The MagazineCanada

It’s been 27 years since the original Footloose lit up theaters and sparked a memory for a generation. The franchise has resurfaced in popular culture through shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars, a resurgence that helped pave the way for a Footloose remake. The 2011 version follows Ren McCormack, portrayed by Kenny Wormald, a city kid who moves to Bomont, a small town in Georgia, to live with his uncle. The town has outlawed public dancing, loud music, and what its residents call rowdy teen behavior. The ban traces back to a tragic car crash years earlier that claimed the lives of several teens after a dance. Ren, a former gymnast and passionate mover, finds the ban ridiculous and challenges the town’s rules with characteristic energy. He clashes with Reverend Shaw Moore, the town’s pastor, who is also Ariel’s father, the woman Ren comes to admire, played by Julianne Hough. The setup seeds a clash between two generations and two visions of community, a conflict that drives the film’s emotional core.