Let's hear it for the boy.

let's give the boy a hand.

Chris Penn died today, and so did another little piece of my childhood. He was only 40 years old - only five years older than I am. He played Willard in Footloose, and the montage where he "learns to dance" would not only go on to be the most memorable montage of any sort on film for me to date, but it also rocks. Still.

I was a HUGE Kevin Bacon fan at the time (and remain so, just for this movie, although I'll never forgive him for "Tremors" and have never heard a Bacon Brothers song) and watched this movie just this past year like three times over on a VH1 "Movies That Rock" marathon. The scene at the end where they all - including Ren and Willard - dance at the prom is still one of the most joyful moments ever committed to film. I never followed Penn's career after Footloose, either. This film was quite enough, and I love that these guys live for me, captured as they were on film in 1984. I have no idea what took Chris Penn, although I can surely guess, but MAD props to him for Willard. It mattered.

Ren: You like Men At Work?
Willard: what men?
Ren: Men at work.
Willard: well where do they work?
Ren: No, they're a music group.
Willard: well what do they call themselves?
Ren: Oh no! What about the Police?
Willard: What about 'em?
Ren: You ever heard them?
Willard: No, but I seen them.
Ren: Where, in concert?
Willard: No, behind you.

Willard: You know what it is, you've got an attitude problem.
Ren: Oh I've got an attitude problem?
Willard: Yes and I'm not the first one that's noticed it. I mean we're not stuck in the goddamn middle ages here. I mean we've got TV. We've got Family Feud. We're not stuck in Leave It To Beaver land here.
Ren: Well I haven't noticed a wet T-shirt contest in town yet.
Willard: Yeah but I'm waiting. Patiently.

Willard: "Ariel likes trouble, and everyone around here knows that you're t-r-u-b-l."

Comments

[Denise]

Willard totally mattered. I'm going to call my daughter, who is 22, and we're going to talk about Willard as we have hundreds of times since Footloose came out. She so loved this movie, and so loved Willard. In some ways, the man she married is like Willard. Naive and sweet and little "clunky" with a huge heart.