rating: ★★★1/2

Try to figure out what's awkward about this photo.

There is a tendency to act hostile toward a remake for no reason other than the fact that it is a remake. I do my best to avoid this.

When I went to see the new Footloose in theatres, I kept my mind open, although I had the lingering knowledge that there were a million different ways they could screw it up. What I found, however, was a remake that did almost everything right.

We all know the story. Big city teenager Ren MacCormack is forced to relocate to the podunk town of Bomont. It is a very straight-laced religious community where everyone’s morality is the sole responsibility of Reverend Shaw Moore, whose explosive sermons preach against the sin of the modern age.

Ren tries to fit in, making friends with the awkward, amiable, cowboy-hat wearing Willard and falling into close contact with the wild-child preacher’s daughter Ariel. Of course, in the process, he ends up running afoul of the law, Reverend Moore and Ariel’s dirt-track-racing boyfriend Chuck. But most importantly, he must face off against the town in his mission to break the ban on dancing that was enacted three years prior.

The film begins with an homage to the iconic prologue of the original, with the montage of dancing feet, but rather than an innocent and sterile environment, this one sets it against the backdrop of a raging kegger, with garbage and spilled beer littering the dance floor. It starts off on a much darker note than the original by actually dramatizing the car crash which resulted in the original dance-ban. The other notable difference is that Ren arrives at his aunt and uncle’s house alone after losing his mother to Leukemia.

One should not go into this film expecting anything other than Footloose. The high points from the original are all there, although a few scenes are shifted around or conflated together. Mostly, the change is tonal.

This version is edgier and the teenagers at large are more adventurous with the way they flout the law. Much of the dancing has been updated and given a hip-hop flavour (it being sort of the rock ’n’ roll of today, as far as detractors go). We end up with what anyone could expect: Footloose, only darker, dirtier and sexier. This isn’t a criticism, however. It makes perfect sense; 1980s glam rock and high-waisted jeans don’t really cut it this decade, so the culture of rebellion split off in a new direction, while the core of the conflict remains the same.

Much of the original soundtrack has been preserved, with some twists and variations (like a slow country ballad version of “I Need a Hero”). Mixed in is a modern country and hip-hop amalgam, that succeeds in some points and not in others.

Kenny Wormald performs well as Ren. It would hardly be fair to compare him to Kevin Bacon. He is a dancer by trade and this is his first major acting job. He has the charisma to pull off the character and he plays the emotions well enough. The main problem is that he doesn’t internalize very well; he is fine when he needs to have a big reaction, but when he needs to keep the conflict inside, it runs a little flat. The worst moment is the infamous dance-rampage in the abandoned warehouse (which was a hard sell even with Kevin Bacon), which starts off with a weird angry pseudo-rap about how much the town pisses him off.

Julianne Hough is believable as Reverend Moore’s rebel daughter Ariel. She confidently pulls of the hypersexuality, but also the psychological conflict of revelling in acting like a slut but shuddering at the thought of actually being one. She has a wild streak that leads her to put her life on the line for no reason other than to be noticed. But she also handles the softer scenes with her father.

Miles Teller is lovable as Willard and Patrick John Flueger delivers as Chuck, who is a pretty shallow villain but gets the job done setting up a rivalry with Ren. Meanwhile the adult characters casually support the classic “old black dudes are cool, old white dudes are strict” motif.

The biggest acting problem is Dennis Quaid as Reverend Moore. The general outlandishness of the original was sold by the subtlety of its leads. But Quaid has no subtlety and he does not carry the weight of someone who feels responsible for leading the townspeople but really feels just as lost as his daughter. He spends most of the movie wearing a “stern parent” hat, with occasional flare-ups into anger. The problem does not rest entirely with the acting, however, since several important character scenes were removed from the remake.

There are script problems. Some characters spout lines that only seem to be there because they were in the original. Then some of the new lines are simply cringe-worthy. (“I was hoping you’d teach me the three Rs: reading, writing and redneckery.”)

And the decision to remove Ren’s mother is ostensibly supposed to heighten his isolation, but it doesn’t. His uncle ends up taking on the parent role (whereas he was a constant source of antagonism in the original). The sense of oppression coming from the town simply isn’t there and Ren is generally well-received, with the hostility coming from specific characters, and it undercuts a bit of the conflict.

However, despite its few failings, for the most part Footloose succeeds as a movie and a remake. It is every bit as fun and optimistic as the original, but shifts the focus to sentiments more relevant to the modern day. Many people will criticise the “hipper, edgier” remake, but Footloose is all about people trying to be hip and edgy in the face of an older generation, so a modern revamp suits it perfectly. Fans and newcomers alike will find a lot to love about the movie.

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Photo: Supplied