Review: Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

At this point, I’m pretty sure Meryl Streep could walk on set, say a few lines (whether they’re from an actual script or not), go home and we’d all still be singing her praises. I really like her of course, but I don’t worship her like a lot of movie fans do. Perhaps I just need to see more of her work! My point anyway is that she’s not one of the actresses I would see absolutely anything for. My first impression of the trailer for Florence Foster Jenkins was a cross between a laugh and a sneer, I think.

Florence Foster Jenkins is the story of a wealthy heiress living in New York who dreams of becoming an opera singer and performing in Carnegie Hall. The catch is that she can’t sing to save her life, but her devoted husband (Hugh Grant) can’t bring himself to tell her the truth, and instead hires a singing coach and pianist (Simon Helberg) to not only coach her, but remind her how wonderful she is.

The real stand out part of the movie is the wonderful performances by all 3 leads, Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg. Streep is exactly how you would expect her to be, powerful yet effortless. Her awful singing may be difficult to listen to at times, but I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for someone with amazing singing talent to actually sing badly. I’d experiment to see for myself, but you know, I can’t sing anyway. Hugh Grant is possibly at a higher level than I’ve seen him before, mastering that charm like he always has but with a surprising amount of heart.

However, the show stealer is Helberg. Better known as the awkward and often inappropriate Howard in the Big Bang Theory, this is a completely different role for him, and after watching him, I can’t actually picture anyone else doing that character justice. It’s like that saying ‘It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it’, Helberg shines for his mannerisms more than anything else. His body language and facial expressions bring a lot of the humour this movie has.

As for the rest of the movie...I’m still not convinced. It’s just not the kind of story that normally interests me. The tone shifted about quite harshly in places, so whilst I was laughing at a clever one-liner, something quite moving would happen and I wasn’t really sure how to feel. That’s the only real thing I can fault though, so I’m just not sure why I only liked Florence Foster Jenkins, rather than loved it.

Still, I’m glad I gave it a watch, and I would definitely recommend it to you all. What did you think, if you’ve seen it?

Review: Sing Street (2016)

Sometimes, a movie just sneaks up on me out of nowhere, and takes me by surprise. That’s what happened to me with Begin Again (2013), now one of my favourite movies. Then, a Tumblr blog brought my attention to the song from Once (2007), Falling Slowly, a song I eventually walked down the aisle to on my wedding day. Both movies were written and directed by John Carney, now a legend in my eyes, so how Sing Street got released without my knowing is beyond me!

Connor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is having a rough time. His family life isn’t great, his parents (Aidan Gillen & Maria Doyle Kennedy) are struggling for money and arguing relentlessly, and to save money, Connor is forced to move schools. After a disturbing confrontation with the school’s resident bully, he finally makes a friend in Darren (Ben Carolan). Whilst chatting to Darren outside the school gates, he spots a beautiful girl. Determined to impress her, he tells her he’s in a band and needs a model for their music video. The girl, Raphina (Lucy Boynton) agrees, leaving Connor with the task of putting a band together and actually making some music.

The first third of the movie is spent introducing the rest of the cast as the band is formed, they’re a rag tag bunch, but highly likeable. Sadly we don’t hear much from a lot of them, but Eamon (Mark McKenna) helps Connor write the music  and the two have great chemistry together. This is the first major movie credit for a lot of the cast which is hard to believe at times, they’re all so talented. Mark McKenna stood out the most, but I couldn’t shake it from my head how much he reminded me of Corey Feldman from Stand By Me!

Sing Street is set in the 80’s, and obviously the music choices and inspiration is all gained from popular bands from this era. I was just about born in the 80’s myself, but never really was a fan of the music. It was off putting to begin with, but as the boys put together their own original songs, I got the same warm fuzzy feeling that I had with Once and Begin Again, and I loved it every moment after. The story isn’t new, but it’s done so well that comparing it to others is pointless, because Sing Street is better.

It’s just such a beautiful movie. Watching Conner and the gang’s person styles change as the movie went on, and some of the shots of Ireland were stunning. It made me realise just how beautiful the countryside, and even the villages themselves, can be. There’s a lot in this movie actually that made me feel warm and happy inside, and the ending did, too. In fact, I’m not even sure what happened, but once the credits started and stated that the movie was ‘dedicated to brothers everywhere’ I even shed a few happy tears. Maybe it was just the summer heat getting to me.

