The Reel Rejects - FOOTLOOSE (1984) MOVIE REVIEW!! SO FREAKIN' GOOD!!
Episode Date: January 12, 2026LET'S DANCE!! Footloose Full Movie Reaction Watch Along: / thereelrejects Download PrizePicks today at https://www.prizepicks.onelink.me/LME... & use code REJECTS to get $50 instantly whe...n you play $5! Gift Someone (Or Yourself) An RR Tee! https://shorturl.at/hekk2 John & Andrew hit the dancefloor for one of the most iconic '80s movies of ALL TIME giving their Reaction, Recap, Analysis, Breakdown, Commentary, & Spoiler Review!! Footloose (1984) Full Movie Reaction, Breakdown, Commentary & Spoiler Review! — with hosts Andrew Gordon & John Humphrey diving into the iconic dance-driven classic that turned rebellion, rhythm, and teenage freedom into one of the most beloved films of the 1980s. Directed by Herbert Ross (Steel Magnolias, The Turning Point), Footloose stars Kevin Bacon (A Few Good Men, Mystic River) in a career-making role as Ren McCormack, a city kid who moves to the small town of Bomont — where dancing and rock music have been banned following a tragic accident. What follows is a clash of generations, beliefs, and self-expression as Ren challenges the town’s rigid rules and inspires its youth to reclaim joy through movement. Andrew & John break down the movie’s most iconic moments: Ren’s explosive warehouse dance sequence, the tension-filled town council debates, the emotional conflict with Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow — Dexter, The Crown), the complicated romance with Ariel (Lori Singer), and the unforgettable final prom that proves joy and discipline don’t have to be enemies. They also highlight the film’s legendary soundtrack — featuring hits like “Footloose,” “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” and “Almost Paradise” — which became inseparable from the movie’s legacy. Follow Andrew Gordon on Socials: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MovieSource Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agor711/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/Agor711 Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad: Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM: FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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But yeah, let's get into this thing. Leave a like on the video and yeah, thanks for joining us on
another musical Monday. Let's do it. If you have made it to this point of the video gang,
if you could leave a like, that would be very much appreciated. Also, if you would like to experience
the full footloose alongside Andrew and myself, see every moment that didn't make these
reaction highlights. You can go over on over to patreon.com slash the real rejects.
There, you can sync up with your own copy. Anything that's on the channel with a highlight
reel here, probably has a watch along over there. And we got some exclusive shows and
stuff. You can help guide these reviews by asking us questions. You get a peek our shoot
schedule each day. And yeah, you'll also save yourself a little discount on some teas like these
at rejagnation shop.com. If you happen to sign up over there, big thanks to Prepper as well for
chopping these highlights together. It is
quite a task, and
especially on a movie like this, it is so reliant
on music.
I'm sure they've got their work cut out for them. So
thank them. Thank you guys from us.
And yeah, if you're listening to this in
podcast form anywhere podcasts or
sold, leave us a rating if you could. We very much
appreciate that.
Andrew, before we hop into some
questions, how you feel in? Footloose.
Great. By the way, I did not know.
I did not know it was Kenny Loggins
who did footloose. And of course,
two years later did Top Gun.
Amazing.
So it's very iconic.
I really enjoyed this movie.
I think we spoke about it slightly during the reaction.
I do Kevin Bacon was in this movie.
I knew there was dancing.
And the only reference to this film that I really had was in Guardians of the Galaxy
Dance Off at the end of that movie.
And then also I think in Avengers Infinity War as well, Tom Holland, Spider-Man said,
what, dance off like in Footloose?
Exactly like in Footloose.
So there's only a little bit I knew.
So I just thought there was going to be a very simplistic, entertaining film about dancing, which great.
I was looking forward to that.
But there was a lot of depth in this movie that I was not expecting.
And there was a lot of emotional moments as well, I wasn't expecting.
So I was very pleasantly surprised in that way.
I had a feeling, too, it was directed by Herbert Ross, which I mentioned, My Blue Heaven and Secret of My Success.
So from those two films of his, I knew I was going to love it just from that and 80s, Kevin Bacon as well.
