The original Footloose (1984) came at the dawn of the MTV era; its remake is driven by today's dance competitions. Hence we get dancer Kenny Wormald in the Kevin Bacon role, paired with Dancing with the Stars' Julianne Hough. The outsider Ren is now a gymnast from Boston, and Wormald comes off like a long lost Wahlberg brother as he clashes with authority in a Southern town that has banned unchaperoned dancing by minors. A highlight of the remake is Ren's dance of frustration, set to the White Stripes, in an abandoned factory. Director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) adds a gritty texture and shows ingenuity in the ways he inserts tunes from the original. But the basic material is at best a guilty pleasure. Since Wormald and Hough are middling actors, it's a joy to watch Miles Teller ably fill Chris Penn's boots as the comic-relief sidekick. Dennis Quaid, as the minister, avoids the cartoonishness of John Lithgow only to seem constipated.
