History Film / Footloose

* AggressiveDrugDealer

* PacManFever: The music-and-dance montage at the drive-in abruptly stops when Rev. Moore presses the stop button on the blaring boombox. Everyone stops celebrating and bows their heads in shame, including the reverend's daughter, Ariel,and the sound of Pac Man dying can be heard from the arcade.

* PacManFever: The music-and-dance montage at the drive-in abruptly stops when Rev. Moore presses the stop button on the blaring boombox. Everyone stops celebrating and bows their heads in shame, including the reverend's daughter, Ariel,and the sound of Pac Man dying can be heard from the arcade.

* DeadLittleSister: It turns out that [[spoiler: his son's death]] is what sent Reverend Shaw on his crusade against dancing and music.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: The Act I closer song "I'm Free/Heaven Help Me", a take on "I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man)" from the original soundtrack. It's such an epic song of rockin' rebellion (intercut with reporting on the said rebellion by Reverend Shaw, pleading with his God to intervene.) that you kind of forget that all they want to do is ''have a dance party.''

* PetTheDog: The Reverend has several moments to show that he isn't ''completely'' close-minded. The most memorable might be when he stopped a group of citizens from burning books, or when he sits down to actually talk to Ren about their respective losses after the town meeting. The most touching is his reuion with Vi at the close.

->"If '''Footloose'' has taught me anything, it's that there are people everywhere trying to ''shut you down'' just for the crime of being young!"
-->--'''ToddInTHeShadows'''

* PetTheDog: The Reverend has several moments to show that he isn't ''completely'' close-minded. The most memorable might be when he stopped a group of citizens from burning books, the most touching is his reuion with Vi at the close.

* PetTheDog: The Reverend has several moments to show that he isn't ''completely'' close-minded. The most memorable might be when he stopped a group of citizens from burning books.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: The Act I closer song "I'm Free/Heaven Help Me", a take on "I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man)" from the original soundtrack. It's such an epic song of rockin' rebellion (intercut with reporting on the said rebellion by Reverend Shaw) that you kind of forget that all they want to do is ''have a dance party.''

* OneSceneWonder: Betty Blast, who delivers this gem:
-->[[DomesticAbuser Cranston]]! Your pick-up truck is in the handicapped parking, which is a space we reserve for people with ''physical'', not ''emotional'', disabilities.

* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: Or to put it another way "The Reverend's Daughter Is A Bit Slutty."

* FridgeLogic: How come nobody thought to challenge the dancing/music prohibition in court on the grounds of violating the first amendment?
** Because all of the adult townspeople agreed with the ban, and the people who disagreed didn't have the money for lawyers.
*** [[MST3KMantra there wouldn't be much of a movie]] but, in reality, this is what the [=ACLU=] is ''for'' -- they'd have taken the case ''pro bono'' and had the law thrown out by any competent judge.

* TheUnfairSex: The audience is supposed to view Chuck negatively for slapping Ariel, despite the fact that she ''just punched him in the face.'' Sure Chuck called Ariel a whore, but given that she was practically cheating on him with Ren...

* MeaningfulName: Ariel. [[ShoutOutToShakespeare The spirit from]] ''Theatre/TheTempest'' who longs for freedom. (This was five years before the [[SmallReferencePools more readily available]] [[TheLittleMermaid use of the name]].)

After his parents' divorce, Ren (Played by Kevin Bacon) moves with his mother [[FishOutOfWater from Chicago to a small town in middle America.]] While he finds many of the town's backwards ways frustrating, there is one inexplicable rule that really catches his attention: Rock Music and Dancing are Illegal. He soon makes it his mission to try and reform the law before senior prom, but Ren faces some stiff adversaries. His main opposition comes in the form of the extremely conservative Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), who is certain that if rock music is allowed in the town, then all the young people will end up pregnant cocaine-addicts.

Obviously.

Like Film/{{Ferris Buellers Day Off}} and TheBreakfastClub, {{Footloose}} isn't one of those fantastic cinematic experiences you need to see for artistic reasons. It's one of those [[TheEighties 1980s]] film classics that you have to see because it has been referenced time and time again until it has become a cultural icon.

A [[AllMusicalsAreAdaptations stage musical]] was made in 1998. It won two Tony Awards and ran for 709 performances.

* DisobeyThisMessage: In a way.
* TheEighties
* EightiesHair: Oh yeah!

** Because all of the adult townspeople agreed with the ban, and the people who disagreed didn't have the money for lawyers.
* MeaningfulName: Ariel. [[ShoutOutToShakespeare The spirit from]] ''TheTempest'' who longs for freedom. (This was five years before the [[SmallReferencePools more readily available]] [[TheLittleMermaid use of the name]].)

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Perhaps part of the reason Reverend Moore was willing to listen to Ren after the book-burning incident: he finally realized that the repressive trends that he'd started and approved of had gone too far.

* UntrustingCommunity: The entire town is suspicious of Ren because he's from Chicago. Many locals go out of their way to try to prove that Ren is a troublemaker despite that he has the best of intentions. [[spoiler: In the end, he helps the town move on from the past by setting up a dance and convincing the Reverend to lighten up.]]

* AndADietCoke: Verbatim when Wendy Jo orders food at the Burger Blast.

* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: Referenced by Ren, when the Reverend comments that he's enforced a curfew for all the teenagers in town, but can't get Ariel to follow it:

* [[ICantDance I Can't Dance]]: Willard's big secret, remedied in "Let's Hear It For the Boy!"

* TooDumbToLive: Early on in the movie, Ariel stands in between two trucks as they speed down the highway, one foot inside each window. It's meant to paint her as wild and rebellious but looks more suicidally reckless.
* TownWithADarkSecret: Ren doesn't get told immediately why dancing is outlawed and has to do some asking around to find out. Even then, he doesn't find out until much later that [[spoiler:one of the car accident victims was Ariel's older brother]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: The Act I closer song "I'm Free/Heaven Help Me", a take on "I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man)" from the original soundtrack. It's such an epic song of rockin' rebellion (intercut with reporting on the said rebellion by Reverend Shaw) that you kind of forget that all they want to do is ''have a dance party.''

* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: Lampshaded by Ren, when the Reverend comments that he's enforced a curfew for all the teenagers in town, but can't get Ariel to follow it:

-->[[BastardBoyfriend Cranston]]! Your pick-up truck is in the handicapped parking, which is a space we reserve for people with ''physical'', not ''emotional'', disabilities.

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