Footloose vs. Footloose - A Comparison

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST

Footloose (1984)
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow
Directed by: Herbert Ross
Rating: An Adam Favorite

Footloose (2011)
Starring: Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Rating: I Liked It

In 1984, a movie was released that would become known as one of the great 80's classics, ranking right among Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club as teen hits that would stand the test of time.  Twenty-seven years later as the age of remakes was going strong, seeing remakes, re-imaginings, reboots, and resurfaces of film series that hadn't seen the light of day in two or more decades with films like Friday the 13th, The Crazies, True Grit, and The Karate Kid, just to name a few.  That trend still seems to be going, and there are some hits and some misses.  Overall, as you can probably tell by my rating of this one, I felt it was pretty well done.

Instead of reviewing the movie outright, I decided that a comparison was maybe the way to go.  This wasn't a shot-for-shot remake, but it came close at times, and I don't mean that to be negative.  I've decided to break the films down into three of the main factors I always look at in a film like this, and one extra since I'm comparing, and elaborate.  This is probably gonna go chronologically for the most part...

Story:

• The very beginning of 2011 shows us the accident that is only referenced in the 1984 version of the film.  I'm not sure how I feel about this honestly.  It definitely gives more depth to the accident, but at the same time, I like that it was just referenced in the original, and we didn't really get the story until Ariel (Singer) related it to us much later in the movie.  
• In 2011, we're shown Wren's (Wormald) arrival to Beaumont, alone.  His coming to live with is aunt and uncle, because his mother has passed away from leukemia.  I definitely like this a lot better.  It's much much better for his development as a character, and it allows him to connect with Rev. Shaw (Quaid) in a way that Bacon's Wren was unable to connect with Quaid's counterpart, Lithgow.  In 1984, he and his mother both relocate.   
• 2011 wins one huge victory for sure based on the pervious point's information.  The uncle, Wes (Ray McKinnon) that Wren (Bacon) comes to live with is a much stronger character than the one from the 1984 film, and I think he fills the role of parental guide for Wren even better than Wren's mother did.  He backs Wren up on more than one occasion, and I like that he has that support.  
• So, early on in the original we're shown Ariel's wild side by having her prop herself up between her friend's car and boyfriend's truck while they speed down the road, a tractor-trailer barreling at them.  In the newer version, Ariel (Hough) hangs out the window of her boyfriend's race car as he does a victory lap around the track.  This one has to go to 1984, basically because there was little to no danger really involved in the slow victory lap where no one else was even on the track.  
• Very early in the 1984 movie, we're given a hint at how ridiculous and Stalin-like some of the laws in place are when the topic of Slaughterhouse 5 is brought into conversation.  It's clear the people of Beaumont think it's ghastly, for lack of a better term, but Wren (Bacon) refers to it as a classic.  He's told that "Tom Sawyer is a classic".  This ties into one of my favorite scenes in the original, where Lithgow's Shaw deters a group of people burning inappropriate books.  It really goes to show Shaw's understanding of the need for limits on restrictiveness.  This topic is only grazed over momentarily in 2011 when it's mentioned that certain books were banned by one of the laws that was passed.  
• While both films see Ariel's first boyfriend, Chuck (Jim Youngs - 1984 & Patrick Flueger - 2011) as a pretty big asshole, pardon my French, he is way more of a villain in 2011.  
• Here falls the biggest improvement of them all: the chicken race.  While 2011 sees Ren, Chuck and two of Chuck's friends racing derby buses in a figure eight, leaving a somewhat still ridiculous idea in check, it far surpasses a chicken race on tractors.  Yes, I did bold and italicize the word far.  As much as I love the original film, I think this entire tractor scene is just embarrassing.  It makes me want to look away from the screen. In both instances, Ren only wins do to a predicament that won't allow him to bail out of the situation.  
• The scene went really well with the pot in 1984.  It was short and sweet.  In 2011, it played out a little long.  I do appreciate the argument being with the principal in 2011 instead of the uncle as it was in '84.  

Cast/Performances:

• This area barrels back and forth, but 2011 definitely wins the Hotter Arial Award.  Hough's piercing blue eyes and amazing smile put her head and shoulder's above Singer.  I also think Hough has more natural acting and dancing prowess.  She performed the character very well, and Singer's portrayal seemed over the top at times...the wrong times.  Hough even manages to make those ugly red boots that stuck around from 1984 look good, and that's a feat in and of itself.  Finally, even though she's "been kissed a lot", according to Willard in both films, she doesn't seem like as much of a hoe in 2011. 
• Lithgow takes the win in the role of Rev. Shaw.  I'm somewhat influenced by the fact that I don't really care for Quaid to begin with, but even putting my preconceptions aside, Lithgow just does a better job.  He's tougher when he needs to be tough, and that just makes his soft moments even more effective.  Quaid failed, though not through lack of effort, to show the same range.  

Subtle & Not-So-Subtle Similarities:

Side Note: As I began writing this section, I realized that, as you'll see in a couple of comments, I liked that some of the dialogue was taken directly from the original.  The more I thought about it was the more I realized just how true that was.  While I do like it to some extent, I feel like it was just way too much.  It's almost like there were some lazy script writers.  It actually makes me realize why I enjoyed the new one so well: it's almost an exact copy of the first.

• The car stays the same, and that's a win, as is the similarity between Wren's outfit for the first day of school.  It's definitely a nod to the original, but at the same time, it's modern enough not to seem out of place.  
• 1984 and 2011 have a lot of scene similarities, right from the beginning all the way to last scene. The opening in both films shows us a dance scene.  With 1984, we only see the dancing feet of the dancers, 2011 shows us more of a party scene.  
• There were lots of times where lines were taken, word for word, from the original and put in the remake.  The first one is pretty early on where Ariel's best friend, Rusty (Sarah Jessica Parker - 1984 & Ziah Colon - 2011) compliments Wren's tie, telling him it looks "fabulous, and don't let anyone tell you any different" in both films.  I kind of like the use of the same dialogue.  It makes a definite connection to the original and shows how well most of it still stands up today.   
• The scene at the diner/drive-in makes an appearnce in both films, but the 2011 takes the win.  We see another supportive figure against the overbearing laws in the owner of the diner, Claude, portrayed by Claude Phillips.  He's got a smuggled CD (in 1984 it was a cassette that was confiscated from Wren's by the poice) for the kids to dance to in the parking lot.  
• In 2011, Wren meets Willard (Miles Teller), who is just as central to the story now as he was in 1984, in very similar fashion...actually, exactly the same: bumping into one another in the hall.  They exchange a short encounter that turns friendly.  There is a change here, and I feel like 1984 wins out with the line, "that's a nice hat. Do they sell men's clothes where you got that?"  The more important moment to me is the story in the cafeteria, in which, 2011 wins the battle, with Wren telling his story about a trip to Russia where he hooks up with two Russian girls.  In 1984, Bacon's Wren has a significantly risque-for-the-period story, but in comparison, 2011 takes the cake because of his story ending.  
• 1984 also wins our heroes first run in with the police.  In the original, Willard (Chris Penn) is with him, and this leads to a joke concerning the band The Police, as well as some witty humor concerning Men at Work.  
• Ren's dance routine in both movies is a little beyond the line I am willing to go.  It's pretty much the same both times.  I think the music in 2011 made it play out a little better, though.  

Soundtrack: