MovieChat Forums > Footloose (1984) Discussion > Footloose hater did not grow up in the 8...

Footloose hater did not grow up in the 80's

posted 14 years ago by Beedlebard
50 replies | jump to latest

Most of those who complain that the movie is bad are those who didn't grow up in the 80's. If you know well the era of the 80's you would appreciate the movie.

The 80's era is the peak of dance era when 50's, 60's and 70's dance steps all aggregated into the 80's. all modern dances from the late 90's up to today can be traced back to the dance steps that was popularized in the 80's. The street dance that you see now wherein dancers spin their heads on the floor or wiggle their bodies on the ground is just reminiscent of the 80's strut dance as what was featured on the prom scene in the movie, just to give you an example.

The movie is actually cheesy if
1) you are not from the 80's
2) you just saw it for the first time today
3) if you are from this current teen generation

you cannot appreciate the era if you havent experienced it. Of course everything will be cheesy, embarrassing and quite awkward in the movie if you view it now because its peak and time have already passed. The theme and spirit of the movie is not anymore felt today precisely because it was in the 80's.

Footloose is a classic. No other remake can capture it. It is a movie that captured most of the beat, rhythm, dance and nostalgia of what 80's was all about: simple, clean fun, safe and no crazy gun totting student who would just shot anyone out of nowhere.

Its bad enough that you didn't live during the golden era of the 80's so don't make yourself feel more bad in hating this wonderful classic movie where men are real men and not afraid to dance. In this generation, if you see a man dance like ren do or if you see two men teaching each other how to dance, people would actually label it as gay. In the 80's there is no such label. No malice. because people in that era just want to have fun!!!!!

Nuff said to all haters! I feel sorry for your generation! Garbage and trashy music and movies!

[–] Frantastic_Miss_Fox 13 years ago

Excuse me but i'm from this generation, i'm 18 almost 19, and i absolutely adore everything and anything to do with the 80s! I love all 80s films including this one, even my parents don't like it all as much as i do and they have no idea why i got into liking it! So although most people from my generation may be like that please don't generalise it as all of us!

"This is my age! I'm in the prime of my youth, and I'll only be young once!"

[–] KinksRock 13 years ago

I grew up in the 1980s and took a date to see "Footloose". The movie was crap. Absolute garbage.

That being said, it has at least two redeeming features: John Lithgow and Kevin Bacon. They are both amazing actors. I recommend that everyone see Lithgow's performance in "The World According to Garp" -- perhaps the most sympathetic portrayal of a transsexual on film, humorous without mocking.

If you want proof of Kevin Bacon's talent, see almost anything he made after "Footloose". He is one of our busiest and most talented actors. I didn't expect to see too much of him after "Footloose", but the guy has staying power.

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[–] gabby_bm 13 years ago

KinksRock, I am an 80's teen as well and I agree with every word you said. I, too, was amazed with Kevin Bacon's skills demonstrated in many projects afterward.

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[–] EntertainMe463 13 years ago

Re: Original post...

I guess I can see? how today's generation might find this film cheesy now?

But not me LOL!

Proud to have seen the original in the theatre, the Broadway play (still have my cap) :) and just saw the new one the other day.

YEP the 80's were a great time to be a teen/early 20's person!!!

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] jengreens 13 years ago

Look I saw this movie recently the whole way through (this time) and thought it was very good. I agree with most of what the person said who began this thread. It's an 80's classic. It is more likely that if you grew up in the eighties like I did, you're much more likely to like it & appreciate it for the great movie that it is, and I am still interested in seeing the remake. If you didn't grow up in the 80's, it's more likely you might not like it (of course there are exceptions to this). I mean if you liked it fine & if you don't it's your problem.

[–] amaster88 13 years ago

I was born in 1988. I love the 80's music, movies, and culture. I didn't really care for this movie, i don't hate it, just don't much like it, thought it was cheesy and pointless. The 80's had great music and movies but I felt this movie was sub par as was the soundtrack

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[–] zilla7777 13 years ago

I agree with Tipsy a couple posts up....This movie blows, and I was in a hair metal band in the 80's.

Don't believe that "everyone" from the 80's loves this piece of 80's junk.

[–] LocoHero 13 years ago

what's a hair metal band? Is that like a depressed bunch of talentless emos playing instruments badly?

[–] zilla7777 13 years ago

Yes. Your mother was our biggest fan. She did the band "special favors", too.

[–] LocoHero 13 years ago

Yeah she supplied ear defenders to your fans to stop their ears from bleeding.

And.... ignored

[–] Irish_Pete 13 years ago

I grew up in the 80s and thought this film was cheesy then and that the passage of time has not been kind to it. It was mindless entertainment churned out by a major studio but had a decent soundtrack. It's an average 80s teen movie and nothing more.

