Plot
A city boy comes to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned.
Release Year: 1984
Rating: 6.1/10 (22,290 voted)
Director:
Herbert Ross
Stars: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow
Storyline Classic tale of teen rebellion and repression features a delightful combination of dance choreography and realistic and touching performances. When teenager Ren and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small town in the West, he's in for a real case of culture shock. Though he tries hard to fit in, the streetwise Ren can't quite believe he's living in a place where rock music and dancing are illegal. There is one small pleasure, however: Ariel, a troubled but lovely blonde with a jealous boyfriend. and a Bible-thumping minister, who is responsible for keeping the town dance-free. Ren and his classmates want to do away with this ordinance, especially since the senior prom is around the corner, but only Ren has the courage to initiate a battle to abolish the outmoded ban and revitalize the spirit of the repressed townspeople. Fast-paced drama is filled with such now-famous hit songs as the title track and "Let's Hear It for the Boy."
Cast: Kevin Bacon
-
Ren McCormack
Lori Singer
-
Ariel Moore
John Lithgow
-
Reverend Shaw Moore
Dianne Wiest
-
Vi Moore
Chris Penn
-
Willard Hewitt
(as Christopher Penn)
Sarah Jessica Parker
-
Rusty
John Laughlin
-
Woody
Elizabeth Gorcey
-
Wendy Jo
Frances Lee McCain
-
Ethel McCormack
Jim Youngs
-
Chuck Cranston
Douglas Dirkson
-
Burlington Cranston
Lynne Marta
-
Lulu Warnicker
Arthur Rosenberg
-
Wes Warnicker
Timothy Scott
-
Andy Beamis
Alan Haufrect
-
Coach Roger Dunbar
Taglines:
He's a big-city kid in a small town. They said he'd never win. He knew he had to.
Release Date: 17 February 1984
Filming Locations: American Fork, Utah, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $8,200,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $8,556,935
(USA)
(19 February 1984)
Gross: $80,035,402
(USA)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Lehi (named for a prophet described in the Book of Mormon) is the town where the Lehi Rollermills resides. The Lehi Rollermills is actually an old time grain house as depicted in the film and it's still (2010) operating in Utah. The film is often considered Lehi's claim to fame.
Goofs:
Continuity:
When Ariel is making the switch from the car to Chuck's pickup and the tractor-trailer is headed for them, they are about to converge at a railroad crossing, but when they do meet, there is no railroad crossing to be seen.
Quotes: Ren:
Up on the roof, oh yeah. 100 proof, oh yeah. I'm feelin' fine, oh yeah. Drink cherry wine, oh yeah.
User Review
Unfair reputation.
Rating: 7/10
Prior to seeing this movie, all I had heard suggested that I was better
off not watching it unless it was to ridicule. I looked at my uncle
dancing round his living room to some of its music and asked myself if
anybody expected me to take that seriously. It's got a place in movie
history even for the title song alone, though, so I decided I couldn't
live with myself unless I gave it a chance. It was definitely worth it.
The style is reminiscent of a whole host of other '80's teen flicks,
but only a handful are better. Most of the cast do great things with
their roles. Kevin Bacon actually manages to make the clichéd concept
seem kinda cool, here showcasing an easy charm that was to become the
hallmark of much of his later work. Crucially, the music is actually
pretty good too! (Even if I am torn between wanting to cringe and dance
when I hear the theme!)
On reflection it's no cheesier than something like "All the Right
Moves" (which has a great cast doing their best but suffers from a
plodding story) In fact, it's miles better! At least the music in
"Footloose" gave the makers a viable way to pep things up whenever the
story begins to flag. This film is much, MUCH better than I had been
led to believe, so give it a chance if you ain't seen it yet but
thought you knew the score. Chances are, you don't...
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