Sunday, March 8, 2015

Family Movie Night: Grease

Title: Grease
Director: Randal Kleiser
Original Release: 1978
Choice: Purple Penguin's
My Overall Rating: 3 stars out of 5
via Amazon
Before John Hughes started cranking out teen classics in the mid-1980s, there was Grease, a box office smash and one of the iconic films of its era.  Set in a 1950s California high school, good girl Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) and bad boy Danny (John Travolta) are in love, though they treat each other horribly for much of the story.  Their colorful friends - the Pink Ladies and the T-Birds - aren't much help.  As far as a plot synopsis goes, I can't possibly do better than Tom & Lorenzo.

Our daughter had never seen Grease before but her interest was piqued when I was playing the Broadway soundtrack in the car.  As I have written before, musicals tend to have either strong music and mediocre story (My Fair Lady) or the other way around (A Chorus Line).  Rare indeed is the classic that can pull off both (take a bow, West Side Story).  Grease falls solidly in the My Fair Lady camp.  On the strength of its songs - "Summer Nights," "Greased Lightning" ("That was cool!" the Purple Penguin said), "We Go Together" and many more - Grease will live forever.  While the '50s imagery and the farcical concept of teen life are still fully capable of capturing the imagination of adolescent girls (one of my current middle school students is obsessed with the movie), Grease was never a threat to win a Pulitzer.

My Wife kept reassuring the girl that high school isn't really like what's portrayed in the film.  For one thing, I pointed out, there's no way so many of the guys at her school will be able to dance.  Apart from the music, the dancing is very strong, led by Travolta, of course.  For the second year in a row (Saturday Night Fever came out in '77), he was the perfect casting choice in a movie where his feet alone could have carried the film.  The next Gene Kelley?  Not a chance.  It would be 16 years before he got another role with comparable cultural impact.  21 years after that, he made an ass of himself at the Oscars.  Oh, Danny...

As for the rest of the cast, Olivia Newton-John is there for her voice and her looks, not her acting.  Most of the supporters are strong, especially those cast in the few "adult" roles: Eve Arden as Principal McGee, Sid Caesar as Coach Calhoun and Joan Blondell as Vi.  The class of the operation is Stockard Channing, admittedly a bit old at 34 for the part of Rizzo.  Already an accomplished stage actress, her stock soared after Grease and decades of acclaimed work followed, rewarded with a Tony and three Emmys.

There's no shortage of dirty jokes but I think most of them went over our 11-year-old daughter's head.  She didn't even complain about the kissing.  The dance-off story required some explanation afterward but otherwise, she enjoyed the movie.

It's amazing to think Grease is nearly 40 years old.  I have no doubt that 40 years from now, it will have lost none of its charm.  The story will still be dumb but "Greased Lightning" will always be cool.

26 comments:

  1. Oh I remember seeing this film at the theatre and loved the music but I thought the ending was sad. A good girl can only keep a man if she turns into a slut. The film is fun but it is no Singing In The Rain

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    1. Singing in the Rain is one of our family favorites. I'd say it comes down on the Chorus Line side of the spectrum.

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  2. I so agree with @Birgit.
    It was a fun movie till the end. The slut or looking like one ending was so bad.
    Why didn't he clean up somewhat oh noooooooes, that would be unthinkable.
    Man gud let me get my club.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. He tried. He even earned a varsity letter in track...

      Like I said, story is not the selling point here.

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  3. My daughter and I have enjoyed that movie many times. I don't think the ending meant she'd turned into a slut. You don't just a person by what they chose to wear. My favorite part is at the beginning when Danny and Sandy are giving their description of their summer love to their respective genders. After that I loved the Greased Lightning set in the shop.

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    1. The story's all about the difference between the self within and the self without. Take a step back and you realize they're all full of it, projecting a public front that masks the insecurities everyone has at that age.

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  4. I may be the only one on earth who values this film for the same reason I value "Mary Poppins". It captures the two main characters at the acme of their youth and preserves it with a freshness that can be visited again and again.

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    1. You may be onto something there. Like Travolta, Julie Andrews had a two-year, two-movie career zenith that cemented her place in film legend and, like Travolta, she never quite attained the same heights again.

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  5. Maybe it will be like "It's a Wonderful Life" - timeless.

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    1. Maybe. But the story of It's a Wonderful life is much better. Gotta stick with it to the end but oh, what an ending!

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  6. Such a classic movie! I have it on DVD and rewatch it ... pretty rarely. :) But I definitely have a soft spot for this movie!

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    1. For me, the soundtrack will always be tied to memories of growing up with my sister.

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  7. I remember going to see Grease and all the tween girls in the audience screamed every time he danced. It was annoying.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. I believe it! Today, my daughter was asking what else Travolta had done. In trying to convey just how big he was at the time, I said he was sort of that era's Bruno Mars. "Who's Bruno Mars?" she asked.

      I'm not sure I've ever been more proud of her...

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  8. I loved this movie...brought back memories, need to see again.

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  9. Back in the good old days of classic tv entertainment Grease lightening was as Cool as ever, still is. The words in this movie they are very interesting indeed. Theres a Glee version released.

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    1. I should check out the Glee version. I'm trying to arrange one of the songs for an a cappella group. The Glee version could be helpful.

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  10. I love Grease! I have watched it a million times and even own the soundtrack. It is a movie that has a lot of appeal for sure. How awesome that you got to watch it with her for the first time. :) Glad she enjoyed it
    ~Jess

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    1. It had been many years since I'd seen it - high school maybe?

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  11. Some movies don't age well but are still timeless like this one. At least it's aged better than Travolta's hair.

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    1. I know all about problem hair. He has my sympathy on that one.

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  12. I loved this movie as a child and it will always have a special place in my heart, but overall the years it has begun to pale in comparison to other musicals I adore. You make a good point about your 11 year old though; I can't believe how the sexual nature of this movie slipped by throughout my childhood. Then there's the comparisons to other movies from the pas. I find that as an adult, if you like musicals, you are either a Grease fan or a West Side Story fan. I like them both, but the social implications of West Side appeal to me more now than when I was a kid.

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    1. The music for West Side is in a higher league, too.

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  13. I saw it once and really liked it, even though I'm not big on musicals. I'd love to see it again.

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    1. It's a good musical for people who don't like musicals. The songs aren't particularly show tuney.

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