Footloose

      Alright, I finally gave in, I watched Footloose (2011).  I am still very undecided about how I feel about it though.  (Just for reference you might want to go back and read my post about the original Footloose) I wasn't to sure what to think when I first saw the previews for this remake of what I consider a classic.  I saw bits and pieces and heard some of it when my sister was watching it but I hadn't taken the time to sit down and watch it yet.  My first thoughts/impressions where, "why not just call it Step Up 10, or whatever we are up to with those now?" It seemed loud and annoying, to jumpy and flashy. 
  
        Well, I finally sat down and watched it and gave it a fair shot.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I am not going to say I loved it but it wasn't bad.  The actors did great. Kenny Wormald (Center Stage: Turn It Up, Clerks II, You Got Served) had the daunting task of filling Kevin Bacon's (Flatliners, JFK, A Few Good Men, Murder in the First) shoes. Yes, I say daunting.  I really felt for him.  I think that would be a little stressful.  Especially with the way they handled this remake. I have seen my fair share of remakes and I really don't have anything against them it is kind of fun and can be interesting to see how they "update" things.

       So much of Footloose remained the same as the original, 1984, which just made me laugh at times.  The yellow bug is the same, which I saw in the previews, but it is so much more than that.  Some of the dialog is the same, word for word.  Some of the wardrobe is the same. You don't see as much of Ariel's red boots as you did in the original but they still make an appearance.  A lot of Ren's wardrobe is the same. At the end when he's picking Ariel up, I saw her dress and just laughed, it is so similar. But then when Ren gets out of the car and heads up to the door I really laughed.  I think he is wearing "the" suit from the first one.  It is the exact same suit! There was so much that was the same and then all of a sudden different that sometimes my brain couldn't keep up.  I am quoting along with them as they are saying the lines and then they say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing.  That was funny too.  Some of the scenes were even shot the same way as the original.  The actors would have the same stance or be framed in the same way.  I found that comical.

      I do have to ask though, what has happened to emotion and character development?  I feel like the first one let you get to know characters more and dealt more with emotion and family dynamics.  Is that something we are foregoing for more action and to speed up the movie? I have felt that way about a few movies lately. I miss the emotion. I really shouldn't complain though.  This new revised Footloose was good.  They really paid homage to the original and showed respect for it.  They used a lot of the same music but updated that as well.  And didn't always put the music in the same scenes.  The warehouse scene? Hmmm? I do have to say there is only one Kevin Bacon and as good as Kenny Wormald did in the role Kevin's warehouse scene is still the best.