I’ve decided now that I’ll follow John Carney anywhere and everywhere, in the movie sense at least. That’s another soundtrack I need asap.

Review: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

Parody songs were a passion of mine when I was in college. I played Weird Al albums on repeat, and with the rise of YouTube, my friends and I had access to any and every parody song out there. That’s how we came across The Lonely Island, and our collective love for them is one of the things that kept us chatting after college was over. Jack Sparrow featuring Michael Bolton is a firm favourite in the group, if you’ve never heard it I urge you to go straight to YouTube now to find it. These guys are also responsible for Everything Is Awesome from The Lego Movie! Legends.

Anyway, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer are back, with Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, a movie shot semi-documentary style as a parody of similar movies by the likes of Justin Bieber, etc. The three guys used to be a famous musical trio known as The Style Boyz, known for their most memorable single ‘Donkey Roll’ which came with a dance just as catchy as Gangnam Style. Conner (Andy Samberg) let the fame get to his head, and disputes tore the trio apart, and that’s when Conner started a solo career and became globally successful.

The tone is set almost immediately. There’s a hologram on stage of Maroon 5’s Adam Levine dry humping another hologram version of himself, while Conner sings his hit single ‘I’m So Humble’. It’s just that crazy. It doesn’t stop at Adam Levine, either. I think it’s funnier to witness it yourself, but there are cameos from a crazy number of musical celebrities in this, mostly playing themselves and telling the camera about how Conner’s music inspired them. Another review I read warned not to look up the cameos, and I can’t stress that enough here. Spotting them is half the fun in this movie!

For my fellow British readers, there are a few jokes here that we just won’t get. I’ve actually been watching Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show religiously so when Conner makes an appearance on his show I couldn’t be more delighted, but most of us won’t see that significance. The one I really didn’t get was the CMZ segment, which I know now after looking it up was a parody of celebrity news site TMZ. Other than that, the laughs don’t stop.

There’s nothing I love more in comedies than the jokes that really push the boundary, where your laugh is half ‘this is hilarious’ and half ‘I don’t know if I should even be laughing about this’. That happened to me a few times, such as when Conner visits Anne Frank’s house. Remember the time Justin Bieber visited? Yup. This might just be worse.

Of course, you can’t have The Lonely Island feature in a movie and not have an amazing soundtrack to go with it. The songs are frequent and hilarious, but a few in particular stand out to me, and I’ve already listened to them far too many times (in private, of course). I’d like to pick out some of my favourite lyrics, but we like to pride ourselves on this blog of being strictly PG-13, so I’ll explain the gist of them instead. There’s a song about equal rights in which Conner frequently reminds everyone he’s not gay, there’s a song calling Mona Lisa an overrated piece of...poo, and of course, a song about a girl wanting to be ‘made love to’ just like the US Government ‘made love to’ Bid Laden. 

The plot is predictable of course, and the final third fizzles out a little bit, but the final performance more than makes up for it, especially with the addition of a cameo so amazing that Lonely Island fans everywhere will probably squeal, like I did!

Review: Frank (2014)

I was given a rare opportunity over the weekend recently. My husband said he wanted to watch a movie with me and order take-out, and I could pick any movie I wanted. Normally I can only coerce him with an Action/Crime/Thriller, but I was given free reign. Straight away I brought up my watch list and picked a movie I’d been wanting to see for a while, Frank (2014). Pizza was ordered, the movie was set up, and my husband asked me what the movie was about. Erm. I explained it to him in the terms that came to my head straight away. It went something like this:

So, Magneto wears a giant head on his head and calls himself Frank. He makes weird music with a band whose name I can’t pronounce. They need a new band member so General Hux joins them but he’s kind of terrible.

Safe to say, if it weren’t for the fact that the movie was already set up, I was going to have to put Taken on just to make up for this. Thankfully, all it took was Domhnall Gleeson tweeting about an epic cheese and ham toastie to bring my fiance back round again. Man, I could kill for a cheese and ham toastie right now… #nomnomnomnom.

The movie follows the band as they record their new album, and eventually find fame online thanks to Jon (Gleeson) tweeting updates, filming progress and uploading it to YouTube. They eventually get invited to play at SXSW, a huge creative event which excited me as I’ve actually been there! That excitement died a little when I realised they didn’t actually film at the festival, but it was still a cool moment.

It’s the band’s arrival at SXSW where the movie takes a sharp turn and we learn more about Frank (Michael Fassbender) and his struggle with mental illness. The second half is much darker, but it was quite a jarring turn around.

