Twenty seven years ago the musical-drama "Footloose" landed Kevin Bacon on the cover of People magazine. It spawned a hit soundtrack and left Kenny Loggins' toe-tapping theme song stuck in fans' craniums for years to come.
It's too soon to tell if Craig Brewer's remake of "Footloose" will top those achievements. But director Brewer and his stars, Julianne Hough, 23, and Kenny Wormald, 27, have their own measure of success for this film.
"First and foremost, we wanted to introduce this story to a whole new generation," Hough told CTV.ca during a recent visit to Toronto.
"Kenny and I were surprised by the number of people we met who hadn't seen the original. It's so iconic. We assumed it was in every moviegoer's DNA," she said.
Brewer, 39, clearly brings a love for the 1984 film to this project. That feeling and the energy it inspires should impress fans old and new.
The dancing by newcomer Wormald and two-time "Dancing with the Stars" winner Hough is terrific.
The spirit of the film is rousing and heartfelt.
But Brewer never fills this redo with Kevin Bacon impersonations and people in tight jeans.
"Craig saw this as a drama first, then a dance story," said Wormald.
"It could have been so easy to hit the replay button and regurgitate a formula. Craig didn't want that. He revived the original and tried to give it some edge," he said.
'Footloose' roots still meaningful
The original film, for those who don't know it, followed a rebellious girl named Ariel and Ren McCormack (played by Bacon), a Chicago teen who moved to a town that banned dancing and rock music thanks to the efforts of a minister.
Brewer's remake retains these elements to a certain degree.
As the film opens a tragedy has just occurred. After a night of dancing and carousing, several teenagers are killed, including the son of Reverend Shaw Moore (played by Dennis Quaid).
The town's reaction is swift. It passes an ordinance forbidding public dancing.
The idea sounds bizarre. But in researching the film Hough and Wormald said producers found at least 100 towns in the United States that had banned dancing. In each case the bans were instituted after some tragedy had occurred.
"Religion is a huge part to a small community," said Hough.
"I grew up in Utah and it's heavily populated with Mormons. Religion can influence people's decisions and actions in a big way. But we hoped 'Footloose' could inspire people to come together," she said.
As the film fast-forwards, Moore's daughter Ariel (Hough) becomes a real handful.
Ariel runs with the wrong crowd. She dates bad boys. She also goes in for a little underground dancing. Her only hope for change comes when a Boston kid (Wormald) blows into town and tries to understand her.
"Ariel's complicated," said Hough.
"You can see the arc she goes through in the dance scenes. At first she's grinding away trying to make boys jealous. By the time she gets to the big "Footloose" dance scene she's found herself. She's free," said Hough.
Along the way, of course, Brewer lets iPod's replace the '80s Walkman. Fancy haircuts replace the '80s mullet.
"The feel is modern. But you won't find big explosions and battling robots here," said Hough.
"Competing with that makes it tough to get a movie like 'Footloose' made. But 'Footloose' is fun. It's meaningful. That's a hard thing to pull off in Hollywood."
