Best Friendom!) And Ren's best Friend Willard. The kid in the new Movie is so cute & really does a good job, but in the original, you knew he really couldn't dance & it was so fun watching him try to learn how! In this one, you know he's really a dancer acting like he can't dance! And it wasn't just Ren teaching him how, several others were involved in the process. The little cousins, the football team crumpers, an instructor at the night club they go to. It just wasn't the same! And Ariel's Bad Boyfriend Chuck, in this version, hes a man & should not be going out with a High School girl! (okay, maybe that's the Mom coming out of me again!) And there was a Librarian, but no book burning in this one! That's a good thing! When we watched the Original, my girls, who I have worked very hard at instilling a love of Books into, asked in horror, why would anyone want to burn books? :) And then there is Ren himself. Kenny Wormald plays him in the new version & does a really good job of it! He's a good dancer too. But, the original had Kevin Bacon. 'Nuf said. No competition! Am I right?!
I did like that they went into more of Ren's back story, of him & his parents. You feel like you know him better. And I was glad to see his yellow VW bug made the new Movie too! :) I also loved that they went more in depth regarding the accident that set off all the rule making in the first place. That was a nice touch.
Even though the setting, the clothes & dancing were updated, they kept some of the same lines in this movie! And some of the great songs from the original soundtrack were in this one too! Some were updated & some new songs were added & it all sounded great! So weather you prefer the original or the new version, both Movies make you want to get up & dance! Or, I should say make you wanna "cut loose - Footloose!"
