Romantic Film Review - Footloose

So, Footloose is thirty years old this year. THIRTY! Who can believe it? This one is definitely worth a trip down memory lane if you're planning a nostalgia binge for Friday night, you can't do much better than Footloose, Ghost, and Splash.

The very best thing about Footloose is that it was panned by the critics. Ghost wasn't loved, but the critics could see why it would be popular, Splash was considered a huge success by everyone, but the critics hated Footloose, and like the teen rebellion it represents, could never understand why the film was so popular.

Why was the film so popular? Partially its because thirty years ago the female audience was hugely misunderstood and misrepresented. There is a lot about Footloose that doesn't work, but what works (Kevin Bacon for one) works so well, women are willing to let go of all the crappy dialogue and the ludicrous premise of an entire town outlawing dancing. Maybe its because women lived with a lot of non nonsensical rules in the 80's, so they understood how stupidity can control peoples behaviors? Maybe its just because Kevin Bacon was SO sexy - and I don't mean in a James Dean way, he was sexy in a female-centric way. He had the dance thing going on, he had the strut and pose going on, he had the bad boy thing going on, but also convincingly had the "I'll never hurt you" thing going on, and that just make women melt.

I watched Footloose again recently, because of the anniversary. I watched it with hubby on the proviso that we watched The Goonies (one of his 80's favorites) first.  I watched it wearing my old designer jeans (the ones that zip at the ankles not the ones I had to lay on the floor to zip up - I'll never be wearing those again) my leg warmers and my padded denim jacket. I frizzed my hair and piled on the blue eye shadow. We had eaten burgers together earlier and drank cheap beer, then we sank into the couch, drank beer, nibbled on popcorn and each other.

Confession time: the combination of beer, hubby and Kevin Bacon meant we didn't get all the way through Footloose. (grin)