Footloose (1984)Maybe you can already hear the thrum of the guitar, or see the opening montage of various footwear dancing away to Kenny Loggins. If--like me--you grew up with a VHS copy on repeat in the tape deck, you might be tapping your feet already, and the lyrics of the title song doing their own dance in your memory. With a healthy amount of original songs co-written by Footloose (1984) writer Dean Pitchford, and performed by recognizable Eighties rock stars, the music is kith and kin to the story, arguably the real star of the show. So lose your blues, and everybody cut footloose.
|
|
Produced during a time in Eighties-era cinema when musicals with contemporary music and underdog stories were already becoming more popular, Footloose is largely a tale about tolerance and understanding...but also a whole lot of dancing. Unlike its precursor, Flashdance, Footloose is set in a rural locale, namely the small town of Bomont, with the newest residents including Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) and his mother, Ethel (Frances Lee McCain). Sporting a new wave haircut--and as his mother puts it--looking a bit like David Bowie, Ren is already an outsider from day one on appearance among the flannel and boots crowd. But he's further distanced from his new neighbors by virtue of his free spirit, something he begins to understand is stifled in Bomont, preoccupied with a nigh-neurotic regimen of proclaimed virtuous living. Ren is no libertine, but even his penchant for playing loud rock music in his classic yellow Volkswagen Beetle puts him at odds with the police. The message of the sin purportedly inherent in the encroachment of the outside world is a message endorsed by local minister, Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), who knowingly or not, stirs the moral compass of the townsfolk into a fervor. Following the loss of his son to a freak accident--associated with partying, drinking, and of course, dancing--the town has upheld a law to ban dancing, a measure which finds no sympathy in Ren's generation, including Shaw's own daughter, Ariel (Lori Singer). It's an uphill battle for Ren, who at least finds friendship in the lumbering Willard Hewitt (Chris Penn), and it is compounded when he annoys the local bully, Chuck (Jim Youngs), the brusque beau of Ariel. But after a heated chicken race involving industrial tractors--Hollywood's perception of the Midwest, I suppose--Ren finds himself a local hero...and the object of Ariel's increasing admiration and desire.
I'll be the first to admit that my perception of Footloose may be colored by nostalgia. It has the distinct sense of being prefabricated, with musical interludes playing with the frequency of a jukebox, and with townsfolk surprising adept at dancing--especially in light of it being banned. You'll be tested to count just how many times Lori Singer shrieks in delight at the big dance number at the end of the film, and no doubt Nike and Coca-Cola had some say in the periodic product placement throughout. But I had the soundtrack on cassette, and played it until it wore out, tapping a hole in more than a few pairs of socks. But Footloose knows how to charm, and does so by portraying a natural dynamic of a small town struggling to cope with balancing parenting and trust. The slippery slope of imposing sanctions on supposedly immoral behavior is evident right from the start, when a couple of zealous parishioners implore Reverend Moore to advocate other actions, banking ever more sharply toward fascistic behaviors like banning (and burning) books. Ren doesn't see himself as a hero for the downtrodden at first, but when he confesses to his mother that unlike his efforts to keep his father from running out on them, he feels he has a chance to do something that matters, his passion to shake Bomont out of its funk is what compels him to move forward. In a way, Ren is a kind of preacher giving a gospel about the merits of dance in the lives of others, and he even underscores passages from a Bible provided to him by Ariel to use as ammo in his motion to have the law prohibiting dancing revoked. But Ren informs Ariel that his mission is not an attack against Reverend Shaw, but to help him--and the town--understand just why prohibiting dancing his hurting their children more than it is helping them. Ren's antagonist is fundamentally ignorance, and on this, he and Shaw share common ground, with Ariel mediating in her own way.
Watching Footloose as a child, there were elements I often overlooked; one of the more important ones is in the relationship between the members of the Moore household. Ariel is fatalistic and reckless, because she always feels that she is disappointing her father, which causes her to rebel in frustration, which exacerbates the downward cycle. Shaw, on the other hand, preaches (literally) about the dangers of impure elements, because he is afraid that he cannot be a good enough father, having lost one child already, and believes he must hold on with all his might because he loves so much. He is not an intolerant man himself--a crucial distinction for his character--but he cannot help but be scared, and has not been able to grieve in a way to move on. His wife and Ariel's mother, Vi (Dianne Wiest), provides the objective perspective for both her family members and the audience of the film as well. Footloose is a thought-provoking story about important issues to family and community, small town or no, and how people cope with these feelings...even if it means going on a bout of intense interpretive dance in an abandoned warehouse. So, kick off your Sunday shoes...
Recommended for: Fans of a rock musical with lots (and I mean lots) of fun dancing, musical interludes, and a message about understanding. And I have no doubt more than a few of the songs will get stuck in your head...if they aren't already.
I'll be the first to admit that my perception of Footloose may be colored by nostalgia. It has the distinct sense of being prefabricated, with musical interludes playing with the frequency of a jukebox, and with townsfolk surprising adept at dancing--especially in light of it being banned. You'll be tested to count just how many times Lori Singer shrieks in delight at the big dance number at the end of the film, and no doubt Nike and Coca-Cola had some say in the periodic product placement throughout. But I had the soundtrack on cassette, and played it until it wore out, tapping a hole in more than a few pairs of socks. But Footloose knows how to charm, and does so by portraying a natural dynamic of a small town struggling to cope with balancing parenting and trust. The slippery slope of imposing sanctions on supposedly immoral behavior is evident right from the start, when a couple of zealous parishioners implore Reverend Moore to advocate other actions, banking ever more sharply toward fascistic behaviors like banning (and burning) books. Ren doesn't see himself as a hero for the downtrodden at first, but when he confesses to his mother that unlike his efforts to keep his father from running out on them, he feels he has a chance to do something that matters, his passion to shake Bomont out of its funk is what compels him to move forward. In a way, Ren is a kind of preacher giving a gospel about the merits of dance in the lives of others, and he even underscores passages from a Bible provided to him by Ariel to use as ammo in his motion to have the law prohibiting dancing revoked. But Ren informs Ariel that his mission is not an attack against Reverend Shaw, but to help him--and the town--understand just why prohibiting dancing his hurting their children more than it is helping them. Ren's antagonist is fundamentally ignorance, and on this, he and Shaw share common ground, with Ariel mediating in her own way.
Watching Footloose as a child, there were elements I often overlooked; one of the more important ones is in the relationship between the members of the Moore household. Ariel is fatalistic and reckless, because she always feels that she is disappointing her father, which causes her to rebel in frustration, which exacerbates the downward cycle. Shaw, on the other hand, preaches (literally) about the dangers of impure elements, because he is afraid that he cannot be a good enough father, having lost one child already, and believes he must hold on with all his might because he loves so much. He is not an intolerant man himself--a crucial distinction for his character--but he cannot help but be scared, and has not been able to grieve in a way to move on. His wife and Ariel's mother, Vi (Dianne Wiest), provides the objective perspective for both her family members and the audience of the film as well. Footloose is a thought-provoking story about important issues to family and community, small town or no, and how people cope with these feelings...even if it means going on a bout of intense interpretive dance in an abandoned warehouse. So, kick off your Sunday shoes...
Recommended for: Fans of a rock musical with lots (and I mean lots) of fun dancing, musical interludes, and a message about understanding. And I have no doubt more than a few of the songs will get stuck in your head...if they aren't already.