The good news for fans who fell in love with the 1984 Kevin Bacon original, the new Footloose still works its screen magic.
Director Craig Brewer sticks so strictly to the original script he could be accused of plagiarism were it a school assignment. But it worked the first time so why not?
Fans will get serious nostalgia value out of the reworked dance scenes and original music.
For younger folk who think Kevin Bacon is a delicatessen, this film has played close attention to attracting a new generation. It is a little more gritty and a lot more hyped.
The same old plot applies: troubled teens rebelling against a law against loud music and dancing.
It all starts when new boy Ren McCormick rolls into a small US town and quickly finds himself on the wrong side of the law for playing his music too loud.
Three years ago the town’s leaders banned amplified music and public dancing after some of the town’s youngest and brightest were wiped out in a car crash on the way home from a booze-fuelled dance. And the town has been a dull place ever since.
The uptight town preacher is played convincingly by Dennis Quaid with the help of Andy McDowall as the preacher’s wife and daughter Ariel (Julianne Hough).
Ariel is the rebellious daughter rebelling against daddy’s membership in the fun police.
It is up to Ren to rise to the challenge of returning sanity back to the town by switching on the music. There are some great one liners (“her jeans are so tight, when she has a dollar in her back pocket you can tell if it's heads or tails”), funny moments and fantastic dance scenes.
Dance-actor Kenny Wormald doesn’t do a bad job filling Kevin Bacon’s shoes, but fails to capture the same level of bottled-up, angst.
His solo dance in the factory is a little stilted and laboured compared to Bacon’s powerful display.
But he has still oozes a James Dean-like `don’t mess with me’ attitude that gets him over the line.
Overall, Footloose lives up to its reputation and will leave you wanting to “cut loose” for days.
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