[–] dabukaba 13 years ago

I did not grow up in the '80s but rather was born in 1985, but I have to disagree with the prior posts. I've seen many movies, even many Academy Award nominees and winners going all the way back to the 1930s, and I honestly find this movie to be above average. It's fun but also with some fairly heavy drama and seriousness mixed in (i.e. freedom of expression vs perceived confines of religion, the scene with Ariel's parents reconnecting, the scene where Rusty is beat up by her ex-boyfriend). That said, it certainly is a product of its time. I am very interested and fond of pop culture going from the 1930s up to the '80s, and I think that rather than necessarily be from the era itself, one needs to have some understanding of what was and had been going on back then to fully appreciate a movie like this. Youth today enjoys so much more freedom of expression that they just take for granted unlike back in 1984, that they just don't "get" this movie anymore. But if this is what back then was ''an average 80s teen movie" than it sure blows out of the water any of today's simply average teen movies, that's for sure.

[–] CatStormcloud 13 years ago

I LOVE this film, always have. And I was born in 1989. I love 80's films and music.... I don't think it depends on when your born. Just your taste in film and music....:)

Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.

[–] crystal_nadia 12 years ago

I was also born in 1989. I saw this movie for the first time today and I enjoyed it very much. I ADORE Kevin Bacon so his pretty face on the screen had me from the very beginning. But what I really appreciated in this film was the music. Music back in the 80s and 90s had rhythm which cannot be said for music of today. You could feel the rhythm and let it guide you through the dancing; now it's only a few songs that get inside you and move you.

[–] Clemencedane 12 years ago

I was 15 when this came out and thought it looked like one of the most ridiculous movies ever. You couldn't have paid me to see it. It seems like one of those films made by adults in the movie/musical business who think they know what "kids like these days" and fall a thousand miles off the mark.

That being said, I have finally seen it as an adult and it has a sort of goofy nostalgic quality to it. Now that I no longer feel insulted that anyone might think this is the way my generation was supposed to be I can watch it for what it is. It is pretty hilarious. Kids who grew up in a small town in the bible belt where dancing has been banned all their lives suddenly emerge as Broadway quality dancers at the Prom and, without any preplanning, perform coordinated dance numbers that could only have been staged by some very well paid choreographer. But who cares? It was fun and innocent.

Just don't think that High School in the 80s in real life was remotely on the same planet wherever this movie took place.

[–] chas437 12 years ago

Your initail insticts were correct. I was 20 when this sh*t came out. We used to make fun of it so much. In 1985, we arrived at this equation, Lame = people who like Footloose.

This is TRULY one of the worst POS films ever made.

[–] Clemencedane 12 years ago

I find it's crossed into "so bad it's good" territory for me, but I know what you're saying. Maybe I'm strange, but as a teenager I used to roll my eyes when films came out that reviewers said "teens will relate to" including The Breakfast Club, Ferris Beuler (never seen it) and any others of their ilk. I've never been fond of contrived teen movies that purport to show what it's really like to be a teenager. Age 12 I fell in love with Diva by Jean-Jacques Beineix. My favorite film at 13 was Fannie and Alexander - that began my lifelong love of Bergman. At 14 I was crazy about The Man Who Fell to Earth. Hard to go from those to John Hughes.

[–] chas437 12 years ago

Nice, I loved "The Man Who Fell to Earth", and own a copy. Its probably because I'm a huge fan of Bowie, particulariy his older work (pre 1980).

I get the "so bad it's good" thing with "Footloose". I've caught myself channel surfing, and watching parts of the movie. Its so cringeworthy.

[–] Clemencedane 12 years ago

Yep, I saw it because of Bowie, too, and then realized it was also a great movie.

I recently had the "pleasure" of seeing Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. My head nearly exploded. Try it sometime.

[–] apache67 11 years ago

I was born in 1967 so I am very familiar with the 80's. Hated the eighties, the fashions, the hair, the color and yes with the exception of some alternative /new wave music..the music. Oh and the politics. everything seemed Day-Glo/pastel plastic. Liked the movie at the time, I now think it incredibly bad and horribly cheesy.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] VonFisch 11 years ago

This movie was cheesy then, none of the guys I dated cared much for it either, and I graduated in '87. I'd call it chewing gum for the mind, a guilty pleasure. It's no John Hughes movie. In fact, I'd call it a little patronizing to the teens of my era, you can tell they wanted us to all look up to and admire Kevin Bacon's character. I don't know what they intended with Lori Singer's character, unless it was an annoying, obnoxious skank.