'Footloose' Was Trending In Ontario On Tuesday & All Thanks To The Patio Plan

Where's Kevin Bacon when we need him? You probably didn't expect classic '80s movie Footloose to be trending online in Ontario in June 2020, but here we are. After Ontario's patio ban on singing and dancing was announced on June 16, plenty of residents couldn't help but compare reality with the iconic musical drama.

2020 has been weird enough already, but it sure isn't stopping.

As Ontario is reopening more regions by the week right now, patio season is getting into full swing. In most places outside of Toronto, at least.

But there's a catch.

The Ontario government introduced a new ban on singing or dancing while you're enjoying a drink or a bite outdoors.

Medical experts have backed up the decision, saying that showing off your vocal cords or dancing shoes is a much more likely way for COVID-19 to spread than simply talking.

But for many residents of the province, the no-dancing-no-singing ban is also eerily reminiscent of the backdrop of Footloose.

In case you don't know, the movie is about a teenager named Ren McCormack who moves to a small city that happens to have a ban on dancing in place, something he aims to overturn while he's there.

In fact, so many people agreed that the two were so hilariously similar that they took to social media to share their thoughts, and the movie's title has been trending on Twitter all day long as a result.

"oh doug ford thinks i won't be hitting the rudest dougie in the corner of barney's this summer? this isn't footloose nerd," reads one tweet. 

"Netflix should be seeing a spike in Footloose viewings in Ontario," reads another.

We don't know about you, but we're heading off to watch it after this.

Ford isn't the only politician to make something go viral.

Remember when Prime Minister Trudeau's "speaking moistly" comment got a lot of attention on TikTok and creators ran wild with his words?

Canadians love being nostalgic, too. Like when they honoured former retail chain Zellers by getting it trending on Twitter back in May.

As for this Footlooseesque ban, it seems like everyone is feeling as though they've travelled back into the '80s.

Paging Kevin Bacon!

Anyway, off we go, to sing "everybody cut Footloose" to ourselves at least a thousand times in the next day or so.