At least it's better than 'Flashdance'

Rating: 3/10 (28 January 2010)

Back in 1984, when 'Footloose' came out, dance movies were very popular. After the success of 1970's productions, like 'Saturday Night Fever', everyone was trying to get some in the 1980's. That's where the problem began. Every dance movie that came out, you already knew what was going to happen, what is it about, etc. And with 'Footloose', is no different.
This movie tells the story of Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon), a boy from Chicago that moves to a small town. There, while falling in love with the Reverend's daughter (Lori Singer), he finds out that there is a law against dancing in this town(!), now he tries to organize a dancing ball for his class and fights against his law. From this, you already know what's going to happen, and it's really boring. The plot is really absurd, if it was set in the 1950's, it would be believable. At least the movie has a few sub-plots, but none of them is interesting or gets your attention, they are all cliché and predictable.
By in the middle of it, I kept thinking "If this a dance movie, why a plot? What about the dancing?". And that's where lies the problem of the movie. A dance movie with no dancing! The soundtrack is excellent with great original songs like 'Footloose' and 'Let's hear it from the boy', but you don't get to see anyone dancing in the most of the movie. Instead, what you get are bad-made dialogs and a non-believable story.
The acting here is ridiculous. Kevin Bacon looks more like a gay alien and nothing else, and Lori Singer isn't beautiful at all. Thankfully, the movie has John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest, and they really saved the movie. They are both excellent as the Reverend and his wife. The other aspects aren't even worth mentioning, but Herbert Ross' directing really bothered me with close-ups of people's feet.
Overral, this is a really bad dance movie. The direction bothers you, and the two leads don't act their ways out. But the nice soundtrack and original songs, as well as John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest made the movie watchable. It's better then 'Flashdance', what doesn't say much, but it's nothing compared to better dance movies, like 'Saturday Night Fever'
3/10