(2011) 3.5 Alaina O'Connor The original 1984 dance flick Footloose was a tasty wedge of Reagan-era cheese, best known for its catchy theme song and Kevin Bacon's angst-fueled, gymnastics-inspired dance sequence. In this energetic remake, writer/director Craig Brewer gives a nod to the modern sensibilities of today's youth -- from hip-hop parking-lot dance sequences to boot-stomping line dancing -- while at the same time paying a carefully crafted homage to the original. Ultimately the story is the same -- a broody dude from the East Coast moves to a small town and fights the Man for his right to get crunk -- but with fresh-faced Kenny Wormald and Dancing With the Stars alumnus Julianne Hough in the mix, Brewer manages to take what could have easily been just another run-of-the-mill remake that falls short of the original and elevates it to a modernized version that holds its own. Ren McCormack (Wormald) is the new kid in town, fresh off the Greyhound bus. Following the death of his mother from leukemia, he's transplanted from Boston to the small God-fearing Southern town of Bomont, TN, where he strikes up a fast friendship with Willard (Miles Teller) and meets the local preacher's rebellious daughter, Ariel (Julianne Hough). When Ren finds out that Bomont's teens have been banned from having dances ever since a car accident killed a group of high-school students, including Ariel's older brother, he rallies the local kids to fight the system. Footloose's performances are solid for the most part. Kenny Wormald, a charismatic real-life hoofer, steers clear of a Kevin Bacon 2.0 mold and instead showcases an attractive James Dean-eqsue persona that checks all the right boxes for his character, and Teller steals scenes as Ren's country-bumpkin bestie. The weakest link in the cast comes from small-screen dance veteran Julianne Hough, who is less than successful in illuminating the painful trauma that informs her rebellious streak, while veteran actors Dennis Quaid, who plays the grieving reverend, and Andie MacDowell, as his dutiful wife, hold their own against the teenage cast members. The film doesn't wander too far in search of trendiness, and Brewer manages to pay homage to the movie's predecessor without making his own version feel dated - he includes updated music from the original with some songs left in all their retro glory, as well as the 1984 film's oft-lampooned abandoned-warehouse dance sequence -- but he moves away from the largely fire-and-brimstone rhetoric by trying to establish that the town's ban on dancing comes from a place of concerned overprotectiveness rather than moralistic hectoring. Effectively rousing, Footloose comes in the wake of similar dance-infused films like the Step Up franchise, but what those movies lack in substance, Footloose more than makes up for in genuine toe-tapping fun.

cast-crew for Footloose on AllMovie

Footloose (2011)

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Footloose

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Profanity
Sexual Situations
Violence
Youth Substance Use

genres

sub-genres

category

Feature

directed by

Craig Brewer

countries

USA

release date

October 14, 2011 (USA)

run time

113 min.

