Six Degrees of Dancing

Rating: 8/10 (25 June 2011)

Honestly, I had to revisit this small (minded) town once I saw the 2011 Footloose remake trailer.
The biggest question I have is: how the hell could they make this relevant in today's time? Though it was a 100% iconic 80s movie, it was probably barely relevant then – 27 years ago.
I'm referring to the basic premise of a kid, Ren (Ha – it's so hard to think of the all-around guy, Kevin Bacon, as a "kid") moving with his single mother to a small, religious town where it's – GASP – illegal to dance. Heck, it was probably frowned upon the mom being a single mother, but that's not explored.
Well, Ren can't sit still, let alone fit in, until he makes friends (and a few enemies) and he shakes things up, namely with the great and powerful Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow) and his stunning (for 1984, that is) daughter, Ariel (Lori Singer.)
So, they cross many barriers, including county lines to put on a senior dance
Wait, you don't know the premise of Footloose by now? If not, let me also fill you in who Luke Skywalker's father is
Unfortunately, the first half of the movie does NOT hold up wellfor those who have never seen this. I did grow up with this, so none of the (ENORMOUSLY, EXCEEDINGLY) dated scenes really bothered me that much, nor the music – it's one of my all-time favorite soundtracks, after all.
Kids these daysno I mean it: Kids, these days, try and get past the "ancient" feel of the movie and at least, dive into the second half, that surprisingly replaces main character Ren and his "growth" and shifts to the Reverend Moore's development, with help from his wife, Vi (the always lovely Dianne Wiest.) In a sense, Moore becomes the new main character and it's absolutely believable and touching. You literally stop rooting for Ren, as his character never changes (not that he needed to) and cheer for Moore to succeed.
The movie's a lot deeper than it appears on the surface, or synopsis. Again, it has a fantastic soundtrack and believable small town ignorance. I will say, boy they could get away with murder back then. And, yeah, I noticed this as a kid, as well: in addition to "guys giving the birdie," language and themes, there's a shower/locker room scene with several male backsides exposed. Gees, and it was PG. Today it would be R. Maybe the good, ole Reverend has put his mark on the MPAA in today's times
And speaking of today's timesI must see the latest remake in Hollywood, of this classic. I want to see how they explain how "dancing" is so bad when it's so clearly "okay" according to Ren who quotes from the same Bible the Reverend uses to speak out against it (in a great town hall scene in this movie.)
Beyond people who grew up with this movie, it's highly recommended to today's kids who want to see what (God, I feel old for saying this) kind of lives and troubles their parents had to endure in their own childhood.