| Footloose | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Herbert Ross |
| Written by | Dean Pitchford |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ric Waite |
| Edited by | Paul Hirsch |
| Music by | |
Production company | IndieProd |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 107 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7.5 million[2] |
| Box office | $80 million (domestic)[3] |
Footloose is a 1984 Americanmusical[4]drama film directed byHerbert Ross and written byDean Pitchford. It tells the story of Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon), a teenager from Chicago who moves to a small town, where he attempts to overturn a ban on dancing enforced by the efforts of a local minister (John Lithgow).
The film was released on February 17, 1984, byParamount Pictures, and received mixed reviews from critics, but was a box office success, grossing $80 million in North America, becoming theseventh highest-grossing film of 1984. The songs "Footloose" byKenny Loggins and "Let's Hear It for the Boy" byDeniece Williams were nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Song.
Chicago natives Ren McCormack and his mother Ethel move to the small town of Bomont,Utah, to live with Ren's aunt and uncle. While attending church, he meets Reverend Shaw Moore, his wife Vi and their daughter Ariel, who rebels against her father's strict religious nature and behaves recklessly.
At school, Ren befriends Willard Hewitt. He soon learns that the town council has banned dancing and rock music within thetown boundary. Ren soon falls for Ariel, angering her boyfriend, Chuck Cranston, who challenges him to a game ofchicken involving tractors. Ren wins the challenge but only because his shoelace got caught on the foot pedal so he couldn't jump off.
Distrusting Ren's influence, Reverend Moore forbids Ariel from seeing him. Ren drives Willard, Ariel, and her friend, Rusty, to a bar past the state line to go dancing. Willard, unable to dance, becomes jealous and gets into a fight with a man dancing with Rusty.
On the drive home, Ariel describes how, five years earlier, her older brother died in a car accident after a night of alcohol and dancing. Their father then persuaded thetown council to enact strict anti-liquor, anti-drug, and anti-dance laws. Ren decides to challenge the anti-dancing and rock music ordinance so the high school can hold a senior prom.
Willard is embarrassed he cannot dance, so Ren teaches him. Chuck confronts Ariel about her feelings towards Ren and they get into a physical altercation before breaking up. Ren helps Ariel conceal the physical assault before going home, cementing their relationship.
Later that night, someone (most likely Chuck) throws a brick with the words, "Burn in Hell," through a window at Ren's house. When his uncle criticizes Ren's outspoken behavior, Ethel tells Ren that though his actions cost her her job, he should stand up for what he believes is right.
With Ariel's help, Ren goes before the town council to advocate revoking the anti-dancing law. He reads several Bible verses and cites the scriptural significance of dancing as a way to rejoice, exercise, and celebrate. Although Reverend Moore is moved, the council votes against Ren's proposal. Vi, who supports the movement, tells Moore that he cannot be everyone's father and is hardly one to Ariel.
Despite further discussion with Ren about his own family losses and Ariel telling her father she is not a virgin, Rev. Moore does not change his stance. The next day, he finds members of his congregationburning library books that they claim endanger the town's youth. Realizing the situation has become uncontrollable, Moore stops the book burners, chastises them, and sends them home.
The following Sunday, Reverend Moore asks his congregation to pray for the high school students putting on the prom, being held in agrain mill just yards over the county line and beyond Bomont's jurisdiction. On prom night, Moore and Vi listen from outside the mill. Chuck and his friends arrive, attacking Willard; Ren arrives in time to even the odds and knocks out Chuck. Ren, Ariel, Willard and Rusty rejoin the party and happily dance the night away.