produced by

Dylan Sellers Zadan, Meron Weston Pictures

released by

Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment

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cast

Kenny Wormald: Ren

Julianne Hough: Ariel

Dennis Quaid: Rev. Shaw Moore

Andie MacDowell: Vi Moore

Miles Teller: Willard

Ray McKinnon: Wes Warnicker

Patrick Flueger: Chuck

Kim Dickens: Lulu Warnicker

Ziah Colón: Rusty

Ser'Darius Blain: Woody

L. Warren Young: Andy Beamis

Brett Rice: Roger Dunbar

Maggie Jones: Amy Warnicker

Mary-Charles Jones: Sarah Warnicker

Enisha Brewster: Etta

Josh Warren: Rich

Corey Flaspoler: Russell

Anessa Ramsey: Caroline

Jason Ferguson: Travis

Frank Hoyt Taylor: Mr. Parker

Jayson Smith: Officer Herb

Claude Phillips: Claude

Clay Chappell: Councilperson

Tony Vaughn: Councilperson

Jack Davidson: Councilperson

Staley Colvert: Councilperson

Alisa Pettit: Councilperson

Daniel Burnley: Councilperson

Tracy Goode: Judge

Clayton Landey: Coach Guerntz

John Still: Track Official

Brian F. Durkin: Big Cowboy

Amber Wallace: Instructor

Sandra Ellis Lafferty: Mrs. Allyson

D. Dylan Schettina: Drive-in Bus Boy

Blair Jasin: Bobby

Jasmine Cook: Car Accident Victim

Reece Thomas: Car Accident Victim

Ivey Lowe: Car Accident Victim

Anna Marie Dobbins: Car Accident Victim

Kevin Renard Fisher: Woody's Cousin

Andrew Ruark: Cotton Gin Worker

Travis Young: Big Bubba

Jamal Sims: Kegger D.J.

Alvester Martin: Dancer

Kyle Wayne Cordova: Dancer

Spencer Liff: Finale Dancer

Matthew Laraway: Finale Dancer

Nicholas Lanzisera: Finale Dancer

Glenda Morales: Finale Dancer

Ahrielle Mace: Finale Dancer

Candace Neolani Maxwell: Finale Dancer

Abbye Myers: Finale Dancer

Laura Edwards: Finale Dancer

Christina Glur: Finale Dancer

Michael Brandon Dizon: Finale Dancer

Ivan Koumaev: Finale Dancer

Dayna Michelle Harris: Finale Dancer

Cory Graves: Finale Dancer

Misha Hamilton: Finale Dancer

Justin Michael De Vera: Finale Dancer

Melanie Ullmann: Finale Dancer

Gissette E. Valentin: Cowboys' Dancer

Lisa Thomas: Cowboys' Dancer

Brittny Sugarman: Finale Dancer

Sharee Wise: Cowboys' Dancer

Tyler Duncan Wall: Cowboys' Dancer

Quincy Lamar Willis: Cowboys' Dancer

Christian Owens: Finale Dancer

Kayla Jenee Radomski: Finale Dancer

Luis A. Rosado: Finale Dancer

Harrison Jonathan Prater: Cowboys' Dancer

Dakota Smith: Finale Dancer

Monique Slaughter: Cowboys' Dancer

Melissa Rummels: Cowboys' Dancer

Carson Marie Seeley: Finale Dancer

Miguel Angel Zarate: Finale Dancer

Tucker Barkley: Finale Dancer

Bianca Brewton: Finale Dancer

Joshua Allen: Finale Dancer

Whitney Brown: Finale Dancer

Jonathan Fritschi: Cowboys' Dancer

Bboy Kid David: Finale Dancer

Larke Hasstedt: Cowboys' Dancer

Sean Bankhead: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Joey Hernandez: Cowboys' Dancer

George Jones, Jr.: Cowboys' Dancer

Madison Benson: Kegger Dancer

Sarah Connor: Kegger Dancer

Kasey Davage: Kegger Dancer

Liana Blackburn: Cowboys' Dancer

Stephen Stevo Jones: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Taylor Bradley: Cowboys' Dancer

William Ladd: Cowboys' Dancer

Chynna Dulac: Kegger Dancer

Jonathan Sylvan Carey: Kegger Dancer

Kelley Bradshaw: Cowboys' Dancer

Meryl Lester: Cowboys' Dancer

Tamara Levinson: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Brett Frost: Kegger Dancer

JaQuel Knight: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Katherine Hough: Cowboys' Dancer

Katherine Levy: Cowboys' Dancer

Megan Mackey: Cowboys' Dancer

Ron Myles: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Terence Terell Dickson: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Terrence Gilbert Green: Kegger Dancer

Ashlyn Henson: Kegger Dancer

Britney Chelene Thomas: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Claire Callaway: Cowboys' Dancer

Kiara Ely: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Michelle "Jersey" Maniscalco: Cowboys' Dancer

Brian Mason: Cowboys' Dancer

Christopher Toler: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Cicely Kelley: Kegger Dancer

