Footloose

Time Out called 1984’s ‘Footloose’ ‘a cynical and manipulative exercise with little feel for the teen culture it purports to celebrate.’ If you agree, you’ll probably feel the same about this remake, doubtless conceived for commercial reasons. But if you found the original a toe-tapping guilty pleasure, you may find this surprisingly enjoyable.

Like the first film, it casts relative unknowns in the young roles. The likeable Kenny Wormald steps into Kevin Bacon’s shoes as Ren, the hot-stepping city rebel who moves to a town in which dancing has been banned for under-18s. Meanwhile, a tight-jeaned Julianne Hough is Ariel, daughter of the strict but well-meaning Rev Moore (Dennis Quaid). While broadly faithful to the original, it’s a more multi-racial affair with street dance alongside line dancing and freestyle, all well performed to an infectious soundtrack. The plot may be straightforward but it’s refreshing to see a modern dance film that tackles religion, convention and local law alongside the requisite forbidden romance. And if this ‘Footloose’ happens to shake up the trend of formulaic contemporary dance movies, then amen to that.