Review of Grease 2 (1982) by Harry W — 01 Apr 2014

Completely unimpressed by the lack of originality and overrated reviews of the awful musical film Grease, I figured Grease 2 couldn't be any worse, and it did feature a young role for 3 time Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer so for some reason I just went ahead and watched it.

From the mere intro of Grease 2, it is instantly apparent that the film is going to be bad. It breaks out into a senseless dance sequence with a song that isn't catchy and a bunch of teenagers prancing around. But then again, this is the exact same crap that Grease presented to viewers in 1978.

Grease 2 is a bad idea from the start because a sequel to a musical film is never a good idea. That is why the relatively unknown sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show entitled Shock Treatment was so unsuccessful, and so a sequel to Grease is not a better idea. I hated Grease anyway, so I pretty much just went in with hopes that I could tolerate this one more than the its predecessor which had its hype drilled into my head by all the Australian morning news shows boasting about how we should be proud of Olivia Newton-John's success when it was from a 36 year old film which is dated and crappy. But it was my opinion that with Michelle Pfeiffer cast in the lead role it couldn't be worse than Grease.

The story in Grease 2 is slightly better than its predecessor because the love story is slightly less repetitive, generic and overused, although it still is of rather poor calibre. Grease 2 is a thinly written film with a dull script and another cheap plot which it milks for all it can yet pretty much comes up dry the whole time. And all the colourful costumes and scenery as well as the fine cinematography is not enough to mask the fact that underneath, Grease 2 is too formulaic and dim-witted to satisfy anyone but the most die hard fans of Grease, but the paper thin writing and weakly sketched characters as well as a distinct lack of originality was not enough for me.

I didn't like the songs in Grease because I found that they were generic and repetitive, so of course I found that to be the case in Grease 2, only that they were even worse this time around because the songs were retreading old material without a hint of originality or creativity in them. I didn't like any of the music in Grease 2 except the song "Cool Rider" which was rather catchy and sung very well by Michelle Pfeiffer despite not being so well written. The music in Grease 2 is unforgettable and generic, but at least it wasn't as irritating as the music in the first Grease.

In the end, the only really appealing aspect of Grease 2 is its cast, and while it doesn't save the film from collapsing under its own mediocrity it at least makes the screen a bit brighter when its stuck under stiff and dark direction from Patricia Birch who in her one effort as a film director turns weak material into misguided cinema.

Michelle Pfeiffer's character is a superior character to Olivia Newton-John's in Grease because her character is an independent woman who doesn't rely on a boyfriend for social standards or happiness, while Olivia Newton-John's character was one that suggested to women everywhere that you should sacrifice who you are and everything you believe in for some man you think you love during your teenage years. Michelle Pfeiffer's performance is better than Olivia Newton-John's for a lot of reasons, with a lot of them being that her singing voice is excellent and sung way better than the screechy high pitched lyrics that Olivia Newton-John stuck into the ears of viewers in the first Grease. Michelle Pfeiffer's youthful charisma and dedication to the part manages to lighten up the screen in Grease 2, and it proves early on the talented actress she would later go on to become.

Maxwell Caulfield's rising career was ruined by Grease 2 which was a shame because he is a strong cast member. He doesn't have the same charm that John Travolta had, but his character isn't as stuck up or arrogant as John Travolta's was so it was easier for me to tolerate him. I found that I was able to sympathise for him and that his intentions as a man of romance were less generic and more meaningful, if a little melodramatic at times. Also, his singing voice has a certain quaint sophistication to him. So Maxwell Caulfield is a good choice for the lead in Grease 2.

Christopher McDonald is an underrated actor in my opinion, so it's good to see him taking on a role in Grease 2 in his youth because his natural acting charisma and his ability to act stuck up well manages to benefit his characterisation of Goose McKenzie well. He is a notable addition to the cast.

And it's good to see Maureen Teefy taking on another role after her great performance in the musical classic Fame. It gives her a chance to show off her charismatic skills as a young actress as well as her beautiful singing voice once again even though she is working with weak material and low quality song writing. She is a charming face in Grease 2 and makes the experience more entertaining.

But while Grease 2 boasts the strength of a dedicated cast and a charming performance from a young Michelle Pfeiffer before her international breakthrough as an actress, Grease 2 has the same essential problems of its crappy predecessor without the kinetic energy that made it iconic. And as a person who avidly hated the first Grease, I can say that at best, Grease 2 is only slightly better than Grease because the music wasn't ear piercing, the story wasn't as painfully generic and the leads are a lot more likeable this time around.