Time to cut loose!
Fresh off the 40th anniversary of his iconic film Footloose, Kevin Bacon ensured that one group of high school students had a year they’d never forget.
The 1984 movie, in which Bacon’s character Ren McCormack moves to a small town where dancing is outlawed, took place in the fictional setting of Bomont, Utah. And while the town was made up, the school where the film was shot is a real place: Payson High School in Payson, Utah. The institution is moving to a new location at the end of this school year, so the students cooked up a splashy plan to celebrate — by getting Bacon to return to the place where Footloose began for the school’s last-ever prom.
Their efforts turned into a full-on campaign, which included recreating scenes from the movie in videos for TikTok, posting on social media with the hashtag #BaconToPayson, and even putting on a full production of a Footloose stage musical. It took a ton of work, which one of the students leading the charge at Payson described to the TODAY show like this: “Basically, this whole year has been the Footloose year.”
After nearly an entire school year of pounding the pavement, the students finally got what they were campaigning for: This weekend, Bacon paid a visit to Payson High School, much to the delight of the local community and fans from nearby towns.
Back in March, the TODAY show visited Payson and surprised the students and teachers with a virtual visit from the Footloose star. “I have been so impressed with everything that’s been going on there with this crazy idea to get me to come back,” he told an audience full of cheering students. “The movie and Payson High School was a big part of my life and I’ve been amazed at the work that all of you have been putting into this with the musical, the flash mobs, and the recreations. It hasn’t gone unnoticed by me.” It was then that he vowed to return to the school before the end of the year.
On Saturday, Bacon came to the high school, where he took pictures with students, received an honorary Payson High School diploma, and of course, stopped by his old locker.
But his visit was about much more than promo for the Footloose anniversary: As part of his deal to come to Payson, the locals partnered with SixDegrees.Org, Bacon’s nonprofit, to put together and distribute 5,000 Essential Resource Kits to people in need.
In a speech at the high school’s track, Bacon said that he was struck by the students’ determination. “I think it’s great to see that kind of commitment to anything,” he remarked. He thanked the students “for the commitment to giving back to your community.”
When Footloose originally premiered in 1984, it was the seventh-highest-grossing film of the year, bringing in $80 million at the domestic box office. In the four decades since, it’s endured as a beloved cinema classic — and you’ll still hear the iconic song of the same name by Kenny Loggins at birthday parties, family reunions, and just about anywhere there’s a radio.
Bacon noted the movie’s staying power in his speech. “I also think that it’s amazing the power that this movie has had to just kind of bring people together, and connect on the basic ideas there are behind the movie — you know, standing up to authority sometimes, and to being forgiving to people who are not exactly the same as you, and for standing up for your own freedoms and your right to express yourself, and for having compassion for other people.”
