Footloose

Play trailer

1:26

Footloose

PG

Released Feb 17, 1984

1h 47m

Drama

Music

Romance

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

54%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Moving in from Chicago, newcomer Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) is in shock when he discovers the small Midwestern town he now calls home has made dancing and rock music illegal. As he struggles to fit in, Ren faces an uphill battle to change things. With the help of his new friend, Willard Hewitt (Christopher Penn), and defiant teen Ariel Moore (Lori Singer), he might loosen up this conservative town. But Ariel's influential father, Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), stands in the way.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

There's not much dancing, but what's there is great. The rest of the time, Footloose is a nice hunk of trashy teenage cheese.

Read Critics Reviews

Wendy Ide

The Times (UK)

It’s very, very silly, but, ahem, kind of fun.

Jun 30, 2023

Full Review

Kathleen Carroll

New York Daily News

"Footloose" turns out to be a sort of Boy Scout version of "Flashdance," a carefully toned-down, overly respectable piece of schmaltz ...

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 17, 2016

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Essential to the result is young Kevin Bacon, superb in the lead part.

Feb 12, 2008

Full Review

Douglas Davidson

Elements of Madness

One of the great things about revisiting a film after any period of time is discovery: new details, new concepts, even new theories. In the case of FOOTLOOSE ... there comes multiple discoveries ...

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Allison Rose

FlickDirect

For those of us that remember when Footloose came out, this release is a walk down memory lane and offers a slight improvement from previously released version.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 12, 2024

Full Review

Sean Collier

Box Office Prophets

While Footloose is fun, it's not very good. Its story is a dud

Rated: 5/10

Aug 13, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

RICHARD H

i saw it years ago and wanted to compare it to the newer version

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/19/24

Full Review

Paul Aaron

Always loved the original. Made me feel like a teen again.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/25/23

Full Review

Joshua Coleman

This movie still holds up 40 years later. Only annoying thing is that Fathom films start exactly on time and most people anticipate trailers so more then half the audience walked in late to the movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/13/23

Full Review

Cork B

Nostalgic and cheesy. It isn't a good movie, but it is fun if you are in to 80s stuff.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/05/25

Full Review

The B

Some films hold up to the test of time this isn't one of them the plot is brutal! No iconic dances! Ud get a better show at a high school in this day and age! Bacon's lucky to have made money off this and tremors! I could of been a success back in the day if this passed as a hit.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

04/07/25

Full Review

Melissa M

I think this movie could be considered a musical. Any movie that we're not 90% of the movie is music it's definitely a musical. Or people dance for no apparent reason. Not only is this one of the best movies of the '80s it's one of the best movies of all time. It's one of the few films where the soundtrack is as awesome as the movie. So many films have tried to copy this movie over the years. But they haven't even come close. Kevin Bacon is a really good dancer. Most of his dancing was done by stunt doubles. But what he did do was pretty awesome. Even in the beginning of the film where everybody is toe tapping. It makes you want to get up and dance. There are some heartfelt moments like the ones between Reverend Shaw and his daughter Ariel when they finally have a heart to heart talk. And when Reverend Shaw and ren have a man to man talk.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/06/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Herbert Ross

Director

Kevin Bacon

Ren McCormack

Lori Singer

Ariel Moore

John Lithgow

Reverend Shaw Moore

Dianne Wiest

Vi Moore

Chris Penn

Willard Hewitt

Footloose: Official Clip - Let's Dance!

2:48

Footloose: Official Clip - Dancing At The Mill

2:45

Footloose: Official Clip - Screaming at the Train

1:50

Footloose: Official Clip - Ren & Ariel Kiss

2:31

Footloose: Official Clip - The Parking Lot Fight

1:58

Footloose: Official Clip - A Time to Dance

2:51

Footloose: Official Clip - Footloose Fight

2:32

Footloose: Official Clip - Let’s Hear It For the Boy

3:00

Footloose: Official Clip - Dancing at the Drive-in

2:17

Footloose: Official Clip - Hero Tractor Chicken

2:38

View more videos

Love Story

63%

75%

Love Story

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Love Story

Racing With the Moon

67%

62%

Racing With the Moon

Watchlist

Forever My Girl

25%

78%

Forever My Girl

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Forever My Girl

Staying Alive

0%

39%

Staying Alive

Watchlist

Out of Africa

62%

82%

Out of Africa

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Watch: Trailer for New Series, Schitt’s Creek, with Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara

Total Recall: It’s a Dance Dance Revolution

Box Office Guru Preview: Halloween Strikes on the 31st

Footloose: Trailer 1

1:26

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Moving in from Chicago, newcomer Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) is in shock when he discovers the small Midwestern town he now calls home has made dancing and rock music illegal. As he struggles to fit in, Ren faces an uphill battle to change things. With the help of his new friend, Willard Hewitt (Christopher Penn), and defiant teen Ariel Moore (Lori Singer), he might loosen up this conservative town. But Ariel's influential father, Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), stands in the way.

Director: Herbert Ross
Producer: Lewis J. Rachmil, Craig Zadan
Screenwriter: Dean Pitchford
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Phoenix Pictures, IndieProd
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, Music, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 17, 1984, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now