Frank is one of those movies where I’ve had to take a few days to even put my thoughts down in writing. It is, without a doubt, one of the weirdest movies I’ve ever seen, but I really enjoyed the dark humour aspect of it all. Frank’s ‘Most Likeable Song Ever’ and Jon’s moment with Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal) in the hot tub were some of the funniest movie moments ever, and I doubt I’ll forget about them. Actually, any moment where Frank voiced his facial expression was equally hilarious!

I appreciated the ending, and noticed that it almost ended the way it began with a certain scene that I’d have normally missed, but I don’t know how satisfied I am with the closing scene. It made me a little sad. That was short lived though, as the song ‘I Love You All’ was beautiful, and I’m playing it right now whilst I type this.

On reflection, I think I was mad at Frank for making me feel some feelings I wasn’t comfortable with, but now I’ve pondered it for a while, I can appreciate it for what it is. A quirky yet beautiful movie.

Review: Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

For me, 2015 was the year that I managed to ignore a horrendous of amazing movies, which I obviously regretted when I finally got round to watching them months later. Since that realisation, I’ve been making a better attempt at watching the movies I’ve been recommended. I mean, they’re recommended for a reason, Allie, get your head in the game! I can’t for the life of me remember why, but I know I read about Inside Llewyn Davis a while ago, and with 2 cast members of The Force Awakens in it, I couldn’t pass on it any longer.

Inside Llewyn Davis follows the life of a folk singer named, oddly enough, Llewyn Davis, played by Oscar Isaac, as he struggles with his life both personally and professionally. His week starts off badly when he lets himself out of a friends apartment, and ends up locking their cat outside, along with himself. Have you ever tried to carry a cat around anywhere? I struggle to carry mine from room to room, so Llewyn gets a seal of approval from me for managing to carry this cat from one side of New York to the other without losing it. Well, kind of.

It wasn’t until halfway through the movie that I truly appreciated it for what it was, a journey, and at that moment my brain did a thing and I realised that it was directed by the Coen brothers! I’m such a big fan of Fargo and The Big Lebowski, and although Inside Llewyn Davis is much more toned down than these, the feeling is still there. I’m now on a major Coen hype, and if anyone could recommend another movie of theirs, I would really appreciate it.

Another thing I loved was the music. i’m not a folk/jazz fan at all, couldn’t be much further from it, but the night that I watched this I couldn’t sleep because I had the only two lines of ‘Hang me, oh hang me’ that I could remember playing on loop in my head. I had to actually find it on YouTube and play it just so my mind could rest. in fact, let me find it for you now.

What fascinated me the most was after watching the movie, I read more into it, about the cat named Ulysses and the fact that actually, Llewyn is this cat, on that adventure. It’s taken me 2 weeks to actually finish this post, because it’s played on my mind ever since, and if you follow us on Twitter you’ll see, each day that passed I loved it a little more and more.

If you haven’t watched Inside Llewyn Davis yet, I strongly recommend that you do, and if this post isn’t enough to sell it to you, let me try you with this. you get to watch Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren and Justin Timberlake sing a song about outer space. it doesn’t get much better than that, folks.

Thursday Movie Picks: So Bad It's Good

It's Thursday! Time for It's Thursday! Time for Movie Picks. If you're new to this, Thursday Movie Picks is a fantastic series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit.

Some days, I just can’t handle a mind-bending thriller, a romance guaranteed to make me sob into my cup of tea, or an action that’s going to make my knuckles go white. Some days, I just need to watch something fun, and I don’t mean a comedy. I mean a movie that is undeniably terrible, but so darn enjoyable to watch! That’s what we’re celebrating this week, movies so bad they’re good.

I’ve actually got a theme within the theme this week, and it’s all to do with soundtracks. I’m a sucker for a catchy tune, and so there are a few movies I can think of that were of course terrible, but still brilliant to watch because of the soundtrack!

Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)

What is essentially an extended episode of the Hannah Montana TV series, there was absolutely no need for this movie. I’ve never watched any of the show, but I was on a long plane journey, and as a Miley Cyrus fan at the time, this seemed a reasonable way to pass the time. It was terrible of course, predictable in every sense with a plot only a 13 year old could love, but coupled with a cheesy soundtrack, I loved it! I’ve even got a couple of the songs in my iTunes library...in fact, both Jenna and I love the song Hoedown Throwdown! 

