Footloose (1984) review

High school student Ren (Kevin Bacon, who was in his mid-20's at the time) moves from Chicago to the tiny town of Bomont where dancing, rock and roll and Kurt Vonnegut are all forbidden, he gets into fights with his classmates ... and then becomes involved with Ariel (Lori Singer), whose father Rev. Shaw Moore (John Lithgow) considers himself the morality police.  While it's always good to condemn both gossip and censorship (and remind everyone that Slaughterhouse-Five is a classic), it's pretty barren in terms of substance (religion being weaponized by zealots) and the characters are thin ... plus the scenes where Ren and a classmate play "chicken" with tractors (set to "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler) and Bacon goes spastic in a flour mill are unintentionally hilarious.  It ends rather anti-climactically too: the preacher comes to his senses, they stop burning the books and Prom Night is saved.  Despite its failings and critical backlash, it did very well at the box office, proving yet again that one should never underestimate the American public's eagerness to pay money to watch people dance.