I knew I was going to enjoy this film.
I just didn't know it was going to go to the depths that it did go to.
So I was pleasantly surprised in that essence.
And just a lot of performances.
I appreciated the arcs as well.
Like even, I really feel like, and of course there's certain films nowadays that do it too,
but I really feel like a lot of films in the 80s and in the 90s, early 2000s,
really paid attention, especially with supporting characters, really going deeper into those arcs.
Like a character like Willard, for instance.
Could have been such a throwaway character or a character that just a supporting character that you don't really have that that full arc. And with his character, for instance, he's, you know, you got the fun burn and he's the comedic relief. And then you got the, oh, no, he's got a little bit of a confidence issue. He doesn't like to dance. And just, just in general, like, learning the dance just got him just being confident in general. And, like, I appreciate, like, giving full dividend to that type of character in the movie who, like, the full focus is not.
on him, but I appreciate giving like, you know, I appreciate the, the lock-in on a character like that.
And then when it comes to to Wren being the outsider, the fish out of water in a town like this,
where everyone looks at you, for the most part, as the pariah of the town, you know,
and still like having that rebellious side to you and still sticking to your guns, I appreciate
and resonate so much with a character like that.
Kevin Bacon's such an incredible performance.
There were like two scenes that really stood out to me.
All the scenes, he was incredible, but two scenes really stuck out to me.
The one where he was talking to his mom about no matter what he did, his dad did not stick around.
So he almost felt like he was useless in that way.
And then, you know, what was his true purpose in life?
And then there was the scene where he was speaking to the town council and like, you know, I got to find the answer.
So let me look in the Bible.
Let me speak their language to them because how are they going to retort that back to me?
Well, because I'm also experiencing a higher calling.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
for sure but I thought that was so brilliant it just showed also too and I know that um uh Ariel's character
gave him that the book too to to help him in that moment too but it just shows the resourcefulness
for those two characters as well but I thought that was phenomenal I love that but uh what about you
what did it would you think yeah this was incredible man this this really took me by surprise in a lot
of lovely ways I was looking forward to this I thought this would be a fun time and certainly you know
it's an iconic, you know, beloved film.
But, yeah, I love a surprise like this because this had obviously stuff I was expecting
and some of the classic, you know, moments you've seen, especially the, you know, abandoned factory dance
sequence has been parodied and has been clipped, you know, to death.
But, yeah, this was such a beautiful, you know, well-rounded piece of art, you know, in a way.
Because it's like you said, everything gets that attention to detail.
this feels kind of yeah it is of an older time and it feels like it because everybody for the most
part feels like a living person and from the outside of the movie you think like oh you know the reverend's
going to be this fiery brimstone guy and and they draw like a portrait of the town of everybody
in the town and even you know from kevin bacon to shaw to everyone in between they draw these
you know really lovely portraits of who they you know want to
embody who they get the kind of image they're putting out there and then who the person is inside of that and what they're struggling with and dealing with. And it really seems to like, you know, draw these bits of character history that feel alive and real. And then, you know, when you're looking at the rest of the characters like a Willard or something like that, yeah, he's not the point. But, you know, that gets its appropriate amount of growth and payoff. And, you know, even other smaller characters still have these moments of personality.
And there are these times where you're cutting around to characters we don't really even know.
And yet they're still, you know, alive.
They're still, you know, kind of you can feel the mood of a room.
You can feel, you know, the, again, communal ebb and flow of this town.
And some aspects of that community are constricting.
And some aspects of it are beautiful.
And, you know, the ideal of what, you know, a community should be.
And I liked that, yeah, even though there's such diametric opposition between, you know,
the eyelines of the characters, especially between
um, uh,
uh,
Gaw.
I'm like,
Ren and Shaw,
obviously,
the kind of two polar,
you know,
points of this debate.
Like,
I,
I do love the way that this ultimately culminates and the fact that,
like,
it's not as explosive and like,
melodramatic as you're expecting.
Uh,
so yeah,
it's like,
you know,
he ultimately has to match the reverend on his level.
And he is kind of experiencing as he expresses to his mom.
