TMG Scale 8.0 P Factor 0.0 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Starring Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell
A terrific remake on par with the original from 1984 with Kevin Bacon. TMG generally scorns remaking good films, but this one hits the mark. It helps greatly that newbie Kenny Wormald started dancing when he was only six years old. The story is exactly the same. So is most of the music. Dennis Quaid takes the role of the father-preacher held in the original by John Lithgow and does a decent job. So why does this film work so well again? The dancing is literally off the wall great.
The Footloose story is loosely based upon the history of Elmore City, Oklahoma, not the fictional city of Bomont, Midwest Somewhere. While Elmore had banned dancing for 100 years until high school kids changed things in 1980, both 1984 and 2011 versions are based upon a ban arising from a tragic car accident after a party five years earlier. All said, the story plays second fiddle to the dancing and music. Great film? Maybe not. Great entertainment? You bet. TMG loved it!