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)

I almost feel pretty bad for including this, but it’s only after becoming a real movie fan that I’ve come to realise The Pick of Destiny was not a good movie. It's goofy in every sense, I mean, unless cock pushups are an actual thing (guys?) but the soundtrack that goes along with it is so good! This was my college gang’s favourite movie for a long time, and if you start playing anything by Tenacious D we all get fuzzy nostalgic feels.

Descendants (2015)

Do you love Disney? Do you want to see some of your favourite characters completely butchered on screen? Want to be filled with self loathing as you find yourself tapping your feet to an impossibly catchy tune? If your answer to any of these is yes, I’m a little worried for you, but well done for your honesty. It’s clear that Descendants is made for the younglings, which gives me no excuse for actually sitting through it, but I still find myself humming the tune to ‘Rotten to the Core’. I’ll grab my coat...

Review: Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

Hey there, pitches! Gosh, it feels like I’ve been waiting for Pitch Perfect 2 for a long time. Not longer than most mind, I only watched the original last year, and it was the first ever film we reviewed on our blog. You can check that out here. 

Pitch Perfect 2 starts off with our beloved Barden Bellas making fools out of themselves in front of the US President, mainly thanks to Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson). Now they need to work from the bottom to regain their respect and fame, and try to win the World Championship which no American team has ever been able to do. Beca (Anna Kendrick) is trying to juggle her duties as a Bella and an internship at a recording studio, and we’re also introduced to a new Bella, a ‘Legacy’ by the name of Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) who has a natural talent for songwriting.  Did anyone else find the story oddly familiar, like it was the original but with a new Beca?!

I was unsure about the new addition to the Barden Bellas, especially as she stole so much screen time from Beca, but I grew to love her in the end. The story was predictable without ruining any enjoyment, and didn’t feel like a ‘copy & paste’ job to me. The jokes we loved in the original were taken one step further this time, especially John Michael Higgins, sexist remarks. There were huge gasps of horror followed by laughter to most of his one-liners at the cinema I was at.  I was a bit disappointed to be honest, I had read a review beforehand which said it was as good as the first but I didn't think so.  Although, it was still really funny, the story wasn't as good for me (a little bit too far fetched!) and it felt like that had to make up story so they could bring in past characters who would have graduated since the first movie.  Don't get me wrong, it was still brilliantly likeable and I will love having Pitch Perfect marathons with the girls and a bottle of wine but the first one is still a winner for me.

The songs and the mash-ups were just as good this time round, although I thought we could have done with some more recent hits. My favourite performances were put on by the German group, Das Sound Machine, I want the soundtrack just for them! They scared the crap out of me, they were just so aggressive and reminded me of Ben Stiller's dodgeball team! Beca’s attempts at comebacks when the two groups were confronted were just hilarious, and I’m sure I read somewhere that Anna Kendrick improvised most, if not all of those.  She was hilarious with her comebacks - another reason to lurve her...

As much as I loved Pitch Perfect 2, I haven’t made my mind up yet whether it’s better than the original. The sequel feels bigger, everything that worked well in the first has been improved on, but it just doesn’t have the magic of the original, but I guess that’s the problem with all sequels. I think they’re on a par for me.

What I will say (without ruining it) though is that the ending scene was awesome, and actually gave me goosebumps. Oh, and that mid-credits scene was amazing! So glad I stayed for that.  The ending made it for me, if it hadn't been as good as it was I may have been seriously disappointed but I came out smiling and happier for watching it so that can't be a bad thing!

 

Review: Whiplash (2014)

Along with The Theory of Everything, this was my most anticipated Oscar tipped movie so I had to see it before the ceremony on 22nd February.  I'm definitely making the most of the Unlimited Cinema Card this month!! (For those not UK based, a local cinema here in the UK does an Unlimited card that means you can go as many times as you like for a monthly fee!)

When I went to see The Imitation Game last November, we had trailers for almost every other Oscar bait films. It was the first time I saw American Sniper, and realised I held my breath throughout the whole trailer. Typically, I missed that one and won’t get a chance now till the DVD release. When I saw the Whiplash trailer however, I laughed. So did the rest of the cinema. How could they make a drama out of a kid playing drums?

Andrew (Miles Teller) is a promising drummer who is attending Shaffer conservatory, the best music programme in the US.  He is hand picked by Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons) the most respected professor at the school for his studio band.  Fletcher shows no remorse for bullying and intimidating his students to be great which pushes Andrew to near obsession to be the best.