It's like higher calling.
I can do something.
that's good that's bigger than me that's it you know it was about this dance but now it's about something
even greater than that and i loved that you know she brought him the bible with the verses picked out
and you know highlighting the fact that yeah like there is hazard there is treachery you know it's
that's the thing about most stuff in life is you know yeah there are corrupting forces or there
are opportunities to fall astray however uh oftentimes it's the same exact
thing that can lead to, you know, a great catharsis or communal expression or, you know, just a sense of,
you know, shared, you know, love and and mindedness or whatever you want to call it. I love that
idea that, yeah, these people in this, in whatever verse that was, you know, they danced in front
of the Lord, you know, they danced to celebrate, they danced to mourn, they danced for all kinds of
reasons. And so, yeah, like, as a, as a, you know, sort of like, oh, we got to save the rec center.
We got to take on oppression. Like, it has all the, like, satisfying stuff about that. But it also has,
like, a really beautifully tangible, just essence where you feel the place that they're in. And, like,
all these games of chicken they were playing early on in the movie. Like, you feel like there's not
much to do around here. And there's also, like, a lot of these, like, kind of run down, abandoned
structures and things. It's a small town. And you feel like, you know, it's sustaining, but you can also
get the sense in the background that it's not, you know, maybe on its strongest footing.
And yeah, like his whole pursuit to guide and sort of, you know, maintain the whole town's
spiritual life and the journey of letting go of that and the journey of letting go as a parent.
There's just so much beautiful, you know, use of themes in this movie.
And I didn't expect, yeah, it to be quite such a thematically thoughtful experience and to be so cathartic
and to confront such difficult issues.
And again, without ever, you know,
getting some explosive scene
where they're talking about his dead son,
her dead brother, you know,
we still feel the impact of that and the weight of that
and the way that it can twist you up
and kind of freeze you in time.
And the same with Kevin Bacon and his dad
and all that stuff.
And moving to this place where he's a complete outsider
and everybody kind of, you know,
judging him sitting in judgment based on that.
And yeah, this was just so beautiful.
like it was well-paced story was well told it's a slice of life but it has a clear set of themes and a clear direction and then to culminate on this dance at the end and really just to spend time in that at the end of the movie i thought was really nicely handle like i could go on about this movie forever like this was this was lovely and this was a really great surprise like this is like you know this is like this is a
and it makes you feel and it moves you and it also speaks to a lot of different things.
You know, it's fun, it's classic and they're, you know.
And John Lithgow's character, Shaw, he really subverted my expectations too.
I just, I thought he was going to be, like you said, a very fiery type of character.
The way they introduced him and he was not going to be able to pull away from what he believed in
and then to have this different perspective given to him and also to the great level of depth that they gave him too,
of understanding why he came to be this.
way as well. I mean, he already was, yeah, I understood like where he was coming from even at the
beginning, but then adding like the loss of his son like to, I believe they said it was a drunk
driver already got hit. Well, they were playing some kind of game. Okay. And yeah. Whatever the
case is like, and now he feels it's his, it's his duty to be the father of the town, if you will,
the spiritual father of the town to make sure everyone is protected and no one ever gets in a position
where this can ever happen. He doesn't want anyone to ever feel.
this kind of grief ever again.
But also at the same point,
now he's technically suffocating everyone
and doesn't even realize it.
Yeah,
we're fighting it with the law and spirituality.
We've over-corrected to the point of oppression.
It just adds a very tragic and fascinating angle
to why he is doing what he's doing,
as opposed to this guy is enforcing his beliefs on everyone.
Yeah,
you know,
so I'm like,
wow.
They did a really good job of like,
you know,
the Lithgow character especially is one that I
think coming into this movie, you're like, oh, we're not going to agree with this guy.
But they really took time to paint him as a real guy and like all the conversations at home.
Yeah.
Like you really, I love him and Diane Weiss together.
I thought her presence and her influence was really terrific.
And she brought so much presence and spoke so loudly with, you know, mostly a lot of body language.
She's not a super verbose character, but when she speaks, it counts.
And yeah.
