Footloose - 2 1/2 smiles

The only reason to see the remake of the 1984 Kevin Bacon movie, “Footloose,” is for the music and dancing. There are four songs from the original, “Footloose,” “Almost Paradise,” “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” and “Holding Out for a Hero.” The acting is just okay and the script predictable (if you’re familiar with the original). Ren (Kenny Wormald) is forced to relocate to Bomont, Georgia when his mother dies. Once there, Ren discovers that a local preacher (Dennis Quaid) has influenced the city council into outlawing dancing and the playing of loud music. The minister’s angry daughter, Ariel (Julianne Hough), routinely flouts the regulations, but under the radar. When Ren arrives, she joins up with him and the two plot a revolt to give the high school students their first prom in three years.

Stars Julianne Hough and Kenny Wormald were obviously cast more for their dancing than their acting. You can’t argue with Wormald’s ability to dance once you’ve seen Ren’s ‘angry’ dance, but he lacks charisma to hold audience attention when he’s not dancing. And he’s 28, for crying out loud, and he’s playing a high school senior. That’s asking for a lot of suspended disbelief. And, strangely enough, Hough, who was one of the professional dancers on Dancing With the Stars, doesn’t have a solo number. While she’s very attractive, her character’s dramatic stance is mainly acting like a spoiled brat when she’s around Ren and arguing with her father. The high point in the movie comes when four little girls teach Ren’s friend Willard (Miles Teller) to dance and he practices with “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” playing in the background. “Footloose” is entertaining enough, but you have to wonder why backers of this movie felt the need to remake it in the first place. 9/14/11