Red Wing native plays bad boy in 'Footloose' remake

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“If my son’s in it, it’s gotta be better,” K C Flueger said of the 2011 “Footloose” remake.

“Footloose” fans across the nation can take his word for it or decide for themselves when the movie hits theaters Friday.

Flueger will be among the crowd at Red Wing Cinema 8 that night when he kicks back to see the newest version of the 1984 dancing phenomenon.

“I love the original one,” he said.

The Red Wing resident won’t know until Friday which version he prefers, but the fact that his 27-year-old son has a large part in the 2011 film is bound to give some points to the remake.

Patrick Flueger, a Red Wing native, portrays Chuck Cranston, the female lead’s boyfriend.

“He likes edgy parts,” K C said. “He’s the bad boy in this and he likes to do those kinds of parts.”

Patrick — as Cranston — is a redneck teen living in small-town Bomont, Ga., where dancing and rock music are banned. His girlfriend, Ariel Moore, is played by professional dancer, country music singer and actress Julianne Hough, though she isn’t so lucky to have him.

“He’s an abusive boyfriend. He does hit (Hough),” K C said of his son’s character, adding that Hough’s off-screen boyfriend Ryan Seacrest had a difficult time watching the scene where she gets roughed up.

Both the town and the young couple’s relationship are shaken when rebel and new kid Ren McCormack brings some dance moves to Bomont that catch Moore’s eye.

K C said Patrick doesn’t dance in the movie but, regardless, he said his son had a lot of fun on set since he got to work with so many young people.

As McCormack starts to steal the heart of his girl, Cranston gets into altercations with Moore in the movie. But off screen, Patrick had only nice things to say about Hough when he talked to media at the “Footloose” premiere Oct. 3 in Los Angeles.

“Julianne is lovely. She works really hard,” he said. “To be perfectly honest, I was kind of inspired by her.”

Patrick has appeared in various movies in the past, including “The Princess Diaries,” “Brothers” and “Mother’s Day.” Still, K C said he never really gets used to watching his son on the silver screen.

“It’s an odd feeling,” he said.

Patrick joins Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell and Kenny Wormald among actors in the remake. The original “Footloose” cast featured Kevin Bacon, John Lithgow, Lori Singer and Dianne Wiest.

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