GREASE

Ok, despite that I'm still preparing a series of reviews for October, I wanted to at least fit one review for September, and I figured that since September is considered to be the going back to School Month, I've decided to review this classic musical movie set in High School during the 50s which is...



Who hasn't seen or heard of this movie or in the very least hasn't heard at least one song from the movie? This film is a cultural phenomenon in terms of musical movies that reflect High School. Throughout my years of Middle School and High School, people (especially my theater friends) went nuts over this movie, even the people that I know who weren't into Musicals took a bit of liking to this movie. Hell, even when Disney's annoying musical "High School Musical" was big at the time and had a massive audience, most people still stood by "Grease" as the best High School related Musical. I myself have also started to take a liking to the film "Grease" as much as everyone else who loved the Musical. However, during my final year of being a High School student, I suddenly came to the realization that "Grease" really wasn't as great as people build it up to be, nor was it a great musical in general. Even when I watched the film through my School years of being a teen, something about the film just didn't feel right. So despite my enjoyment for the musical during my years of being a teen, and despite the popularity that surrounds the film even to this day, what are the things about the film that don't make the film as great as it was build-up to be; and what are the things that made the film so popular and still have an on-going fan base (even though the answer to that last question may seem a little too obvious)? Well before I start the review, let me just warn you that incase if you haven't seen the film this review WILL HAVE SPOILERS! I really hate giving everything away when I review a movie. Just last month I had to break that Spoiler Free rule so that I could review "Psycho Shark" to state my opinion on the some of the major stuff that brought the film down, and I simply can't make a Spoiler Free review with this film since most of the stuff that I hate about the film are the solutions to the character's problems. So with that warning out of the way, ON WITH THE REVIEW!

The film "Grease" stars John Travolta from "Saturday Night Fever" fame, and Olivia Newton John that play two teenagers from the 50s named Danny and Sandy who've met each other while on Vacation, and have to part since Sandy has to go back to Australia. The two later on wind-up meeting each other in High School since Sandy's parents decided to stay in America, however, Danny is part of a gang and must act mean and cool to Sandy since he's with his friends, which tares Sandy apart. This results with Danny trying to get back with Sandy for the rest of the film. The film does have other subplots (Which I will get too), but this is the main plot of the film, and as nice and simple as the premise is so the film can have plenty of time for singing, dancing, jokes, and 50s references; the plot for the whole movie is sadly the film's weak spot!



When you get down to the films actual premise between these characters piece by piece, it's actually a really bad and not at all a well thought out plot. Ok so the two have a romantic summer vacation together and sadly have to leave each other as the two sing about how much they miss each other to their friends. When they finally meet each other, Danny is extremely happy but after realizing that he's with his gang friends, that means he must be mean to her. Ok, look I get what the film is trying to do and I know Danny shows some regret after Sandy leaves, but I'm sorry that scene really felt awkwardly forced in to give the film a conflict! I mean Danny, you're seeing a girl that you actually have feelings for, who you thought up until now that she's gone forever, and just because you're with your wisecracking friends you feel the need to insult her? I know when we're around other people (Especially with a group of friends) we can be different people, but YOU'RE SEEING A GIRL THAT YOU THOUGHT THAT YOU'D NEVER SEE AGAIN! At the very least if he cared so much about her could he have just asked to be excused by his friends and privately talk to Sandy to tell her why he acted this way? He does later on in the film, but he still had the chance earlier on. Plus you could still give a conflict during that moment that I thought would work by having Sandy still not accepting his apology due to how rude he was, to later on having Danny see the boy that she's dating to have him try to be a jock like him to win Sandy back! Sadly however, that's not the case with this film's story, and what we get is a painfully forced and awkward change of personality moment just to give the film a conflict!



Alright so when Danny FINALLY comes to apologize to Sandy about his behavior, Sandy doesn't accept him back and starts dating a handsome looking jock to make Danny jealous, despite knowing that he's a dumbass. Danny tries to do athletic and sport related activities to win Sandy back and it works! Wow what a very shallow and bitchy way for Sandy to treat Danny. To be fair, Danny's behavior towards her was just as mean and cold, but Sandy, when a guy that you still have some feelings for is apologizing for something that he knew was wrong and wants to try again, you instead decide to push him off and make him jealous with a guy that you don't care that much about just so that Danny can prove his love to you by changing his image and become an athlete like the guy you are dating? That's pretty mean. Also the guy that Sandy is dating doesn't at all feel like a character, but more of a tool to just to make Danny jealous and for Sandy to leave and go back to Danny, kind of like Mary Jane's fiance in "Spider-Man 2" for example.

