I ran to my seat as fast I could without spilling my five-dollar fountain drink, just as the lights were dimming. A pre-movie bathroom break was not worth missing a movie buff’s favorite part of a cinematic adventure: the previews. The surround sound started blaring music, and an enviable female midriff danced on the silver screen in daisy dukes. Superbly executed choreography took over my peripheral vision. Another dance movie! I practically dove into my chair to catch whatever amazing – wait? That’s not…no, that can’t be “Footloose” playing in the background, could it? I mean, that’s just not a soundtrack song, unless it’s on – Footloose? Please don’t be remaking Footloose. PLEASE don’t be remaking Footloose. No…no…no!!!
In case you’ve been living inside a shoe, they totally remade Footloose.
And remakes – well, they notoriously suck, even more so than sequels. Okay, maybe they don’t all suck, but I can’t name one remake I like (unless you count McDonald’s all-white-meat chicken nuggets, and you probably won’t. By the way, what the hell was in the originals anyway?). Need I remind you of Fame? Or the Can’t Buy Me Love remake entitled Love Don’t Cost A Thing, which was made to show that remakes can also infect popular culture in disguise, with different titles, character names, a new setting, as well as some holograms and a sex scene in order to keep up with the times, ensuring that when they turn an epic film into an epic fail, the critique will be less harsh and any parallel drawn will be attributed to the movie-goers own astute, cultured perception and not to the writer or director’s intent. When Paramount Pictures took on a same-name remake of Footloose and put it in neon lights, they took on the challenge of pleasing film enthusiasts, ‘80’s crazies, and dancers alike. While the latter can sometimes be easily appeased with great leg extensions and superb elevation, the former two demographics (including me) are ready with their verbal pitchforks.
Then, I was asked to write about it. As much as I enjoy ripping apart popcorn flicks as the next film critic, my desire to entice Her Campus readers to see good movies is greater. How was I going to instill within you guys the desire to gain an experience that I thought would make me want to put enough Buncha Crunch in my ears to drown out the dialogue and gauge out my eyeballs with Twizzlers anytime there wasn’t a dance number? Before I could get to thinking how that could even be possible, Julianne talked me out of it. Julianne Hough.
After Dancing with the Stars, Julianne has become her own star, making a name for herself in the film, music, and skincare industries (You know you’ve made it when you’re in a Proactiv infomercial – well, when you’re the most famous person in a Proactiv infomercial, anyway). When I was told I was going to talk to her on the phone, I sorta lost my blues and cut footloose, or at least did what I think that means (happy dance). I mean, we have a lot in common – we both act (except I also serve curly fries on the side), we both dance (her on camera, and me while cleaning my room in my underwear and reminiscing on my recital days), and we both sing (her on a record label, and me to a shampoo label). Perhaps that’s a stretch (psst…I can still do a split!), but something we do share is our sentiment regarding remakes: “I have to tell you…when I first found out they were doing a remake of an iconic movie like “Footloose” which is really close to my heart…I grew up watching this movie and, you know, I lived in Utah where it was filmed. I thought the same thing, like, ugh, remakes, they suck, you know? Like, nobody ever does them justice.”
When Julianne found out that Craig Brewer (Black Snake Moan, Hustle and Flow) was directing, however, she knew that he’d expertly bring contemporary flare to the movie without detracting from what made it a classic in the first place. Julianne describes how he kept tabs on the original. Like, he literally kept tabs. “On his script, he had blue tabs and white tabs…Everything that he kept from the original was tabbed blue, and then things he changed were tabbed white. And you would be surprised how much of the script was actually blue, like literally word for word. It’s like he always says…you know, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” One different aspect is the remake’s focus on preventing another teen car crash rather than religious motives for banning dancing due to its sexuality, which Julianne believes is an inherent in dance. Other changes include the generation necessary, such as updated versions of songs (some covers of those in the original movie, some new) and attire, more “relevant” character development, as well as a cast full of professional dancers, mostly because Bacon’s moves are no longer a part of a balanced breakfast-I mean dance movie-and besides, he’s getting kind of old.
The jury (which hopefully lacks whoever decided that banning dancing would prevent tragic accidents in a small town) is still out on this remake, but its cast and crew seem genuinely proud of this feat. Though hyping it up too much could be the equivalent of “shooting themselves in the foot,” this time it seems that the bullets miss, so their footwork just looks much fancier. In fact, director Craig Brewer, with whom we also had the pleasure of speaking, is less than humble about his accomplishments with Footloose: “Here’s what I had to decide when I decided to do Footloose. I had to make peace with the fact that there was going to be a wall of hate coming my way…I’ve known people coming up to me later and saying, I saw your movie on TV, or, I saw your movie on DVD, or on cable, and it was really good, and I – had I known that it was going to be like that – I would’ve gone to see it in a movie theater. And, to some extent, that gives me a little bit of peace with Footloose, because I have never been more confident in my life, as a director, that I nailed a movie. I mean, I’m telling you, in all honesty, I nailed the Footloose remake. I think that no one would’ve made it better than the team that we put together.” Bringing this classic to a “generation that needs Footloose,” Brewer emphasizes Footloose’s social commentary despite the “tight jeans,” “big hair,” and “cheesy songs.” He aims to show the detriment of overreaction and prejudgment, as well as the need for our generation to fight for what they believe in – a theme with which Julianne seemed to identify.
Zac Effron and Chace Crawford must be kicking themselves (hopefully not in the face), almost as much as High School Musical and Gossip Girl fans are crying because they dropped out of the movie. Though the optical sweets would have been scrumptious, what professional dancer Kenny Wormald brings to the table is both sweet and spicy – and that’s a lot of food metaphors! In case you haven’t seen the preview, this guy has got some sick moves. He’s basically a dance ninja, and I didn’t even know that those existed. With a dance background to match Julianne’s, he is the perfect candidate to play her love interest. “I think…the chemistry that we instantly had from our dancing helped us,” she says of their on-screen relationship compared to Lori Singer and Kevin Bacon’s.
Julianne also goes on to say that her role as Ariel was played a little less bitchy (her word, not mine! Yeah, Julianne’s a cool…nevermind), and she strived to make it her own. “I just love the movie as a whole. But one thing that I felt like I missed from Ariel back in the original was, I felt like she was just kind of a bad girl and she was a trouble-maker, like why does Ren end up with her? She’s not even that cool. Like, she’s kind of a bitch, you know…so when I saw this version and saw that Craig had re-written her to be more – you know, you show the depth that she has and the relationship that her and her father have, and then you see why he acts like he does. So, to be honest, I didn’t watch – I didn’t watch the movie when I booked the job, because I already knew it. So I didn’t want to mimic it.” Brewer was also very in-touch with the movie prior to taking on the project. He described how Footloose came out when he was 13, the age at which he says people really fall in love with movies and music. He even listened to audio of Footloose on his Walkman on the way to school. Wait, what’s a Walkman?
As Julianne said in the beginning of the interview, the cast and crew would not be promoting as much if they were worried about how they did. Much like the kids of the small town in Footloose, they are just fighting for what they believe in. In fact, they made me believe in it, too. Maybe I will just eat the Buncha Crunch and Twizzlers. On October 14th, kick off your Sunday (well, Friday) shoes (unless you’re wearing Sperries without socks, please) and head to the theatre to see Footloose. Everybody cut, everybody cut.