" footloose " has only one goal in mind : to reel in an audience with cheesy sentiment and feel - good antics .
and i hate to admit it ; i fell for it .
the movie is about a teenager ( bacon ) who moves to a small town from the big city , and discovers that dancing has been banned by the local reverend ( lithgow ) .
he ends up falling for the preacher 's daughter ( singer ) and showing the whole town what the magic of dance can do .
as mentioned at the beginning of this review , " footloose " is an extremely hokey and predictable teen drama .
there are virtually no surprises , and the writing is second - rate .
so
why did i enjoy it so much ? for one thing ,
the cast is great .
kevin bacon oozes charisma in an early role .
we 're rooting for him right from the start , and , unlike most films of this genre , bacon does n't play him as the " rebel without a clue " sort .
yes , he does rebel , but he 's also polite when he needs to be .
and he never broods .
the rest of the cast is equally impressive .
john lithgow , seen here playing a normal guy for a change , is playing a man who would normally be a flat out villian .
but lithgow plays him as a concerned father who is trying to do what he feels is best for his daughter .
by the end of the film , we feel a genuine sense of love and understanding between him and the lori singer character .
another nice touch is the music .
we see the parents of the kids complaining that the music they listen to is filled with " sexual innuendos " , but that 's not true at all .
the title track , performed by kenny loggins , is upbeat and fun .
during the final sequence , i was overcome with the urge to get off the couch and start dancing
.
of course , i soon realized that would be a little pathetic .
anyway , " footloose " is a charming little surprise .
do n't let the premise prevent you from watching it .
it sucked me in , and it 'll do the same to you .
i was overcome with the urge to get off the couch and start dancing the cast is great is upbeat and fun a charming little surprise equally impressive i fell for it why did i enjoy it so much ? do n't let the premise prevent you from watching it it sucked me in , and it 'll do the same to you another nice touch is the music