 

So the two are FINALLY back together, but Danny has trouble keeping their relationship distant from their friends since he doesn't want to ruin his cool and tough guy image. The two go to the dance together and Danny sees a girl that he used to date which makes Sandy jealous. I really don't understand why Sandy would be, I'm sure he's dated other girls before Sandy, why should this one be such a problem for Sandy especially when considering that Danny is trying to keep himself away from her to dance with Sandy! It doesn't matter since the girl that Danny used to date has Sandy taken off the dance floor to dance with Danny which makes Sandy jealous, and yeah I can understand Sandy's reaction since Danny doesn't run to comfort Sandy. Despite Danny telling Sandy constantly how much he cares for her and how much that the dance with him and the girl that he used to date is nothing, Sandy still can't get over it, mostly because that the two dated and that him dancing with her poses as a threat to their relationship. Danny gives Sandy a ring to show that he does care for her, which does please Sandy, but when Danny decides to try to have sex with her thinking that she wouldn't mind since they're together, Sandy leaves him AGAIN!




Ok, so is Danny going to apologize to her again, or try to do something to make-up for it? No, actually Sandy does something. She sees the error of her ways which is not because of how she used to toy with Danny's emotions by making him jealous, but its really because she’s a nice girl who can't take men being mean to her; can't have sex with guys that take advantage of her; and doesn't feel accepted with the group of girls that she hangs-out with who constantly make fun of her and tease her for her nice girl image, except for one friend in the group (Even though she does join in the fun when the leader of the gang of girls makes fun of her). So instead of finding a new group of friends or try to talk to Danny one last time, she gets a make-over by looking and dressing slutty while having a tough and mean attitude as she smokes which she could never do (And for good reason); and she and Danny are together, as well as being accepted with the group of girls that used to make fun of her. What kind of message is that to teens who are watching this movie? Are you telling me that if you don't fit in with a crowd of jerks or if you and your lover don't get along because of your differences, you have to stop being true to yourself and what you stand for and change your image and personality all together to be accepted? That's a horrible message! In fact, once Sandy changes for Danny while Danny tries to change for Sandy, when they see each other and have their musical number, Danny acts like his old Danny self, while Sandy keeps her new personality that won't get her far in life and neither will Danny's. The crazy thing is Danny doesn't even tell Sandy that she shouldn't change for him since he liked her for who she is. He likes the new Sandy better because her hot image and attitude suits him a lot better than her cute and nice girl image. Wouldn't the ending be better if the two got together and decided to still try hard to work on their relationship making it like what it once was when they first met on the beach without changing who they are and instead working with their differences? I'm not saying my idea for a different ending is a good ending after seeing the amount of times they broke-up because of their differences, but at least it would be more plausible than this terrible ending.



While the love story between our two characters are poorly written and have an awful bad message which seems like the only weak point that this film has, the other subplots are actually just as badly written as the film's main premise. The film's major subplot is the relationship between Danny and Sandy's friends Rizzo (Stockard Channing) and Kenickie (Jeff Conaway). The two at the beginning of the school semester start dating; then in the middle of the semester Rizzo and Kenickie start to break-up and start to make each other jealous by dating people at the High School dance and the people they're dating are a former couple from a rival gang who are also coincidentally trying to make each other jealous. Later on, we find out that Rizzo is pregnant after having off-screen sex with someone who isn't Kenickie (Who I originally thought Kenickie was the cause of the pregnancy) and the whole school finds out because one of Rizzo's friends accidentally told someone that soon became passed around information. Kenickie offers to help Rizzio with the baby, but Rizzo pushes him away because she doesn't want him to see the emotional side of herself. In the end, it turns out the pregnancy was a false alarm and the two willingly get back together. Ok first off, what was the point of the characters making each other jealous, as well as their dates making each other jealous, there's hardly any humor in it aside from the reveal, and the dates being part of a rival gang doesn't seem to be of any importance since there doesn't seem to be any fuel added to the fire to this rivalry, nor does the making each other jealous subplot go anywhere either.



