WARNING: This Review May Contain Spoilers
I have had the discussion a lot recently about films that really should be left alone – mainly because there’s been a lot of talk about one of my favourite films being remade. Now, I see Footloose as a modern classic and in my opinion, as you will more than likely suss from the below, this is one of the films that really should have been left alone
Opening Scene
This is not something I expected to be replicated in the remake, the dancing feet behind the opening credits. Now, this is part of a large scene in the remake as this film actually starts 3 years earlier than the events in the original. The remake shows the car accident that is only referenced in the original film that kills Rev. Shaw Cross’ son which led to the vote on the banning of dancing in Bolan.
Slightly Scene for Scene
Normally, remakes can end up being scene for scene copies of the original but this isn’t quite that. Now, I’m not saying there aren’t similar scenes just they’re in a different order and slightly adjusted from the original. For example, Ren being pulled over for playing loud music is not only earlier in the remake than in the original but it also happens with him alone in the car. In my opinion, this means that we lose a brilliant conversation that takes place between Ren and Willard about music.
Additionally, if it wasn’t for the line dancing scene happening later in the film, it felt like they had moved it forward and blended it with when Ariel gets caught playing music by her dad. What annoys me about this scene is that it feels like they are trying to make this film more like Step Up from the way they’re dancing to the way it’s filmed.
Battle of the Ren’s
There’s one glaring difference between Bacon and Wormald’s characters of Ren is that in the remake he arrives alone – due to the death of his mother. Not only this, but instead of being from Chicago Illinois, like in the original, Wormald’s Ren is from Boston, Massachusetts. One nice tribute to Bacon’s Ren however is that he turns up to his first day of school with the same tie and the same car.
Now, I don’t know if they felt some machismo needed to be added to Ren’s character in the remake because they decided it would be better for him to be a football player instead of a gymnast. They reference the fact that he has done gymnastics but I don’t see why they couldn’t keep it that way.
A Game of Chicken
I don’t know why, but there is something so much better about Chuck and Ren playing chicken with tractors than them racing buses around a figure-8 track. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s only between them in the original instead of being three against one or it’s the fact that Ren only keeps going because he’s laces are stuck around the break!
Iconic Dance Scene
I’m not talking about the final scene at the prom where everybody lets loose. I mean the dance of Kevin Bacon’s in the barn which I’m sure Emilio Estevez replicates in Breakfast Club. Now, in the remake it does feel like more of a homage to the original scene than actually trying to replicate the same dancing. For example, Wormald takes of his hoodie and dances through part of the factory in a similar way to Bacon but adds actually ripping off a plank of wood. The dance in the remake is much more aggressive than in the original – especially as Ren goes into a massive rant instead of silently losing it before dancing.
Soundtrack
Now, this isn’t something I talk about very regular in these remake articles but you can’t really ignore it when it’s as good as it is in the original film! OK, so Footloose by Kenny Loggins plays about 3 times but who cares? OK, they use similar songs in the remake, but absolutely TERRIBLE covers – like the version of Holding out for a Hero by Ella Mae Bowen.
In Conclusion
I’m pretty sure it’s obvious but I was not impressed by the remake. It honestly felt like they were trying to focus more on the dancing than the reason for it. With the dancing in the car park and the line dancing scene, it felt like they were trying to compete with the likes of Step Up and Stomp the Yard.