Yeah, you feel the family unit.
you just everything feels so alive.
Yeah.
And yeah, nothing feels.
It feels so grounded.
Not much, you know, like,
Ed Chuck's a bit of a, you know, he's just like a bully asshole guy.
But even that, you know, feels realistic enough for where we are.
Yeah, totally.
And I think, too, when he sees the effect he's having on other people, including his own
family, is like, wow, I need to take a step back and be reflective of what's happening.
Yeah.
And I appreciate characters like that.
It adds nuance.
Yeah.
That's complexity.
Yeah.
absolutely. This was a
this is top notch man. Yeah, no,
I was really expecting
just very simplistic film.
Like, no, there's a lot deeper
and I appreciate it. Great use of music. Yeah,
great coming of age, great ruminations on
spirituality. So many different things that they
tackled and really did a good job.
And even the town, like, as much
as there is that sort of like, oh, you're a city boy
and small towns are different. This didn't seem
to be condescending too heavily. It's like
when he's talking about
why he lives where he does and why he loves the town.
He feels closer to God out here.
He feels closer to community.
I'm like, that's beautiful.
And I believe that.
And yeah, it's a movie that does nicely with its most important characters to give them all a tangible perspective, even if you don't agree.
And, you know, give people these layers of like, yeah, you're one person.
It's like she says, I see costumes and I see performance when you're up on the pulpit.
But it's a different guy at home.
And you could get to pick up on that way before she ever said.
that you know you're a different guy and that's out in life true and that happened too and when he spoke to
the town at the end yeah he was that guy and he came to them humbly like yeah and very human yeah this is
super super beautiful um let's hop into some questions here thanks for chiming in gang like i said earlier
if you uh want to ask us a question if you want to get a look at what we're shooting each day uh patreon
dot com slash surreal rejects is the place to do that let's kick it off with just a girl 392
hi john and andrew you two are one of my favorite pairs of rejects thank you so much i love this
movie so happy you are watching it question do you think the movie is actually about dancing or is it
more about how the town's adults are dealing with their grief i think it's a bit of both um
I mean, obviously, we know dancing is very prevalent in the film.
Yeah.
But I think grief plays a major theme in the film.
And I just think that a very big thing in this movie is about how, you know, dancing is very cathartic.
You know, a lot of things that we just bottle up within us, whether that is a confidence thing for, like, Willard, or just grief for Shaw, right?
a lot of things that we do to unwind is dancing.
So I think you can use that as a way to unwind, rather.
I think that there's a prevalent way you can say that it's definitely both.
But there are a lot of people that are dealing with grief.
And that's how Reverend Shaw is, that's how he gets the town to understand him.
He emotionally comforts to them.
And that's how they, they understand his perspective and where he's coming from.
and they understand them in that way.
So, and then a lot of the other kids,
they feel that they are strangulated in that way.
And there's nothing to do, as John was pointing out earlier, right?
I mean, you got kids playing literal chicken with trains and 18 wheelers.
So I think, yeah.
Especially if you can't do any of the fun kids stuff.
Like, what are we going to do?
Yeah, they have a lot.
They have laws against certain types of music and actual dances.
So on a lot of the things.
we would do together. Yeah, for sure. For community. For sure. So I think you can make an argument.
The film is definitely about both. I mean, there's some heavy and deep themes here in this film.
So that's what I would say. What about you?
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after you play your first $5 lineup. Price Picks. Good to be right. Yeah, dancing is the conduit,
most certainly. Dancing is an example of, I think, something,
the greater that the film is getting at. Yeah, I think there's definitely elements of dealing with grief
because certainly Shaw and Ariel are dealing with that and Ren is dealing with that. And it seems like
everybody, you know, everybody in some way must be dealing with that. And yeah, again, the ways that grief
can freeze you and change you and make you either cautious or detached or, you know, any number of
things. But I think largely the movie to me is about spirituality,
higher callings, community. And yeah, you know, dealing with grief and not letting it, again,
stunt your life or twist you up into something, you know, repressed or bitter or angry. And, yeah,
it's about finding and, you know, fighting for the places where, yeah, we can commune and be spiritual
and accepting that that means different things. And it's about learning to trust. I think that
He, that thing that he says in the sermon at the end is really lovely.