The big question for me though in this subplot is what was the point of the whole pregnancy subplot? Is it a way for Rizzo to have to an emotional song to show us who she really is, that's pretty weak and painfully written in considering that her emotions are all let out in one scene, to having her go back back to being her old bitchy self in the next scene we see her in. The crazy thing about her emotional musical moment is it happens after she sees Sandy who gives Rizzo her support and is willing to help her despite how Rizzo has treated her. Rizzo could have sung this emotional song about herself to Sandy knowing that she's an honest and pure girl that she can actually trust unlike her friends, while also showing how bad she feels for treating her in the past. But instead she just brushes her off like everybody else, says "Thanks" which I guess makes them friends but doesn't feel as powerful as it should or could've been, and sings alone. What really makes me mad with how pointless this subplot is, it doesn't make Rizzo and Kenickie’s relationship any stronger, she's not pregnant, everyone is happy, and Rizzo looks and acts like the course of events that was going on hasn't changed her a bit! Wouldn't it be a lot better if the film ended with them getting back together to try and deal with raising a baby since Kenickie does want to help, as well as having a scene with Kenickie telling her that he doesn't care if she's not really as tough as she makes herself out to be? If executed right, it actually could be plausible. At the very least could she at least open up to Sandy with her song, that would at least bring some sort of character development into this poorly written subplot. However, all we get is a very brief interaction between Sandy and Rizzo that doesn't feel effective, and a false alarm pregnancy that makes this subplot utterly pointless, nor do the characters seem to change from what they went through. If there's anything that we can learn from this subplot is if you're in trouble where your ego and rep maybe at risk of letting out if you try do something about the situation or get any support from the people that care about you but don't know the real you; push away your friends, do nothing that would put your ego at risk, and hope that it turns out to be nothing because after all you don't want to lose your ego, and considering that our character is being labeled as something much worse than she already makes herself out to be makes the moral to the subplot worse than it already is.



Other subplots that this film has, while not as bad as the film's main premise and main subplot still don't at all feel like that much thought went into them. For example, we get a subplot with Sandy's friend Frenchy (Didi Conn) who has a subplot of leaving High School to go to Beauty School, but later on when we see her again, we find out that she didn't like beauty School and dropped out and now questions what she should do and in the same scene when we find out all this, she meets her guarding Angel (Frankie Avalon) who tells her to go back to High School. While the moral of finishing your studies in High School is actually the only good moral that this film has, the story didn't feel of any importance to the film's actual plot, nor feel as fleshed out as the other plots that this film has and was really just there to have that song. Also what are you talking about that Frenchy did badly in Beauty School; she made Sandy into a really sexy babe with those really tight looking pants?! Another subplot that I didn't feel that much thought went into it is the race against the rival gang. The whole build-up to this big race against this rival gang seemed a bit downplayed into the movie. We know there's a gang taunting them with a fast car and we see the characters remodeling a car, but it seems like they're more focused on remodeling the car to be a fast and sexy car to pick up chicks as shown in the song "Grease Lighting'" than a car being entered into a race against this rival gang; and when this big race enters the plot it just feels like it came out of nowhere since there's little tension building-up to it.



Now as much as I pretty much bashed this movie, you think I hate this film and don't find it to hold up at all! No, if you can excuse its badly written plot and awful morals, it's actually still a really and I mean a really enjoyably entertaining film! The performances from our stars despite looking like they're way too old to be in High School are still a lot of fun to watch. John Travolta and Olivia Newton John are both very charming for their roles especially when they're together despite how bad that this love story is written; Stockward Channing and Jeff Conaway are cool as these tough leaders that lead their own gender gang; and the actors playing the characters in both gangs themselves are just as fun and memorable as our leads (especially Didi Conns). The strange thing I find about their performances is despite how badly written their character's story-arcs are written along with them doing some pretty mean things to each other; there actually is a likability to these characters! I can't exactly put my finger on why they're so likable after all the stuff that I just mentioned, but I guess maybe its because the performances are so good and the chemistry between the actors are so much fun to watch and even at times cute, that you start feeling an attachment to the characters themselves, despite how badly written the film is! Outside of our main group of characters, even the supporting characters are just as great, even the characters that play a minor part in the film's story, like the hyper cheerleader, the nerd, and even the boyfriend that Sandy briefly dates still give a memorable performance for how colorful they are. Of course the most memorable supporting characters in the film is the School staff. Eve Arden as the Principal, and Dody Goodman as her secretary make for a perfect comical duo, as Arden tries to play things straight, while Goodman keeps messing things up; and Sid Caesar as the Coach is perfect for the role and stands out, even though it's not one of his funniest performances.



