“Footloose” was released on Oct. 14 in theaters everywhere, bringing in over $16 million in its first weekend despite not being heavily publicized.
Based on the 1984 film of the same name, “Footloose” tells the story of an inner-city boy named Ren (Kenny Wormald) who moves in with his relatives in the town of Bomont where dancing and loud music are banned. Overcoming the tragic reason why the law was originally enforced with a little help from his friends, including Willard (Miles Teller) and love interest Ariel (Julianne Hough), Ren steps up to change the law to allow the art form again, without limitations.
This version of the film had a much higher energy level than its predecessor, though some critics disagree. It was much more upbeat, had humorous moments cleverly incorporated and the pacing of the plotline was a lot more consistent than the original.
The acting was also a main contributor to the film’s good review, especially Teller as Willard who was the comedic relief of the film.  He appeared to be much more at ease as opposed to Chris Penn’s portrayal of the character in the original film.
Dennis Quaid, who plays Ariel’s overly protective father Reverend Shaw Moore, also portrayed the character better.  While John Lithgow’s portrayal was more assertive and loud in the original film, Quaid made his character more settled to convey his emotions more easily.
Although she didn’t have a big role, Andie MacDowell managed to make her character—Vi Moore, Ariel’s mother—a strong one. She made her character much more confident in what she was saying, as opposed to Diane Wiest, who portrayed Vi as soft-spoken and reserved.
Despite the skilled actors who were brought into the production, it was bothersome to see that director Craig Brewer made the same mistake—as did many other directors before him who’ve directed movies that take place in high school—of not casting  actors who were close, if not exactly, in that age range.  Hiring adult actors may be cheaper, but at the same time, it takes away its realism.
Wormald was born the same year the original film came out, and despite his acting ability, it was hard to ignore the fact that he was portraying a character ten years his junior.
Another example is 23-year-old Hough, who appeared to be more of a sarcastic hooker than a rebellious teenager.
Regardless of that flaw, it was still a very well-told story, and the actual dancing made it a great film.  It was highly energized, well-choreographed and showed just how meaningful dancing is to Bomont’s youth.
It was also nice to see certain objects in the film that were instant head nods to the original film, including Ren’s car, Ariel’s boots and their prom outfits.
This includes the use of a few of the original songs amongst the soundtrack of the songs redone.  The original “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins was the version playing during the opening credits and the original version of “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” by Deniece Williams was playing while Willard learned how to dance.
Overall, Brewer’s version of “Footloose” may not be exactly like the original but it turned out being a lot more enjoyable to watch.  It’s much more fun and entertaining and is worthy to be seen by all audiences, whether they’ve seen the original or not.