That whole thing about like, I have tried so long to, you know, be your shepherd and to be in all
of your lives all the time.
But I got to kind of trust you.
How do you become trustworthy if nobody trusts you to go off on your own and, and, you know,
make your own choices, mistakes and learn from those and all that stuff?
It's very beautifully said by you.
I think, too, when he was, as he took that step back and just having an understanding,
that he was seeing like look what the town is doing from the lessons they're learning from me they're
burning books look what my daughter's doing she's becoming very rebellious and doing everything opposite
of what i'm trying to the teach yeah the kids are getting more rebellious and more and further from
the path one would argue and the adults are becoming more draconian and constricted and exactly you know
raising alarm over every little thing and and yeah it's like he's at the perfect crossroads to be like
well, both of these are extremes that are coming from my guidance.
Yeah. Yeah. I like, but I like that he's being accountable in that way, but also I think
the most important thing, his wife is being very understanding them, being still very soft-spoken,
and still being very supportive in that way, too. And saying, honey, I understand, I'm still your
biggest rock, I'm still here to support you, but making him understand the different lenses of everything.
And I appreciate that about her so much. Like,
She could have easily ripped his head off and said, like,
this is what you're doing, blah, blah, blah, you know what I mean?
So I appreciate that so much about her character.
Because there was a time, too, where for a certain portion of the film,
like, we're staying in a waste.
I feel like we're not getting enough of her.
And then they inserted her in the film.
Like, okay, this is why they had,
there was a little bit of the film where she wasn't in that portion.
But I love how much, how effective she was with her character.
Every time I see her in something lately, I'm impressed.
She's great.
She has such presence.
Always.
And yeah, she communicates so much.
The thing about, like, I loved what they did with her character, too, because in a different movie, maybe a lesser movie, not necessarily.
But, you know, you could imagine the more stereotypical version of this being, like, you know, sometime act three she comes in and is like, Shaw, I'm leaving.
I've, I've had enough of it.
Whereas, like, you really do believe, you know, her love for him and the fact that, like, you can see the kids.
they once were.
And you can see how they fell in love.
And you can see how,
you can see what the healthy version of this is.
And I love that we don't, again,
need to go too deeply into that
and, like, you know, dissect it in a way
that, you know, is over killed.
It's subtle and it's nice.
And it's, yeah, it's properly,
I feel like, proportioned to everything.
They went the opposite of the Trophy route.
I appreciate it.
And yeah, and we, last thing I'll say on this,
is like we did mention,
and certainly lots of things cover this,
but we mentioned, like,
wake up dead man and certainly that movie has a lot of ruminations on faith and especially people
who are you know guiding other people's faith and how do you approach that do you approach that
from a place of love or a place of fear and it seems like a lot of this movie is also about
going from a place of love and learning to transition that into coming from a place of or going
coming from place of fear because of trauma because of things you've experienced and learning to
let go of that so you can go back to you know being
motivated from a place of love.
And so, like, we enter the movie on him delivering this fiery sermon that is very much
sort of geared towards guilt and making you afraid.
And then, you know, by the end, he is giving a more loving sermon, even though you can tell
he's conflicted and you can tell he's sort of processing this in real time.
And it's not the same pageantry he's used to doing.
You can tell that he is speaking with a different tone.
And it seems like he is opening back up to growth and love.
and leading with that instead of leading with fear,
leading with where's the devil going to be next?
It's in here.
And a good way to bring him out is to make everyone afraid.
So yeah, a lot of lot, a lot.
Like that's again, the most rewarding things about this.
This is very thematic movie.
And I love that.
But it's also about music because, yeah, and dancing,
because that's a spiritual practice.
When he goes that famous, famous scene in the middle of the movie
where he goes to the abandoned warehouse and he just dances it out,
that is a spiritual moment.
He goes to church and praise the way he knows how to do it.
And even now, it's kind of making me emotional to say that.
Because it's like, that's like, that's a beautiful thing.