Jeremy Craig Hudson: Cowboys' Dancer

Robert Chabott: Cowboys' Dancer

Craig Brewer: Kegger Dancer

Elysandra Quinones: Kegger Dancer

Hannah Douglass: Cowboys' Dancer

Michael McDonough: Cowboys' Dancer

Brandon Sauve: Kegger Dancer

Brent L. Boxberger: Cowboys' Dancer

Dennis McKinnie: Cowboys' Dancer

Nanci Anderson: Cowboys' Dancer

Allan Skeene, Jr.: Kegger Dancer

C. Ryan Chandler: Cowboys' Dancer

Comfort Fedoke: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Danella Dutton: Cowboys' Dancer

Keltie Colleen Minksky: Cowboys' Dancer

Dacia James: Cowboys' Dancer

Katherine Slattery: Kegger Dancer

Kendra Andrews: Cowboys' Dancer

Marriann Nelson: Cowboys' Dancer

Aisha Francis: Cowboys' Dancer

Amanda Davisson: Cowboys' Dancer

Amanda Topper: Kegger Dancer

Brent Ours: Cowboys' Dancer

Charles Carr: Kegger Dancer

Hannah Huddleston: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Jasmine Badie: Drive-In Grill Dancer

Jeffery Scott Bailey: Cowboys' Dancer

Marabeth Poole: Cowboys' Dancer

Troy Dela Rosa: Cowboys' Dancer

crew

Craig Brewer: Director, Screenwriter
Brad Weston: Producer
Craig Zadan: Producer
Dylan Sellers: Producer
Neil Meron: Producer
Dean Pitchford: Screen Story, Screenwriter
Amelia Vincent: Cinematographer
Deborah Lurie: Composer (Music Score)
Billy Fox: Editor
Jon Gary Steele: Production Designer
Chris Cornwell: Art Director
Gary Barber: Executive Producer
Jonathan Glickman: Executive Producer
Roger Birnbaum: Executive Producer
Timothy M. Bourne: Executive Producer, Unit Production Manager
Justin Miller: Set Designer
Dena Roth: Set Decorator
Laura Jean Shannon: Costume Designer
Joe Camp III: First Assistant Director
Marty Eli Schwartz: First Assistant Director
Jeffrey P. Greeley: Camera Operator
Jamal Sims: Choreography
Ben Wilkins: Sound Effects Editor
Christopher Assells: Sound Effects Editor
Dale Williams: Unit Production Manager
Daniel J. Leahy: Re-Recording Mixer
David Fletcher: Special Effects Coordinator
Dottie Starling: Visual Effects Supervisor
Dwight Benjamin-Creel: Properties Master
Elbert Irving IV: Visual Effects Coordinator
Emanuel "Manny" Millar: Department Head Hair
Frank T. Smathers: Supervising Sound Editor
Greg Hedgepath: Supervising Sound Editor
Greg Tresan: Animal Trainer/Wrangler
Harry Yoon: Assistant Editor
Heath M. Howard: Production Coordinator
Hector Gika: Sound Effects Editor
Joulles Wright: Costumes Supervisor
Kate Duke: Key Costumer
Ken Van Duyne: Assistant Costume Designer
Kevin McKeever: Music Editor
Lauren Ritchie: Visual Effects Producer
Lonnie Smith: Stunts Coordinator
Michael Prestwood Smith: Re-Recording Mixer
Mike Uguccioni: Visual Effects Supervisor
Patrick Fuhrman: Leadman
Paul Hackner: Sound Effects Editor
Rosemary Cremona: Second Assistant Director
Ryan Schaetzle: Location Manager
Sarah Mays: Key Make-up
Scott Richter: Additional Editing
Shunika Terry: Key Hairstylist
Susan E. Novick: Post Production Supervisor
Teresa Foshee: Makeup
Vivian Baker: Department Head Makeup
Wildfire Visual Effects: Visual Effects
XY&Z Visual Effects: Visual Effects