Dean Pitchford came up with the idea forFootloose in 1979 and teamed up withDaniel Melnick's IndieProd who set the production up at20th Century Fox in 1981.[6][2] Pitchford wrote the screenplay (his first) and most of the lyrics. However, Fox put it intoturnaround.[2] In 1982,Paramount Pictures made apay-or-play deal for the film.[2] When negotiations withHerbert Ross initially stalled,Ron Howard was approached to direct the film but he turned it down to directSplash instead.[7]Michael Cimino was hired by Paramount to direct the film, his first film sinceHeaven's Gate.[2]
After a month of working on the film, the studio fired Cimino, who was making extravagant demands for the production, including demanding an additional $250,000 for his work, and ended up hiring Ross.[2][8]
Tom Cruise andRob Lowe were both slated to play the lead. The producers were impressed with Cruise because of the famous underwear dance sequence inRisky Business, but he was unavailable for the part because he was filmingAll the Right Moves. Lowe auditioned three times and had the dancing ability and the "neutral teen" look that the director wanted, but injury prevented him from taking the part.[9][10]Christopher Atkins claims that he was cast as Ren, but lost the role.[11] Bacon had been offered the main role for theStephen King filmChristine at the same time that he was asked to do the screen test forFootloose. He chose to take the gamble on the screen test. After watching his earlier filmDiner, the director persuaded the producers to go with Bacon.
The film also starsLori Singer as Reverend Moore's independent daughter Ariel, a role for whichMadonna andHaviland Morris[12] also auditioned.Valerie Bertinelli andJennifer Jason Leigh were also considered.[13]Dianne Wiest appears as Vi, the Reverend's devoted yet conflicted wife.
Tracy Nelson was considered for the role of Rusty.[8]
Principal photography began on May 9, 1983, and took place at various locations inUtah County, Utah.[2] The high school and tractor scenes were filmed in and aroundPayson andPayson High School. The church scenes were filmed at the First Presbyterian Church inAmerican Fork,[14] while the steel mill was theGeneva Steel facility inVineyard[15] and TheLehi Roller Mills were the location where Bacon's character worked (Bacon briefly worked at the roller mill as research for his performance).[16] The drive-in scenes were filmed inProvo at what was then a branch of the Hi-Spot burger chain.[17] The restaurant chain closed in the late 1980s, and there is now an auto parts store at that location. The bar scene was filmed at The Silver Spur bar in downtown Provo. The bar and other surrounding buildings were demolished to make way for the Utah Valley Convention Center.[17]
For his dance scene in the warehouse, Bacon said he had fourstunt doubles: "I had a stunt double, a dance double [Peter Tramm][18] and two gymnastics doubles."[19]
Footloose is loosely based on the town ofElmore City, Oklahoma. The town had banned dancing since its founding in 1898 in an attempt to decrease the amount of heavy drinking. One advocate of the dancing ban was the Reverend from the nearby town ofHennepin, F. R. Johnson. He said, "No good has ever come from a dance. If you have a dance somebody will crash it and they'll be looking for only two things—women and booze. When boys and girls hold each other, they get sexually aroused. You can believe what you want, but one thing leads to another." Because of the ban on dancing, the town never held a prom. In February 1980, the junior class of Elmore City's high school made national news when they requested permission to hold a junior prom and it was granted. The request to overturn the ban to hold the prom was met with a 2–2 decision from the school board when school board president Raymond Lee broke the tie with the words, "Let 'em dance."[20]
The soundtrack was released incassette,8-track tape,vinyl,reel-to-reel and CD format. The 1984 open reel release was among the last commercial releases on the format. The soundtrack was also re-released on CD for the 15th anniversary of the film in 1999. The re-release included four new songs: "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" byQuiet Riot, "Hurts So Good" byJohn Mellencamp, "Waiting for a Girl Like You" byForeigner, and the extended 12" remix of "Dancing in the Sheets".
