Footloose (1984)
71%RT Audience Score: 71%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
1 win & 6 nominations total
There’s not much dancing, but what’s there is great. The rest of the time, Footloose is a nice hunk of trashy teenage cheese
Footloose” is like a time capsule of the 80s, complete with big hair, neon colors, and a killer soundtrack. Sure, the plot may be a bit dated and the acting a bit cheesy, but who cares when you’re too busy dancing along to “Let’s Hear It for the Boy”? Kevin Bacon may be the star, but the real MVP is the music. So put on your dancing shoes and get ready to cut loose, because “Footloose” is a guilty pleasure that never gets old.
Production Company(ies)
Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Provo, Utah, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1984
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 47m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 17, 1984 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2002
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Chris Penn, Sarah Jessica Parker, directed by Herbert Ross, written by Dean Pitchford, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kathleen Carroll, Variety Staff, Dave Kehr, Roger Ebert, Nell Minow, Janet Maslin, Sean Collier, Richard Propes, Sezín Koehler, Diego Galán, PG, dancing, rock music, small town, rebellion, teenage, conservative, Reverend, Vi Moore, Willard Hewitt, Ariel Moore, Chicago, Midwestern, illegal, social parable, extremism, Flashdance, Boy Scout, schmaltz, 80s oddities, hair metal, gymnasts, cheesy, soundtrack, angst, rebellion, overprotective society, dance, comedy, drama, open mind, flack, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series, TV shows
Worldwide gross: $80,039,064
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $234,380,673
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 608
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 25,559,506
US/Canada gross: $80,035,402
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $234,369,950
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 283
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,556,935
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $25,057,517
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 547
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $8,200,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $24,012,294
Production budget ranking: 1,265
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $12,930,620
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $197,437,759
ROI to date (est.): 534%
ROI ranking: 238
Lori Singer – Ariel Moore
John Lithgow – Reverend Shaw Moore
Dianne Wiest – Vi Moore
Chris Penn – Willard Hewitt
Sarah Jessica Parker – Rusty
Director(s)
Herbert Ross
Writer(s)
Dean Pitchford
Producer(s)
Lewis J. Rachmil, Craig Zadan
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
1 win & 6 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (44) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (21)
“Footloose” turns out to be a sort of Boy Scout version of “Flashdance,” a carefully toned-down, overly respectable piece of schmaltz …
February 17, 2016 | Rating: 2.5/4
Kathleen Carroll
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Essential to the result is young Kevin Bacon, superb in the lead part.
February 12, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Herbert Ross directed this odd but reasonably effective blend of rock music and didactic melodrama.
January 30, 2007
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Footloose is a seriously confused movie that tries to do three things, and does all of them badly.
October 23, 2004 | Rating: 1.5/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
September 23, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
Like the rest of today’s video-happy teen-age entertainments, Footloose doesn’t expect to be watched closely or taken seriously. It wants to fill the screen with catchy music and pretty kids, and this it certainly accomplishes.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 3/5
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
While Footloose is fun, it’s not very good. Its story is a dud
August 13, 2021 | Rating: 5/10
Sean Collier
Box Office Prophets
I will always be grateful for the way this film has positively impacted my life.
September 8, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Footloose is elevated to something much more than a teen romance. It becomes a social parable about the dangers of extremism. Footloose is about what happens when you try to control people too much.
May 23, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Sezín Koehler
Black Girl Nerds
These movies are produced only to promote album sales. [Full Review in Spanish]
February 10, 2020
Diego Galán
El Pais (Spain)
There’s a plot that would have been dated in the ’50s. Hokey doesn’t begin to describe the inanity, the tedium, the utter lack of originality in Dean Pitchford’s script.
January 3, 2018
Marylynn Uricchio
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Kevin Bacon moves like a machete chopping through the jungle.
October 19, 2016 | Rating: 1.5/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm…
Plot
Classic tale of teenage rebellion and repression features a delightful combination of dance choreography and realistic and touching performances. When teenager Ren McCormack and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small Midwestern town, he’s in for a real case of culture shock. Though he tries hard to fit in, the streetwise Ren can’t quite believe he’s living in a place where rock music and dancing are illegal. However, there is one small pleasure: Ariel Moore, a troubled but lovely blonde with a jealous boyfriend. And a Bible-thumping minister, who is responsible for keeping the town dance-free. Ren and his classmates want to do away with this ordinance, especially since the senior prom is around the corner, but only Ren has the courage to initiate a battle to abolish the outmoded ban and revitalize the spirit of the repressed townspeople. Fast-paced drama is filled with such now-famous hit songs as the title track and “Let’s Hear It for the Boy”.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There’s no specific tidbit about the cast, but one critic did describe John Lithgow’s performance as “brilliantly grave and conflicted as the Reverend.”
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