Another aspect that makes the film so wonderfully fun and entertaining is the humor and it’s over exaggerated comical look of the 50s. Yeah, I'm not going to act like that this film isn't an over the top exaggeration of the 50s because it clearly is. Even the guy who wrote the musical said the film's adaptation of his musical is a campy portrayal of the 50s which he wasn’t pleased about. When I look at film's depicting the Rock N Roll era where teens pretty much ruled America that are comical and at times silly but still have a dramatic and a realistic if not accurate feel to the 50s, I think of films like "American Graffiti" and "The Wanderers". This film aside from being a Musical is completely over the top even during the scenes when there's no music and when serious stuff is happening. I think the only real emotional drama we get is during the musical numbers that's it. Also while the film's look of the 50s is there, I still can't help but feel like I'm watching a modern 70s recreation of the 50s, while films like "American Graffiti" made me feel like I was actually watching that recreation of that era come to life. I mean, my goodness, everything about the way the film depicts the 50s is very cartoony and just in general has a very modernized 70s vibe to it.



Still while the film doesn’t make me feel like that I actually launched into the 50s, you can tell that it wasn't at all the film's intention. Aside from the musical element of the film, just by watching the animated opening credits that has a 50s look and a famous singer from that era singing the film's theme song, while being very over the top and comical looking gives you a perfect idea that the film's portrayal of the 50s isn't meant to be a realistic depiction of that era and for what it is, it actually is a lot of fun. The references and humor to the 50s culture and the myths that went on during that era along with the colorful costumes, the over the top performances, the Musicals numbers, and 50's style set pieces are so cartoonishly over the top, and inviting that the film pretty much creates its own world and environment much like most Musicals. One of the things that I've noticed in terms of the film's humor after watching this film throughout my years of being a teen is while a great majority of the film's humor revolves around its exaggerated look of the 50s; it also has a great majority of dirty humor as well. Just the amount of sexual innuendos, talk about sex, suggestive behavior, and Sandy looking whorish and sexy; while funny and appealing to its target teenage audience, I can't help but my find myself being a bit disturbed that parents actually let their kids watch this movie thinking that it’s a family friendly movie when it really isn't. That's not really the film's problem though, it's more of a common misconception that people have with this movie. One other thing I want to quickly talk about before moving on to the major element that makes the film so popular is the climatic race. As out of nowhere as the race is, it's actually a really cool sequence. It's almost like watching a 50s style chariot race from "Ben-Hur", it's just really awesome, especially with the music, shots, and edits, creating an on the edge of your seat thrill of making you hope that Danny wins the race and get both cars. Plus, despite that we don't find out about a big race until the scene happens, I still wanted to see the gang that Danny's in challenge these obnoxious jerks in some way, and while I personally prefer a rumble, a race seems to work better within the context of the film. I still do think that there should be some sort of build-up to this climatic race instead of it just happening, but it's still a sequence that's so awesome that it really doesn't matter how well the race was build-up to be. At the very least we do sense the rivalry between both gangs, so I guess that's better than nothing.

 

