From the living room, I could hear a familiar guitar riff, and before Kenny was punchin’ his card I knew “Footloose” was on the TV. Somehow I was able to tear myself away from Facebook to go check it out. Apparently, the crack-like addiction that Facebook induces can be trumped by simply hearing the “Footloose” theme song, which technically makes “Footloose” the methamphetamine of 1980s film musicals. Who knew?
Even though I have seen “Footloose” about a bazillion times, I really had no recollection of what the opening credits looked like. I assumed it was just your typical aerial (no pun intended) shots of Ren and his mom driving down that long road through the middle of nowhere, or perhaps a close up of an angst ridden Ren looking despondently out the car window, and maybe some reaction shots of mom and Ren upon entering Beaumont for the first time. How could I have forgotten about the dancing feet montage? Shot after shot of glorious, so 1980s it hurts, dancing feet. The montage might actually be as good, or dare I say better, than the film itself. I know. Blasphemy! You’re saying to yourself, “But, Kim, it can’t POSSIBLY be better than Ren’s Angry Warehouse Dance!?! Can it???” Well, HERE it is. You can judge for yourself.
Be on the lookout for these priceless moments (please note that the following minute markers are only approximate, due to the fact that I literally could not tear my eyes away from the dancers to look at the counter):
0:29 CAPEZIO’S!!!
1:14 Bass Weejun loafers with tassels are fabulously highlighted by tucking the pants INTO the socks. This guy completely embraces the 80s fashion ideal of androgyny.
1:20 A pair of really well broken-in Tretorns ( best shoes ever), and the first appearance of leg warmers, which have been stylishly gathered at the ankle, and pulled down to cover the heel of the shoe. Fashion sense defies common sense once again.
1980s Film Crossover Moment: This particular look was first cultivated by the dance students in the movie “Fame” and later, the dance students in “Flashdance.” As, I’ve mentioned before, in 80s cinema, there was a lot of dancing.
2:01 More leg warmers. It was very cold in the 80s. We didn’t have global warming, we had LEG warming.
2:09 A pair of BITCHIN’ white scrunchy boots, again, accentuated by tucking the jeans into the boots and not over them, as God intended.
2:14 The third, and final, leg warmer appearance. They definitely saved the best for last, because these are rainbow striped.
Bonus 1980s Film Crossover Moment: This pair of happy feet perfectly recreates Jennifer Beals’ Maniac Workout Dance.
2:25 An ad for Nike. Blatant product placement was what the 80s were all about. What? The producers had to find a way to pay for all that coke, and that shit was expensive.
(Just in case the fancy-schmancy hyperlink doesn’t work, you can click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtr_m8l3CHY)
Now, altogether, everybody cut, everybody cut footloose!
