Review of Grease (1978) by Jacob M — 23 May 2014

PART OF MY CLASSIC VIEWINGS OF 2014 LIST.

"You can't just walk out of a drive-in!".

Over the years, the one Hollywood musical that seems to have the massive fanbase over anything else is definitely Grease. Ever since I was a kid, people have been wanting me to see this 1950's nostalgia flick, but then, I absolutely hated musicals and had absolutely no interest in seeing such film. Now older, and The Movie King, and with a better appreciation and respect for the genre, I had better interest in seeing Grease, due to its massive fanbase (ranked #20 on AFI's greatest musicals of all-time list). While I do not believe that Grease is by all means a great film, I admit I had a seriously fun time watching it.

Originally a long-running Broadway smash, Grease tells the romance of 1950's teens Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) during the "summer nights". But once school starts, Sandy has to go back to Australia and Danny returns to Rydell High School as a member of the bad-boy clique the T-Birds. Part of the group, Danny has to act cool and bad for his friends, but SURPRISE! Sandy decides to stay after all and attends the same school, but immediately breaks up with Danny due to his "bad boy" status, despite her friendship with Frenchy (Didi Conn), member of the Pink Ladies. But despite the complicated romance of the two amidst pep rallies, drive-in, dances, and even a drag race, by the end of the year, it seems like the two won't ever come back as a real couple, until Sandy decides to go all-greaser...

Let me get one thing clear: the story is ridiculously bad, sometimes up to the point of downright cringe-inducing awful. The acting of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, while not the worst acting in the world, is just pure 70's cheese. There's also some random unnecessary subplots that didn't really advance the film too much, such as Pink Ladies leader Rizzo (Stockard Channing) fearing she's pregnant, losing her reputation in the process, and Frenchy dropping out of school for hair styling. Plus Didi Conn was extremely annoying in the role too that I had no sympathy for her character.

With all that criticism, you're probably wondering why Grease gets an 8/10 from The Movie King when the story is cheese. Well, for one, it does a good job at recreating teenage rebellion of the 1950's. While there are things in that era that was considered immoral for the times (which is literally nothing today), I felt the film captured that nostalgic spirit of a time long gone, filled with great rock-and-roll, fast cars, and simple fun. Even though I didn't enjoy the actual plot of the film, I understand why many people love it so much, cause I believe a lot of teens today can relate to the characters' problems in the film. Even in 2014, issues like teenage pregnancy and high school dropouts still exist in today's teens, and while it's something I wouldn't support, I can see people with that experience finding Grease as something to relieve the pressure.

And that leads up to my next part of my liking of the film, and that's the soundtrack. With the combination of 1950's rock-and-roll mixed in with a little 1970's disco vibe, Grease has some of the most ridiculous, catchy songs I've heard in a musical! it helps that the film starts out with the awesome title song performed by Barry Gibb (of Bee Gees fame) cause that sets the stage for some delightfully catchy music. While there are some that suffer the cheese factor (I'm looking at you, "Beauty School Drop Out", performed by Frankie Avalon portraying Frenchy's "guardian angel"), I have to admit that I was hooked to the beats of the music and was rocking along with the cast and having a fun time watching. Highlights in my book are "Summer Nights", "Greased Lightning", "You're the One that I Want", and my personal favorite, "We Go Together." I bet you that the first two lines of "We Go Together" will be stuck in your head instantly upon first listen. That's the addictive power of Grease.

While it's certainly not a great film, there's undeniably cheesiness in the romance and the storytelling, and the acting isn't pure art (which was something I wasn't expecting for a film like this), it's recreation of teen life of the 1950's, its mass appeal to modern audiences, and the pure awesome soundtrack makes Grease a fun musical experience in my book. Just don't go out in the middle of the street belting out to one of the songs. They're so catchy it can possibly happen to someone watching the film. WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK!

"We go together.

Like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong.

Remembered forever.

As shoo-bop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom.

Chang chang changitty chang sha-bop.

That's the way it should be.

Wah-oooh, yeah!".