'Footloose', despite being an enormous hit back in the 80s, seems to be a very divisive love it/hate it film critically now.

This reviewer neither loves or hates 'Footloose', from personal opinion it falls short of being great but the immense appeal is definitely understandable.

Its biggest weak point is the story. Conceptually it's daft, and further hampered by laying it on too thick with the ridiculousness (the drug scene and the basic concept) and over-sentimentality (the Reverend's somewhat tacky reform that didn't really ring true compared to how his character was written in general). Ren's dance routine in the abandoned warehouse was far too randomly placed, coming at an unrealistically weird point in the film.

Lori Singer being too old didn't bother me as much as it did other reviewers, but the overacting, constantly looking as if she was trying too hard, was less forgivable. The script is uneven, sometimes it's humorously light-hearted and feel good and there is a laudable attempt at providing depth with some more mature themes but too much of it is also cheesy and flimsy.

However, the songs are toe-tappingly great, especially the title song "Footloose" and "Let's Hear it for the Boy". The dancing is spirited, and apart from that one scene with Ren the choreography and dance numbers are finger-snappingly infectious. 'Footloose' is a good-looking film too, beautifully shot and smartly photographed with some inventive visuals in the title song, while the direction is solid enough and the pacing sharp and energetic constantly.

Singer aside, the cast are simply terrific, with Kevin Bacon in the role that made him a star making for a good free-spirited lead and the sadly late Chris Penn proving that he had the talent to make it bigger than he did. Dianne Wiest doesn't seem capable of giving a bad performance, while John Lithgow is effectively subtle and wisely reigns in in a role that could easily have been the opposite.

Overall, falls short of being a great film but the appeal is definitely understandable, because there are a lot of good elements that outweigh the still quite big flaws. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Based on a true incident that happened in a small Oklahoma town, young Kevin Bacon arrives at a small town in one of the reddest parts of the USA. This small town is positively crimson because they've actually outlawed dancing except maybe in the privacy of your own home.

This extreme and probably unconstitutional law started when a few years ago Reverend John Lithgow and Dianne Weist's son was killed after one of these dances. Lithgow himself is not an extremist, but he's letting some of the more extreme rednecks in the town to start in on book burning. As Robert Preston said in The Music Man, "Gotta keep the young ones moral after school".

Of course Bacon takes up with Lori Singer who is Lithgow and Weist's other child when he arrives and she's quite the wild child. But his standing up to her old man impresses her like none of the other young men in the town.

Footloose has a nice liberal message about the excesses of religious zeal which is certainly pertinent for today. But it's the musical score in the film that really makes it special, one of the best scores of the Eighties. The title song and Let's Hear It For The Boy both received Oscar nominations for Best Original Song.

This film proved to be Kevin Bacon's breakout role as an actor. Although he never was quite leading man material as his subsequent career has proved, he's certainly had staying power in playing a nice variety of roles of both good and bad and mixed individuals. No question here he's the good guy outsider. Best scene for me is him teaching Christopher Penn how to dance to Let's Hear It For The Boy.

A film quite ground in the Eighties, Footloose still has much relevance for today's audience.

Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) and his mom are new in the town of Bomont coming from Chicago. The small town is so repressive that dancing and loud music has been banned. The conservative atmosphere is stoked by the bible thumping Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow) who is haunted by a personal loss. Of course the reverend's daughter Ariel (Lori Singer) is the wildest teen of them all.

This teen movie is hokey and fun starting with the title song by Kenny Loggins. There is some fun cheese like Kevin Bacon dancing in the abandoned factory. But then there are also some very serious issues going on. The reason it works is Kevin Bacon. It's his boyish charm. And what ever happened to Lori Singer? She's great in this as the rebellious preacher's daughter. It's also interesting to see Sarah Jessica Parker in the best friend role.