If I had to pick one element from the film that really and I mean really holds up, it has to be the songs. Hands down, no contest or argument what-so-ever! These song and the dance sequences are literally some of the best song and dance sequences that cinema has ever put on the big screen, and no matter how many times I watch this movie, these song and dance sequences pull me into the fun that this film has with them, as well as even having me sing along to some of these catchy as hell songs! I think the most memorable song from the film that people love to sing together is the song "Summer Nights" as Danny and Sandy tell their friends about their relationship during Summer Vacation, which is not only a fun song to sing, but really ties into the story perfectly giving you an idea about their personalities and their relationship with their friends, as well knowing what else they did when they first met. The catchiest song in the whole movie that's so popular that you can still hear it on the radio is the song "You're The One That I Want" when Danny and Sandy finally come together, and despite how much I cringe at the message and the fact that Sandy keeps her new slutty image as Danny keeps his bad boy behavior as he loves the new Sandy better; the song is so catchy and the sequence and interaction between the two actors is so much fun to watch, that it's no wonder why people seem to willingly dismiss the fact that Sandy changed herself into something that she's not and shouldn't ever be. Outside of our two leads singing together, the songs that they sing solo are just as great! The song's that Sandy sings about her love for Danny which are "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and the reprise of "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" are so beautifully sung by Olivia Newton-John that it's really enchanting. Even when she's singing about changing her nice girl image to a bad tough chick, despite how much her decision to change depresses and upsets me, instead of me cheering for her and being happy for her decision as the film intends the scene to be, I still find myself enchanted by how beautiful and energetic Newton-John's voice is. As much as I find myself loving Newton-John's singing, out of the two romantic leads, I find myself more impressed with John Travolta's singing voice. I knew this guy could dance, but I didn't know that he can sing too, and when I hear him Elvis it up in (In my opinion) the best number of the film "Grease Lighting'"; to hearing him sing about how emotionally torn-up he is about the break-up between him and Sandy as he sings in front a big movie screen at a Drive-In in the song "Sandy"; I can't help but find myself being totally blown away by his voice while also feeling his emotions. Even if his singing voice was dubbed, I still find myself being blown away by the song and the energy that Travolta puts into his reactions and movements.



Outside from the singing from our two leads as well as the songs that they have, the rest of the cast and the songs that they are given are just as wonderfully fun and memorable as you remember them! The song's that Stockard Channing sings as Rizzo are not only great, but Channing's singing voice and emotions are what make these songs so great. While her song and performance for "Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee" as she makes fun of Sandy at the sleepover is really fun and catchy, for me, her best performance is when she sings "There Are Worse Things I Could Do". As badly written as her subplot is and the fact that I would love to see her express what she's singing and feeling to Sandy; it is still an emotional and powerful song and performance that gives you great insight of the character and what she's feeling. What really gives this film its 50's touch despite how comically over the top it is, they got a few famous stars from that era to sing in this film. The film's title song that appears in both the opening credits and end credits are sung by "The Four Seasons" lead singer Frankie Valli, and the music and Frankie Valli's singing voice along with the images that appear on the screen as the song plays is really fun and catchy and knows how to bring you both in and out of the film. You also have former teen idol Frankie Avalon as the angel that tells Frenchy to go back to High School in the song "Beauty School Dropout". Yeah Frenchy's plot is not at all relevant to the film's plot at all. Actually you can cut that plot and the film won't make a huge difference. However, there are two things that make me not care if it’s relevant to the plot or not. First of all, I really adore spending time with Diddi Conn's character since she is fun and cute. The second and main reason why I don't mind how irrelevant Frenchy's subplot is, is how awesome the "Beauty School Dropout" sequence is. While the costumes look fun for actors playing the angels as they sing in this heaven like set, as well as the song having the only good moral in the movie; what really makes this sequence so wonderful is Frankie Avalon himself. He completely owns this scene with his charming and smooth singing voice. I seriously get chills every time I hear his voice, that's how much I freaking love this number. If that's not enough 50s related guest appearances for you, the next and last musical guest in the film is what really helps give this film its over the top look of the 50's which are the famous over the top 50's style band "Sha-Na-Na" as they sing numerous songs at the dance, including the famous "Born To Hand-jive" song and dance sequence. Can't get any more over the top with the 50s than that! As for the song "We Go Together" that closes out the film with all the main characters singing together, despite the elements that bother me about the film's moral; it's still an awesomely catchy song that ends the film on a very upbeat note.

So that's "Grease" and as bad as the two main stories and morals are which do weigh the film down a bit, it still holds up as a really fun musical movie. The performances from the cast are so great that you do feel a strong attachment to them; the film's over the top and campy look of the 50s does create a really fun world that may not be a completely accurate or realistic look of the 50s, but doesn't feel as insulting as a couple of other films that rewrite an era in history; and the song and dance numbers hold up so extremely well that I honestly can't get enough of them! If you can excuse the bad plot and morals, you will indeed find "Grease" to be one of the most enjoyably fun musical movies that you'd ever see that will have you completely entertained from beginning to the end of the end credits!

RATING 4/5