And it's like, yeah, it's cool and it's fun and it's easy to meme that.
But like, low key, you know, it's like I experience some kind of transcendence when dancing, you know, in the right circumstances.
And this speaks to that.
I've seen you.
You transcend beautiful.
Man. Well, I mean, you know, part of it is also letting go of how you look cool while you're doing it.
Just accepting that it's for you and it doesn't matter. Sure. But yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm glad that, you know, someone like Willard.
As long as you don't go viral in the wrong way. Someone like Willard went through that where it's like, yeah, dude, don't even trip. Just learn how to feel the music. And that's truly all that you. I need Ren to teach me so I can dance. We all want Ren to teach us. But all right, Master T. All right. Thank you so much for being a Royal Reject.
We appreciate your question.
According to Star Lord,
this is the greatest movie of all time.
Do you agree or disagree with his statement, John?
At the moment, I do.
You know, I don't know what those sounds were.
I don't know what the best movie of all time is.
But watching this, I can see this.
You're always hesitant to be like,
this might be one of my favorite movie.
Like, low-key, I was blown away enough
that this could be easily become one of my favorite movies.
Yeah.
Because, yeah, I'm with Star Lord.
This movie's pretty.
Because again, if you love music, this is steeped in music.
If you like dancing, this is steeped in dancing.
If you like acting and filmmaking, it's got good acting and filmmaking.
It's rousing.
It's potent.
And it also has tons of stuff on its mind.
Yeah, for sure.
It's masterful.
No, I mean, look, Star Lord makes a very good argument here.
And he was, what was he taken?
in 1988 by Yandu, so I mean, up to that point, look,
my favorite movie of all time is still a Shoshank Redemption.
I'm going to stick with that one.
If I had been taken in 1988, although I was born in that year,
but I was Star Lord, I might go with Robocop,
although it would be a tough choice between Robocop and this one.
Also great.
Yeah, that's an amazing movie.
There's a lot of deep and heavy themes in that,
and it's an incredible satire in its own right as well.
But like I said, this movie had a lot of things that I was not expecting,
and I really appreciate it.
So I will say this.
It's definitely one of my favorite 80s films now.
And that's as a lot,
because I have a lot of favorite 80s films.
Predator, Terminator.
I'm just going to name a bunch of Arnold movies right now.
Robocop.
I mean, the list goes on.
So it's right up there.
Honestly, it would probably be in my top five favorite 80s films.
And I'm not saying that on recency bias,
which I say that a lot.
I really wholeheartedly mean that.
It was incredible.
And Kevin Bacon was awesome.
And Lori Singer, I'd have to look up her IMDB.
I don't know what, but I really appreciated her performance too.
Like she was very rebellious in her own right too, especially not only the town that she
had lived in her all life.
She had so much that she was containing with him, but also you understand like her
personal life at home and what she's dealing with with her brother and then her father
who she lives with and is trying to just like this person that she's trying to
comfort to.
And I just really appreciated her performance.
And I'd really have to look up her career.
see what happened, but she really added an incredible level of depth. And I think her and Kevin Bacon
had such incredible chemistry to them. Yeah, truly. Excellent. Thank you so much. Thank you,
Master Chief. All right, Jay Rushden. What up, Jay? Question. Do you know there are no dance
towns in universities? It's weird. I knew someone arrested in South Carolina ones. I guess, yeah,
the idea that there's still no dance towns. I did not, honestly. I thought that was just something.
the movie. I go. I'm gonna Google this. Yeah, that I did not know. I was gonna say because uh,
because yeah like yeah like it's one of those things where I could imagine like the laws still
existing. Um, but at the same time I can't I like someone out there is enforcing this but also
I'm fascinated to know. Wow. 225. Huh? Sounds yes. According to the internet while outright bands are rare
and often challenged. Many U.S. towns still have outdated, quirky, or strictly regulated ordinances
limiting dancing, often time to alcohol, morality, like the footloose inspired places, or noise
with enforcement varying from strict to non-existent, like Encinitas California.
Wow.
In California.
Or old rules in Missouri, Utah, Montana, etc.
Damn, dude.
Wow.
