Footloose (2011)

Very Cool!!!

Too much of everything

A Masterpiece!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

If you watch this film you will not be disappointed! Perfect movie for any event and fun for the whole family! Old version was so-so, new version gave me life! Made me feel like my life was worth living. 10/10 would recommend.

As one of the few people on this earth who has never laid eyes upon the original 1984 "Footloose", I came into this version with no preconceived notions or expectations. As such, I was pleasantly surprised, although not outright blown away.For a basic plot summary, "Footloose 2011" is a typical "teens vs. adults" flick. When a car crash (after a night of partying) kills five high school seniors, their community pastor (played by Dennis Quaid) restricts future teenage rebellious behavior by controlling the town with strict laws/curfews. That is, of course, until his daughter (Julianne Hough) meets the new kid in town from Boston (Kenny Wormald) and the town gets stirred up once again.The prevailing factor in this film experience is that the movie is good at what it does. It provides everything that one expects to see, such as: incredible dancing, popular music, attractive men/women, and teen-centered plots. All those things are accomplished with aplomb.An "added bonus" is the quality of acting from both the youngsters and adults (especially Quaid) in the film. Though inherently a bit hokey, this movie could have diverged into pure cheeseball without such strong performances.Thus, while I can't give it an enormous star rating because it isn't an outright classic, it is very good at what it does (and if you like that kind of thing, your rating will be much higher). Three and a half stars would probably be a more exact ranking. Simply put, I had a good time watching this flick.

Despite being an enormous hit at the time, the original 'Footloose' is somewhat of a love it/hate it film.To me, it wasn't a great film, did have issues with the story, some of the script and one dance sequence (the one in the abandoned warehouse). However, the immense appeal is definitely understandable and the original 'Footloose' still stands up as an enjoyable film for the soundtrack, dancing/choreography and the casting.While there are definitely worse remakes out there ('Psycho' and 'The Wicker Man'), 'Footloose' (2011) is still, like a fair few remakes, rather pointless.It's not all awful. The best thing about is Miles Teller, a great and instantly appealing performance that is every bit as good as Chris Penn's in the original, the only actor in the film to have that distinction. Some of the dancing is dazzlingly good, especially Willard learning how to dance. Plus the production values are beautiful.However, while the soundtrack was unforgettable and toe-tapping in the original they are forgettable here, the more contemporary and country arrangements robbing them of their catchiness and charm. The songs themselves are not bad at all, far from it, but how they're arranged are very much so. There are some great moments with the dancing, but too much of the dancing lacks the finger-snapping quality and energy of the original's choreography.'Footloose' further suffers from being too faithful, with a lot of the same material but with little to none of the nostalgic charm and fun. Nothing is done also to improve on the daftness, ridiculousness and schmaltz of the story from the original, instead those problems are actually amplified here, with lots of cheese and overwrought emotion, and hurt even further by pacing that feels like one is riding on the back of a snail.Miles Teller aside, though Ray McKinnon and Kim Dickens are also quite good but aren't in it enough, the cast just don't cut it, and neither does the very uninspired direction. Kenny Wormald is an incredible dancer but a lousy actor, a bland presence throughout and he is never sure whether to overact or underplay because the performance is a mess of both. Julianne Hough is beautiful, but doesn't have the confidence, vulnerability or charm to match.Andie McDowell feels out of place and, with the lack of engagement with her material, looks completely cost. Dennis Quaid gives a limp and sometimes over-compensated performance, and constantly looks ill at ease. There is little chemistry between the two of them as well, the dignity and gentle touch from the original's chemistry between the two characters is missed, replaced with a sense of being condemned throughout.Overall, there's worse out there but there was really not needed and the execution on its own merits is severely wanting. 3/10 Bethany Cox

I already talked about the musical in my original review so I will not talk about it here or at least try not to or say stuff that I forgot. But seriously, I think I am the only one who agrees with Roger Ebert that the first one was bad, but the remake is bad also. But the difference is, I hate the remake even more. This might be the worst remake of all time and you will not understand the reasoning for this so I will try to explain to my very best. ITS THE SAME MOVIE. ONLY DONE WORST.I know a remake is suppose to be faithful to the original, but the first movie I wasn't a fan of and a lot of people weren't a fan of back then. So it would be best if they fixed these errors from the first movie and make the remake superior. BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! We have to have the same movie that feels like you have been assaulted and the movie actual gave me physical pain from watching it.What scenes are still there but done worse? The Tractor Scene is replaced with Driving Race Cars, The smacking and assault of Ariel scenes are more cringe worthy to watch, the drug scene is absolutely worse in all ways, the town hall scene is word for word. You get the point? THEY WERE TOO FAITHFUL!The songs are worse. Footloose is now a horrible country song ruined by Blake Shelton making the finale very hard to watch... and that's all I remember still.The casting is OK for the most part. But they got the worst person to play the Reverend, DENNIS FREAKING QUAID. UGH I HATE HIM SO MUCH. WHY?! He always has the same >:I face on every single movie he is in. Why couldn't you gave the Reverend to some newcomer instead of this guy!? But enough of that.I mean, I have never seen such a horrible remake in my life. They changed nothing. NOTHING! But it still made money because of a cult following. Do we want more remakes of bad films to come because of this? Like a Flashdance Remake, A Magical Mystery Tour Remake? Then please! I can't stop you. But I can only warn people about this.To quote Roger Ebert: "...The film's message is: A bad movie, if faithfully remade, will produce another bad movie."Amen.22/100 D-