(All this time, I thought a “Pink Lady” was a drink, and a “T-Bird” was a car… Such an idiot…)
CAST: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Didi Conn, Jeff Conaway, Eve Arden.
DIRECTOR: Randall Kleiser
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some rather cool song-and-dance numbers straight ahead…
Due to my having to incorporate THE ALLNIGHTER into last week's Hybrid Genre Week, my DVD Pimp suggested GREASE as a replacement review for this week. Thanks, dude. You are actually good for something, after all. Besides serving as a Guinea Pig for new brands of edible body oil. Ahem.
You know how sometimes you can love a movie as a kid, and then watch it many years later as an adult, and be all like, “GODDAMN, WHAT THE FUCK WAS I SMOKING?” Let’s just say that some films don’t stand the test of time. There are a few from the 70’s and 80’s that particularly make me want to cringe now that I view them, in hindsight, with the (arguable) maturity of an (even more arguable) adult. Truly makes me want to contact all my childhood friends and acquaintances on Facebook and say to them, “Hey, remember how I said I really liked CYBORG and HAMBURGER: THE MOTION PICTURE? Well, my parents used to throw me against the wall when I was a baby to get me to fall asleep, therefore I didn’t know what the fuck I was talking about. So please disregard.”
There are other movies, though, that are awesome no matter what decade you watch them in. A prime example is our latest review, GREASE. The plot isn’t exactly WAR AND PEACE: during the summer before senior year, 50’s greaser Danny Zucco (John Travolta) and 50’s good girl (Olivia Newton-John) meet at a beach resort and have a hot-and-heavy affair. As with all summer fuckfests, the impending arrival of September faces them with some hard realities. Such as the prospect of fucking other people. Which, frankly, is a rather appealing one.
With promises to keep in touch (hahahaha – good one), Danny and Sandy part ways. Danny returns to his hometown and starts senior year as Head Cock of the Block. More specifically, he’s the leader of the T-Birds, who are a bunch of guys who: (1) wear leather motorcycle jackets; (2 ) slick their hair back with a vat of grease (wonder where that title came from); (3) run with a gang of popular chicks called The Pink Ladies; and (4) generally behave like colossal assholes. So far, it looks like senior year is going to be a run-of-the-mill one for both the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies…
Until an unexpected student shows up and throws a huge monkey wrench in the curriculum. Well, at least in the T-Bird and Pink Ladies’ program. It’s none other than our sweet ingénue Sandy, who somehow has turned up at the high school as a new enrollee. I don’t have to tell you this is pretty much the average guy’s nightmare: having your Summer Fling show up on your doorstep just when you thought she was gone for good. At least five thrillers have been made out of that premise.
In this case, though, Danny is not perturbed in the least by Sandy’s unexpected (to say the fucking least) arrival. He’s actually quite stoked, which is our first sign that he’s pussy-whipped and possibly brain-damaged. But can Danny and Sandy resume where they left off? Will the social pecking order of high school wreak havoc on their relationship? Specifically, can a goody-goody make it with a T-Bird? What do Danny and Sandy have to do to prove their love for each other? I mean, besides singing it from the rooftops, that is?
Lord knows there’s enough of that in this fucking movie…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: I have to be honest and say that I’m not really a fan of musicals. Even films like TANGLED, which I loved, tended to bore me during the song routines. Which is why it is quite remarkable that GREASE never fails to engage from beginning to end – song numbers and all.
I am as enthralled by this film now, as the first time I saw it as a young child. It helps that the cast headed by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John is talented, vibrant, and energetic. They are clearly having a blast – and it is infectious. You can’t help but join in on the fun.
It is also quite significant that all the songs are terrific – not a single dud among them. Had these pieces been less effective, GREASE would’ve been nowhere near as great as it is. The stars truly aligned with this film. The song and dance sequences are some of the most dynamic put to celluloid, and may get you a-groovin’ along with the beat yourself.
But, don’t take my word for it. The best way to sing the praises of GREASE is not to write about it – but to listen to it. See below:
