Hi,
Sorry if I don't read your newest reviews or return your rates at the moment but ciao's new lay...
Hi,
Sorry if I don't read your newest reviews or return your rates at the moment but ciao's new layout is beyond a joke. xx
Member since:08.02.2008
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Footloose is one of those films I've been meaning to see for quite some time but just never got round to doing so. I've heard most of the songs and amazingly know quite a lot of the words to them but for some strange reason that has often escaped me I have never actually seen the film - that is of course until last week.
With some HMV vouchers I had earned from a survey site I am a member of I decided that it was high time I actually bought and watched Footloose and so that's exactly what I did and it arrived on my doorstep early last week. I eventually got around to watching it two nights ago and thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Footloose was released in 1984 and stars Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer as Ren McCormack and Ariel Moore respectively. The film is a musical that combines fantastic singing and dancing into a strangely touching story about a town in which dancing is
forbidden.
Ren is a city boy fond of singing, dancing and generally having a good time but the small town to which he has just moved shares none of his taste. That isn't to say that many of the teens living there do not wish to just let themselves go but in this small town in the west dancing and popular music is strictly forbidden. This sudden change in culture is more than a shock for the streetwise Ren but there is one consolation and that consolation comes in the form of Ariel Moore. The only problem here however is that Ren's father is the minister who is responsible for keeping the town dancing free.
Not ever being one to conform especially when that conformity means giving up everything that he has come to be so accustomed to Ren is ready to fight back and with the idea of a Senior Prom lingering at the back of his mind he sets to work. The town's teens rally around him despite the widespread adult disagreement. Ren knows that he is just one boy and that this is just one town but he also knows that he has just one chance to revitalise the town and raise the spirit of the somewhat repressed townsfolk.
Footloose is an utterly brilliant foot tapping and heart-thumping musical. It is relatively fast paced from the beginning yet has in my opinion quite clever plotline for a musical style film. This storyline of somewhat complex issues at times is cleverly interwoven with some tremendous musical classics such as "Let's hear it for the boy" and the title track "Footloose".
The acting throughout is also of a very high standing. Lori Singer is wonderful as the oppressed Ariel that breaks loose at every moment she feels she is unwatched. John Lithgow is also brilliant as the ever-preaching town minister and really plays his role with tremendous conviction that the audience eventually end up feeling sorry for him. Dianne Wiest as his wife Vi also puts in a great performance and contrasts him wonderfully. He is loud and somewhat brash whereas she is quite and supportive yet still holds onto the right to stand up for what she believes in when she feels it is necessary.
Despite these great performances it is of course Kevin Bacon as the rebellious Ren McCormack that steals the show. From the moment he steps onto the screen he captures our attention and holds our gaze throughout the films duration. His dancing ability is fantastic and really captures your imagination as you watch it. Bacon however wasn't originally expected to play the role, as both Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe were seen as having better dancing abilities than he. Unfortunately Cruise was unavailable to film due to other commitments and a knee injury on Lowe's part ruled him out too. This led director Herbert Ross to have to persuade producers to go with Bacon. In my opinion I think that Bacon should have been the first choice because I simply cannot see either of the other two in such a role.
Now I'm a definite musical fan and have seen my fair share of musical style films but I must say that I haven't enjoyed one so much for quite a while and will definitely be watching Footloose again in the neat future.
Pictures of Footloose (DVD)
The DVD Cover
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
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Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Footloose jumps with spirit, dazzling dance numbers and an electrifying musical score. It ... more
portrays the timeless struggle between innocent pleasure and rigid morality. When city-boy Ren McCormick (Kevin Bacon) finds himself in an uptight Midwestern town...
First released in 1984,Footloosenow enjoys the same sort of semi-ironic nostalgic cachet ... more
as John Hughes' contemporary schlock-fests about angst-ridden teens with silly hair. This is partly due to the fact that, as breathtakingly predictable kids-agains...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
FootlooseDirector Herbert Ross (The Turning Point) pulled a winning movie out of this ... more
almost self-consciously archetypal tale of teenage rock rebellion. Kevin Bacon stars as a hip city kid who ends up in a Bible-belt town after his parents divorce. An ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
![Footloose [1984] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78531450.jpg "Footloose [1984] [DVD]")
Nov 12th, 2008
(Feb 15th, 2009)
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