I think I held my breath for this whole film, I was on the edge of my seat willing Andrew to succeed and for Fletcher to give him a break.  I was so involved in the movie, I very nearly shouted at the screen, cheered and clapped along with Andrew's journey, I felt like part of it myself.  I thought I knew where the story was heading from one scene to the next and I was promptly proved wrong, it twisted and turned on itself, by the end I had no idea what to expect. 

According to IMDB, Whiplash is one of the lowest grossing movies ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It’s also part of a huge debate as to whether it should be classed as an Original or Adapted Screenplay, although the Academy are adamant that it’s Adapted. I can see the story from both sides really. Whiplash started out as a short movie at Sundance (and won), and that’s the reason it’s fallen under Adapted Screenplay.  But after some further research, I found out that they only released the short film in order to generate funds to make the feature length movie - the plot thickens....

JK Simmons was incredible and truly terrifying as Professor Fletcher, I was willing Andrew to do better to avoid him having to glare at him or throw something.  He had me on the edge of my seat and didn't falter from his alter-ego for even a second.  Miles Teller was a close second but nonetheless brilliant (it's hard to believe he only learnt to play the drums for this film!!), his steely determination to be the best is portrayed through (literal) blood, sweat and tears makes you sympathise with him to a certain degree but his inability to see beyond his success limits his likability.

Is there an actor out there who looks exactly like Miles Teller? I could have sworn I’d seen him in a few things, but after checking out his filmography, apparently I must be thinking of someone else (he was in That Awkward Moment?!).  Anyway, I thought he was brilliant in this. Although I was rooting for him, he wasn’t a completely likeable character. He’s lived in the shadow of his brothers all his life it seems, and his parents don’t understand his aspirations as a musician. His treatment of Nicole was uncalled for though, and he’s too cocky. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants however, which is admirable if nothing else.

J.K. Simmons on the other hand, absolutely blew me away. He’s the only actor who’s ever made me laugh out loud, and then sh*t my pants in the same minute, if you’ll excuse the expression. Terence is a character you love to hate. Every scene he was in, I was holding my breath waiting for him to just explode. Simply amazing!

The songs used throughout the movie, in the studio band, were perfect for this.  Caravan particularly showed how hard Fletcher could be on his students, lining up three drummers to sweat and bleed for hours to reach the 'his' tempo - the whole scene had me on edge waiting to see if he was going to snap or just keep making them play.  It was worse that a horror movie!

Without ruining the ending for anyone, the credits took me by complete surprise and I could help but cry ‘Noooo!’ because I just didn’t want it to end. I wanted to see the reaction to what had just happened! Whiplash is one of the most intense films I have ever seen. I might not have been able to appreciate the musical academic parts, but it was still one hell of a ride.

Brilliant casting and a twist and turning story of fear, pride and the will to succeed no matter what.

Review: Begin Again (2013)

Another long haul flight, another list as long as my arm of films to review.  I wanted to do this one first because it was the one that I enjoyed the most.  I honestly didn't know what to expect, I didn't know much about the storyline which probably helped as I had no expectations.

I do remember hearing about Begin Again, but I don't remember it ever actually coming out in the cinema! I must have missed it, but no matter, because Jenna very kindly gave it to me on DVD last month. After promising I would watch it the very next day when I got home, I of course lost track and only watched it the other day!

Begin Again starts with two timelines of Dan (Mark Ruffalo) and Gretta (Keira Knightley) and how they both ended up in the same bar on the same night.  Dan, a down and out drunk who is slowly losing his business and Gretta a heartbroken musician ready to leave New York for good.  They come together on a new music project that might just change their lives.

I loved this, it didn't have a huge storyline or crazy twists but I was engrossed throughout, I found myself smiling through the whole film.  For me, this is one of those films that I will buy on DVD and whenever I feel a bit down I'll put it on and I'll smile.  I was thrilled when SPOILER ALERT at the end they didn't bring the relationship between Dan and Gretta to a romantic level, they kept them as friends which is rarely seen but fits perfectly with this film.  Its not a love story, its not a drama it's something all it's own.

I'm not a huge music junkie, but there are some films that I have loved for their soundtrack alone, and Begin Again is one of them. Seriously, as soon as I can get my hands on this one it will be blasted out of my car's speakers on my way to and from work every day. I was tapping my foot throughout every song and just couldn't stop smiling.

