Everybody Cut Footloose Again

By Amber Brenner-

The original footloose cover from 1987. Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

That’s exactly what director Craig Brewer did to his remake of the 1984 movie Footloose. There are few differences between the 1984 original and the 2011 remake.

First off, it’s obviously more modern. The music, dancing and clothing were all inevitably updated. The music that the kids in the movie listen to was mainly hip-hop, with the exception of a few scenes with genres like pop and country. The dancing, of course, was more provocative. The styles of dancing included lots of hip-hop, some krumping and even some country line dancing. Some of the dances were taken from the original movie.

Under the same umbrella, the language was modified a little, adding an occasional swear word, which was generally taboo back in the ’80’s. The movie was also updated socially. Although racial segregation ended in the mid-1960’s, all of the actors and actresses used in the original Footloose were Caucasian. The remake seemed to cover all races and ethnicities.

The new 2011 Footloose cover. Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

As for the actual screenplay, there are very few differences between the original and the new remake, but the ones that exist are blatantly obvious.

To start, the new movie opens with the accident that killed the town’s preacher’s son that the original only referred to. In the original movie, the main character moves to the small town of Bomont with his mother after a divorce. In the new movie, they do away with his mother completely. He moved in with his aunt and uncle after his mother passed away.

There aren’t many other differences and the ones that are there don’t change the story much at all.

All in all, Footloose (2011) is a refreshed and modern spin of the original made in 1984. It’s worth a trip to the theater.

As a warning, you may feel the spontaneous urge to dance, but don’t worry. That’s completely normal.