Special Coverage Pop Culture Classics (The EW 1000)Summer MusicSummer TVBox Office Game
  • --

Credits

With: Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer
--
By Jennifer Armstrong
Jennifer Armstrong
Most of the time, Jennifer Armstrong is indulging her TiVo habit, watching and rewatching ''Alias,'' ''The O.C.,'' and ''Newlyweds.'' The rest of the time, she's writing about TV for EW

The Special Collector's Edition is exactly as we want it to be, with its perfectly choreographed '80s-feel-good-film routine, its cocky maverick who bucks the system and makes changes for the better but also learns a few things about himself, its extended gymnastic dance in an empty warehouse. There's a reason this made Kevin Bacon's career: Like Lori Singer's hot minister's daughter, we're taken with Bacon's Ren McCormick from the moment he improbably sets foot in that ultrareligious, dance-free town ruled by John Lithgow's glowering holy man. And we are with him through it all: the game of tractor chicken, the climactic city council meeting, even the burgundy tux in the final dance.

EXTRAS Bacon's commentary track is worth a spin. (Among the shocking details: He is not a real gymnast.) The docs are great too—particularly part 1, which includes interviews with folks from Elmore City, the real Oklahoma town that inspired the story. And let's hear it for the boy who played Ren's rhythm-challenged sidekick, Chris Penn, emerging from obscurity for this special occasion!


Posted Oct 01, 2004
 

Add Your Comments

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. You must have javascript enabled to submit a comment.
--
Change/Edit your grade
characters remaining