We should go to all these towns, you and I and show this movie.
Yeah.
Well, you know, I'm sure.
I wonder if that was a thing that happened too.
But yeah, I can imagine versions of this still being a thing.
I'm sorry for your friend, though.
That's still pretty wild.
Like in this day and age, you know, you imagine it wouldn't happen.
But the 80s wasn't that long ago, believe it or not.
So I hope your friend's doing okay.
Yeah.
I didn't spend too long in the slam.
That is wild.
All right.
Just a girl, 329 back in action.
What did you think?
And thank you for chiming in of the soundtrack.
and do you have a favorite song?
I think the soundtrack is like the film
classic and awesome.
I would say,
I mean,
there were so many incredible songs,
but maybe I'm doing the simple thing,
footloose.
I mean,
we got it three times in the movie,
so sorry.
I mean,
and I've heard that song too before.
I just,
I love it.
I think it fits so perfectly
with the themes
and with what the film's trying to achieve.
So,
I love that song.
I'm going to go with footloose.
What about you?
Do you want to pick a different song?
or do you want to...
I mean, it's a crazy scene,
but holding out for a hero was...
Oh, that was good, too.
A really fun one to hear.
And again, it speaks to kind of
the youthful sort of quality.
You feel in a moment like that.
You know, you wanted to feel like that song feels.
I also thought the transition,
what is it?
I'm free that Kenny Logan,
that other Kenny Logan song they had
as, you know, toward the end.
You can't run away in your...
Right that one?
Yeah, something like that.
Where they're transitioning, you know, to the end.
Yeah, that was a good one too.
And everyone's, yeah, like, you know, going from the church to the dance.
I thought that was really, yeah, rousing.
Yeah, no, I always love songs that really do a good job of expressing not only how we as an audience are feeling, but what the characters are feeling at the same point, too.
So.
And shouts out to Reverend Shaw's chamber music.
Not too bad.
Oh, yeah.
Not too bad.
Yeah, the uplifting one.
Yeah, that's very uplift.
I actually enjoyed it, too.
Yeah.
Thank you, Jay.
I mean, Justa.
You got Jay next again.
Yes.
All right.
What up, Jay?
So we got trivia.
People danced when the new Coke was introduced.
Why they bought, when they bought Pepsi stock?
Why they bought Pepsi stock?
I was noticing at one point in the movie that there was at least a very prominently placed, you know, like Coca-Cola.
Bev.
I feel like there were a handful of Coca-Cola product placement.
Yeah.
And I feel like, too, did Coca-Cola do like the, I want to teach the world to dance campaign or whatever?
You would know better than me.
Usually I know it's trivia, but that one I don't know.
I mean, you know, maybe that's the thing.
Maybe the world danced for new Coke and, you know, maybe more square and buttoned-up people went and bought Pepsi stock
because those are the kinds of people who would buy stocks rather than just dancing about it.
So, you know, as much as I tend to be a Pepsi girl, I guess I would have rather danced than bought stocks.
Wonder if they...
Then again, I should have probably bought those stocks and danced.
So I don't know.
Wonder if the stocks rose, then they danced.
Yeah.
But...
Two footloose.
Or are you saying people, like, regretted buying their Pepsi and stuff?
Yeah, if they regret it.
I feel like New Coke was a saga in and of itself.
And they burned books.
Yes.
They burned the recipe book.
Yeah, they burned the New Cokes or the Pepsi.
I don't know.
Pepsi Crystal.
Yes.
All right.
Just a girl.
329.
Once more.
Closing out.
our Q&A here.
All right.
Here's a bit of trivia.
In the opening scene
with the dancing feet,
the feet in the gold shoes
was Kenny Loggins.
No way.
Singer of the title track.
That's very cool.
Hell yeah.
Yeah, you got to imagine too.
I mean, I love little facts like that.
I mean, when you're providing so many songs
in the film, he's like,
hey, we got to have a little kind of cameo for you.
I appreciate when they give
people, when they give singers or
whomever little cameos like that,
you don't realize it.
