The musical drama was huge in the early 80s, with the likes of FLASHDANCE (1983), STAYING ALIVE (1983) and BREAKIN’ (AKA BREAKDANCE – THE MOVIE) (1984).
DIRTY DANCING and LA BAMBA (both 1987) captured the MTV mindset, great music coupled with the opportunity to showcase it in short-form video.
If DIRTY DANCING is the girl that guys want to take home to meet their parents, then the original 1984 version of FOOTLOOSE is the cool cousin.
Long before he was advertising phone networks and four years after he was one of the victims in the first original FRIDAY THE 13TH (spoiler alert!), Kevin Bacon played an update of the classic teen rebel, Ren McCormack, who arrives in the Bible-belt community of Bomont, presided over by Rev. Shaw Moore (John Lithgow, CLIFFHANGER), who are against dancing and music after a car tragedy that led to a ban.
Ren is challenged by Moore’s daughter, Ariel (Lori Singer, TV’s FAME) to meet her boyfriend Chuck (Jim Youngs) for a game of chicken involving farm vehicles and by accident he wins the challenge.
He makes friends with Willard Hewitt (Christopher Penn, RESERVOIR DOGS) and takes Ariel, her friend Rusty (Sarah Jessica Parker, TV’s SEX & THE CITY) and Willard to a bar miles away to show them to joys of dancing.
However, the community remains resilient in their viewpoint about the sins of dancing….
A huge surprise hit when it opened in the UK in 1984, as well as spawning a remake in 2011, FOOTLOOSE is a movie that remains true to its’ spirit and actually remains modern in its’ emotional heart. The soundtrack is also great as well, with the title track (Kenny Loggins), LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY (Deniece Williams), DANCING IN THE SHEETS (Shalamar) and HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO (Bonnie Tyler) among the vocal gems on the soundtrack, which has others that are pretty good too (including Foreigner’s WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU as one of the incidental tracks)
Toe-tappingly addictive as ever.