Footloose September 26, 2008

Friday, September 26th "Footloose" comes to School Street and the Firehouse Theatre. This 1984 film features a montage of interesting-looking dancers' feet, red-hot musical accompaniment, and pretty kids.

''Footloose'' is set in a small, religious Middle Western town where bopping is strictly forbidden. Into this cloistered climate comes Ren (Kevin Bacon), a city kid with a portable cassette player and a punk haircut. Ren falls for a pretty girl (Ariel, played by Lori singer) and leads a crusade to force the town elders to allow a prom to take place, and that's about all the movie has to it. That, and a cast that's appealing almost in spite of the material and a selection of hits-to-be that enliven the soundtrack immensely.
As directed by Herbert Ross and written by Dean Pitchford, the movie has a Hollywood patina, a none-too-ingenuous simplicity and a tendency to overexplain. We are told, for instance, that people don't trust Ren because he is an outsider and that Ariel likes him for precisely that reason. John Lithgow, playing the fuddy-duddy of a minister who is Ariel's father, is given endless opportunities to denounce ''this obscene rock-and-roll music, with its gospel of easy sexuality and relaxed morality.''
Christopher Penn very nearly steals the movie as Ren's hayseed friend, and the two share a musical scene (to Deniece Williams's ''Let's Hear It for the Boy'') that's almost as sensational as the opening credits. Sarah Jessica Parker, as Ariel's friend, and Dianne Wiest, as her mother, are also impressive.

The movie was Rated PG and runs for 107 minutes. Tickets are $5 at the door, and a fully transferable, no expiration "10-Pass" is $40. Doors open at 6:30 and the film begins promptly at 7. Seating is open.
Jack Attridge of William Raveis Real Estate is generously underwriting the Fall schedule of Friday Firehouse Films.

Official Website: http://www.m-l-t.org/movies