Footloose 2011

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: In most regards (We still miss Kevin Bacon), this is a "new and improved" "Footloose," funnier, sunnier and funkier. Simply put, it works. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: Wormald and Hough are both handsome and good on the dance floor, but they come across more like teen stars in training than representations of real youth angst. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: I don't know what Brewer wanted to capture. There are too many close-ups of stomping, swinging feet to suggest he cared about great choreography. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Brewer, who previously put his high-intensity spin on Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan, displays his coolest moves in the way he smartly unties this Footloose from its 1980s moorings. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: Brewer puts just enough smarts, sweat and swagger into his version of the dance steps making up this film that you can't help but move your feet and hum along. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Somehow "Footloose" never finds its rhythm. The maudlin scenes drag on, and the livelier moments pass by too quickly. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: This Footloose takes place in the same authentic, sweaty, lived-in South as his Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: It's pretty much the same movie, minus some of the more egregious '80s fashions. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Brewer's hot-and-bothered remake uncorks the original's raging libido, and it's as seamy and sordid as that damnable PG-13 rating will allow. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: A pleasant reminder of the past for fans of the first one, and an agreeable-enough experience for everyone else. Read more

Sam Worley, Chicago Reader: The movie plays like a slightly degraded version of the original: the dialogue is a little lamer, the acting a little poorer. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: When a film depends on feeling something between the photogenic but antiseptic Wormald and Hough, and you don't, you realize why that film may come up short in ways unrelated to dance training. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: It seems more pandering (and dated) than ever. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Give credit to Craig Brewer, the filmmaker behind the new Footloose, for realizing a new step was in order. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: In terms of empty-headed exuberance, it's hard to top Footloose. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: May not make as great a dent in the current generation as the original film had, but it does offer up a commendable amount of energy and heart... Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: It's startling how badly the dance numbers and action sequences are staged, shot and cut. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Stays remarkably close to its predecessor in all the ways that count. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Whatever limitations the movie has are part of its charm. Read more

Bruce Diones, New Yorker: An unnecessary, though enjoyable, remake of Kevin Bacon's 1984 breakout hit. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: This new version will quite capably supply the same amount of carefree fun to a new generation. Which is exactly what a clever, if not particularly ambitious, remake sets out to do. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Wormald lacks Bacon's charisma but Hough has an undeniable star quality, and Teller is a comic delight. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: By the time four little girls teach a dorky guy to dance to (the original) "Let's Hear It for the Boy" I was a gelatinous blob of pure affection. Bring on "Flashdance" 2.0. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Every now and then, we need to be reminded that shaking your booty is something essential. Or, in the case of director Craig Brewer's Footloose update, shaking your rebooty. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: While it's true that few viewers will venture into a theater showing this remake for the story, the screenplay should not be a detriment to enjoyment. Less talking and more dancing would have made for a more footloose and fancy-free environment. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: "Footloose" has the look and feel of an OK basic cable movie." Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: This 2011 version is so similar - sometimes song for song and line for line - that I was wickedly tempted to reprint my 1984 review, word for word. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Footloose 2011 is harmless as far as it goes, but on the dance floor and off it never goes nearly far enough. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It's a vibrant youth musical that will appeal to audiences who haven't seen the 1984 original. And it has enough charm and life to it to compete with the memory of the earlier version. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: It's an eruption of joyous, jitterbugging energy and a polished piece of filmmaking. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Footloose" poses as a bold update, but it's shockingly out of step with the times. Read more

Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail: Footloose drags its heels to the senior prom and, when it finally gets there, shoves in one last punch-up that puts an odd spin on what should be an upbeat display of happy feet. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Clearly, Brewer has come to praise Footloose, not to bury it, and so he leaves Dean Pitchford's screenplay more or less intact. The result is one of the more pleasant surprises of 2011. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Maybe there is something timeless in anachronism. Maybe Brewer has located the heart beneath the hoke. Read more

Anna Smith, Time Out: The plot may be straightforward but it's refreshing to see a modern dance film that tackles religion, convention and local law alongside the requisite forbidden romance. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: None of the changes improves on the original Footloose, even though the two young leads are both professional dancers - didn't the budget allow for anything more than raft swinging and barn hoofing? Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: A new Footloose with sassier steps and the same contrived story is hardly necessary. Read more

Rob Nelson, Variety: Paramount's Footloose reboot never quite cuts loose enough to distinguish itself from the original. Read more

Karina Longworth, Village Voice: While hewing closely to Footloose's original story and themes, Brewer's film throws the standard high school movie notion of a teenage caste system out the window. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Brewer has delivered a largely unobjectionable note-for-note facsimile of Herbert Ross's ode to teenage rebellion, young love and the unfettered joy of movement. Read more