I think just going off a little off subject right now,
just like in Titanic, for instance,
when Jack is doing the drawing of Rose,
that's James Cameron's hand.
So I love little details.
I just forget that he's like an accomplished.
Oh, he's such a good artist.
Yeah, he's incredible.
Also, too, I believe the handprint as well.
I think that's his handprint.
Not the one that was originally made,
but the one that you see later on.
I think I heard him just say that in an interview.
But I appreciate a little detail.
like that. It's so cool. I would have never
guess that was Kenny Hawkins' feet,
but when I rewatch this film, I
will remember that, so appreciate you sharing
that with us. Yeah, I got a couple
other little trivia facts pull up here from IMDB.
Apparently, the scenes where Chris Penn's
character had to learn how to dance were added
to the script because Penn
really could not dance. Wow. He was
convincing. And since
they had to teach him, they taught him in terms
of what he already knew, apparently, which
was wrestling. Was that
one say the Howard Stern? In 2013,
interview with Howard Stern.
Kevin Bacon admitted that he actually has
tipped DJs at weddings not to play footloose.
He stated that people expect him to dance
to the song as he did in the movie.
In truth, when he did do some
of the, while he did do some of the dancing, there was also
a dancing. And we mentioned that.
We're like, we can tell he's doing
some of the choreography and then there's probably
a, I was going to say a DJ.
Probably a stunt guy doing some of it too
as well for him. Well, to have him be
just like a low key gymnast in the
background. And to have him, I mean,
He seemed to have at least thrown down somewhat on at least being able to sell a couple of those basic, you know,
routines in camera.
Yeah, that makes sense that he would say that at every wedding he has to go to.
Because that's probably happened to him right after this film came out within however long a few years after that he,
this film became so popular and he started going to weddings.
People were just playing footloose and he's like, yeah.
Oh my God, this is happening every wedding I go to.
Let me just start tipping the detail and like, please don't play this.
In addition to Kenny Loggins, the dancing feat in the opening sequence contained many of the cast and crew.
Over 150 pairs of feet were shot.
Loosely based on events that took place in the small rural and extremely religious farming town of Elmore City, Oklahoma in 1978.
Dancing had been banned there for nearly 90 years until a group of high school teenagers challenged it.
I mean, not cool, but cool that this is based on a true story that's shedding light on it.
In the scene where Reverend Shaw shows Wren a page.
picture of his deceased son Bobby.
John Lithgow showed a picture of his real.
I was wondering, was that an actor or was that his real son?
Cool.
Oh my God.
Gene Siskel was one of the few critics that liked this movie.
Oh.
That's insane.
Although he complained, parts of the plot are silly.
For instance, if the preacher is so strict, why does he let his daughter walk around
with the tight jeans and no bra?
But then that's really, but then that's really for us at the audience.
That's funny.
Oh, my God.
This was incredible.
I'm curious what this got on Rotten Tomatoes.
on if the critics were so strict on this one?
All right.
Give us your guesses before we close it out, Andrew.
Well, if they're so strict, I'm going to go with 71,
and then I'm going to go with 92 for the audience.
If they're as strict as people are saying right there.
All right, I'm going 60 and 98.
71 and 92 for me.
I probably went too high, but we'll see.
Let's see.
55.
55 and 71?
Oh, my God.
We're way off.
It's silly, but it's got like a lot of conviction and a lot of heart and a lot of like tangible.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Music, I don't know.
It heightens everything.
On the 55, does it say like how many?
Or does it not?
47 reviews.
I had a 47 reviews.
You know.
Yeah.
I mean, obviously you have a smaller pool from back in the day.
I don't know.
I love this movie.
Yeah, no, no.
And yeah, I would love to watch more movies like this.
I would love to watch dirty dancing.
Oh, I've never seen dirty dancing.
dancing either. I'd love to do that. Flash dance. I would love to watch. I've never seen none of
Xanada do any number of things. Gang, leave us your thoughts. What did you think of footloose? Is this one of
your favorite movies? Is it the best movie of all time? Are you a star lord? Either way. Leave us your
thoughts. Leave us your favorite songs to dance too and we'll catch you on the next one. Be well
people.