The album includes "Footloose" and "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)", both byKenny Loggins, "Holding Out for a Hero" byBonnie Tyler (co-written and produced byJim Steinman), "Girl Gets Around" bySammy Hagar, "Never" by Australian rock bandMoving Pictures, "Let's Hear It for the Boy" byDeniece Williams, "Somebody's Eyes" byKarla Bonoff, "Dancing In The Sheets" byShalamar, and the romantic theme "Almost Paradise" by Mike Reno fromLoverboy andAnn Wilson ofHeart (co-written byEric Carmen). The soundtrack went on to sell over 9 million copies in the USA. All songs in the initial release were co-written by Pitchford based on various songwriting styles: for "Holding Out for a Hero", he listened to various songs written by Steinman such as his work withMeat Loaf and then wrote the first two lines ("Where have all the good men gone/And where are all the gods?/Where's the streetwise Hercules/To fight the rising odds?") in this manner to spark Steinman's creativity.[21]
"Footloose" and "Let's Hear It for the Boy" both topped theBillboard Hot 100 and received1984 Academy Award nominations forBest Music (Original Song).[citation needed] "Footloose" also received a 1985Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song – Motion Picture.[citation needed]
ComposerMiles Goodman adapted and orchestrated the film's score.[22][23]
The music from the soundtrack was released prior to the film's premiere. The filmmakers felt that songs produced a stronger emotional response from people already familiar with them, which heightened the experience of watching the movie. The music video for "Footloose" had scenes from the movie, rather than footage of Loggins.[24]
The film received mixed reviews from critics.Chicago Sun-Times criticRoger Ebert called it "a seriously confused movie that tries to do three things, and does all of them badly. It wants to tell the story of a conflict in a town, it wants to introduce some flashy teenage characters and part of the time it wants to be a music video."[25] Dave Denby inNew York rechristened the film "Schlockdance", writing: "Footloose may be a hit, but it's trash – high powered fodder for the teen market... The only person to come out of the film better off is the smooth-cheeked, pug-nosed Bacon, who gives a cocky but likable Mr. Cool performance."[26]
Jane Lamacraft reassessed the film forSight and Sound's "Forgotten pleasures of the multiplex" feature in 2010, writing "Nearly three decades on, Bacon's vest-clad set-piece dance in a flour mill looks cheesily 1980s, but the rest of Ross's drama wears its age well, real song-and-dance joy for the pre-Glee generation."[27]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 55% of 47 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "There's not much dancing, but what's there is great. The rest of the time,Footloose is a nice hunk of trashy teenage cheese."[28] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[29]
The film grossed $80,035,403 domestically. It became theseventh highest-grossing film of 1984.[3]
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Original Song | "Footloose" Music and Lyrics byKenny Loggins andDean Pitchford | Nominated | [30] |
| "Let's Hear It for the Boy" Music and Lyrics by Dean Pitchford andTom Snow | Nominated | |||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Song | "Footloose" Music and Lyrics by Kenny Loggins and Dean Pitchford | Nominated | [31] |
| Grammy Awards | Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male | "Footloose" – Kenny Loggins | Nominated | [32] |
| Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | "Let's Hear It for the Boy" –Deniece Williams | Nominated | ||
| Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal | "Dancing in the Sheets" –Shalamar | Nominated | ||
| Best Rhythm and Blues Song | "Dancing in the Sheets" – Dean Pitchford and Bill Wolfer | Nominated | ||
| Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special | Footloose – Various Artists (Eric Carmen,Michael Gore,Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, Dean Pitchford, Tom Snow,Jim Steinman, and Bill Wolfer) | Nominated | ||
| ShoWest Convention | Breakthrough Performer of the Year | Lori Singer | Won | |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Family Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | [33] | |
| Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama | Sarah Jessica Parker | Nominated | ||
In 1998, amusical version ofFootloose premiered.[35] Featuring many of the songs from the film, the show has been presented on London'sWest End, onBroadway, and elsewhere. The musical is generally faithful to the film version, with some slight differences in the story and characters.
Paramount announced plans to fast-track aremake ofFootloose. The remake was written and directed byCraig Brewer. Filming started in September 2010. It was budgeted at $25 million.[36] It was released October 14, 2011.
Years ago I auditioned for Footloose and I blew out my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), so I have post-traumatic stress with anything having to do with Footloose.
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