Knightley's pouting bothered me, but it always will, in any film, I just have to look past it. Aw, I know she winds a lot of people up but I love her! You really should dislike Dan but the more you get to know of him, the more you want him to succeed and be ok.  The movie has a real charm and humour that pulled me in and kept me there until it was over, at which point I didn't want it to be over. 

I felt a bit 'meh' about Mark Ruffalo before, but he absolutely won me over in this. He starts out as a complete loser and a bit of an ass, but his character really develops as the story goes on and I was so happy with his outcome.

Surprisingly, the biggest downfall for me was James Corden, now I am a HUGE James Corden fan so for me to admit this is a big deal!!  I just felt like his character, Steve, a school friend of Gretta and her ex Dave, was only there to provide narrative on Gretta and Dave's failed relationship, instead of showing them in maybe flashbacks they use his stories to explain things.  It's just didn't feel like he brought any other benefits to the game.

Yeah, I don't even think is was anything to do with James Corden himself, but his character's apartment had more use than his character itself I thought, and then he just sorta disappeared all together!

Overall, I really loved this (if you couldn't already tell) the music is great and the story is just so lovely that you can't help but smile.  I dare you not to love this!

I'm a sucker for romcoms as a guilty pleasure more than anything, but Begin Again was a truly great film, and even my fiance tore himself away from his gaming to sit with me and watch it!

Oh, how have I not mentioned Adam Levine yet? How did I not know he was even in this film before his beautiful face blessed my screen? He may have been a naughty boy, but I'll let him off.

1984-a-thon: Footloose

What seems like forever ago, Jenna and I received our first non-automated email in our Flick Chicks inbox from Todd at Forgotten Films, inviting us to take part in his 1984-a-thon. We both jumped at the chance and Jenna quickly snagged up Footloose for us, which was a great choice.  

I have been meaning to watch Footloose properly for years and this meant we completed another Blogathon and covered a film on the Top 250 - win win!

I knew the film of course, and the song too, although I don't know many of the lyrics and tend to just sort of make them up. This was a great opportunity to watch a classic film for the first time, and also an excuse for Jenna & I to meet up as we haven't for ages!

For anyone who really doesn't know what Footloose is all about, a teenager raised in the city called Ren (Kevin Bacon) moves to the small town where popular music and dancing have been banned after a tragic incident years ago. Ren struggles to fit in at his new school, and also lands himself in a heap of trouble as he tries to shake up the rules.

As I suspected, Footloose was full of cheese. The group dance scenes in particular, where everyone in the group seems to know the same routine, and they're all in perfect synch. Those moments were great though, and you just can't help put smile and tap your feet along with the songs. My favourite scene is captured above, where Ren teaches his friend how to dance. He's just hopeless but it's a great comedy moment.  This was by far my favourite scene and probably the only point I really smiled in the film.

I think I may have enjoyed this more if I'd seen it back when it was new (difficult though being born in 1985), I just found it a little too cheesy and hard to watch it some places.  A point both me and Allie said at the time and have mentioned here is John Lithgow, I love him in everything I have seen him in, until now!  His long winded scenes put me to sleep, they were so boring, it was lucky this was a Flick Chicks movie night or I may have turned it off at one point.

Kevin Bacon's Ren was exactly what I expected, great!  He has charisma, the moves and was the highlight of the film.  Shame as much can't be said for Ariel, the preachers daughter, played by Lori Singer.  Singer may be a good actress (I haven't seen her in anything else to judge) but the character was horrid, she was a spoilt brat who always gets what she wants and I didn't buy into her as the love interest at all.  I would be surprised if anyone liked her let alone fell in love with her.  Sarah Jessica Parker's Rusty would have made a better lead in my opinion! 

For me, the only real thing that let the film down was John Lithgow's character, Rev. Shaw Moore. His scenes had far too much dialogue and I lost interest in his scenes very quickly. All in all though, Footloose was enjoyable to watch and I'm glad that Jenna chose us for it.

It's definitely the classic that is expected and had I not been annoyed at the preacher and the preachers daughter in every scene they were in, I would have probably scored it higher!

Thanks to Todd at Forgotten Films for inviting us to take part in this huge blogging event, it's been brilliant to see all of the entries that have been flooding in this week and I hope we can take part in something similar again in the near future! Ditto ;-)