Politics & Government
'Footloose,' Filmed Nearby, Opens Today
Everybody cut for an all-Georgia movie featuring scenes from Hiram, Acworth and Kennesaw.
In a possible prelude of what's to come for Bartow, with its , several nearby communities today hit the big screen.
While an orphanage scene for , Bartow is just beginning to offer film and television production companies easier, faster and better access to local resources and information. A Camera Ready Community is required to designate a liaison who can assist production companies on a local level.
About a year ago, filmmaker Craig Brewer filmed his Footloose remake in counties surrounding Bartow; today that film opens nationwide, giving audiences everywhere views of , Kennesaw, and other Georgia locations.
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Patch contributor Brett Martin will have his video review of the movie later today, but in the meantime the film is getting generally positive reviews, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s what some other critics are saying.
The Good
- Chris Tookey, The Daily Mail—Footloose is “a lively, intelligent update of the 1984 movie,” with better dancing and star-making performances from Julianne Hough, Kenny Wormald and others. Four out of five stars.
- Matt Stevens, E! Online—“This guilty-pleasure update has an angsty adolescent energy that's as infectious as anything in Contagion.” The opening gives it a darker edge than the original, and the overall picture of small-town Georgia avoids stereotypes. B.
- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times—“A venerable property has been modernized, refurbished and tweaked when necessary to bring it in line with the demands of today's market.” It has less emotional impact but more energy and sexiness than the original.
- Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle—Brewer “is attempting a direct translation here, to make a new Footloose that means the same thing to today's audiences that the earlier Footloose meant to 1984,” and the film has enough life, charm and good dancing to succeed. (LaSalle seems to think the film is set in Texas, however.)
The Bad
- Claudia Puig, USA Today—“A new Footloose with sassier steps and the same contrived story is hardly necessary.” The actors are forgettable, and the dancing isn’t enough to justify the film. Two out of four stars.
- Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch—If you saw the original, “you've already seen the best parts of this dancy, derivative remake.” If you didn’t see the original, you probably won’t care about the remake.
- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone—“Footloose 2011 is harmless as far as it goes, but on the dance floor and off it never goes nearly far enough.” Brewer is too faithful and beholden to the original. Two out of four stars. (Travers is paying such close attention that he thinks the film is set in Tennessee, Brewer’s home state and usual setting, instead of Georgia.)
The Ugly
- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times—“This 2011 version is so similar—sometimes song for song and line for line—that I was wickedly tempted to reprint my 1984 review, word for word.” The film has no humor or purpose and is just bad. The details that have changed from 1984 are too insignificant to matter. (Good thing, too, since one of those minor details is the location in Georgia, and Ebert thought it was Tennessee.) One and a half out of four stars.
If you see the movie, let us know what you think in the comment box.
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