Grease was a musical stage show published in 1968. A sort of response to the hippy generation if you will. Where everyone else was getting high, listening to Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones and protesting against the Vietnam War, along came a couple of guys who decided to write a musical about the more simple days of their youth. A time where all you had to worry about was getting laid and having fun. Grease pays homage to the early days of rock & roll, when teenage promiscuity finally began to no longer be seen as taboo and when high school was more of a paradise than a burden. Grease proved to be a big hit on the broadway but it wasn't until 1978 when it was adapted into the infamous film version that it really became a household name.

As musicals go, Grease is a relatively simple story. 18 year old Danny Zuko (played by a then 23 going on 24 year old John Travolta) is ready to go through his final semester at Rydell High School in sunny California after a blissful summer with the girl he clearly loves, Sandy (Olivia Newton John), or is he? When he is back with his leather clad friends Kenickie (Jeff Conaway), Sonny (Michael Tucci) and Doodie (Barry Pearl) he tries to appear "cool" around them by behaving less sensitively towards Sandy and in doing so hurts her feelings and so she ditches him. To cheer up, Sandy is invited to a girls night in with the amiable Frenchy (Didi Conn), the sassy Marty (Dinah Manoff), the geeky Jan (Jamie Donnelly) and the sardonic Rizzo (Stockard Channing). It's there we find that Rizzo isn't too fond of Sandy at all. Eventually, Danny manages to get back with Sandy, but as the school year progresses, Danny's sexual advances prove to be a little too much for Danny and she ditches him AGAIN. Sandy is then left going through the dilemma of whether or not she should let go of her inhibitions and decide whether or not Danny is the one that she wants. I think a lot of people will know the answer to that question.

And that is part of Grease's charm, you can always see that happy ending just around the corner and it's damn well entertaining ride on the way. None of the musical numbers too long or overdone, the plot is tight and never gets too tangential with any of the characters (with the possible exception of Rizzo's subplot about her possible pregnancy), the pace is rapid (there's probably not one boring moment in the film) and it makes fantastic use of its considerably low budget (for a Hollywood musical anyway). It's also good of screenwriters Allan Carr and Bronte Woodard to add a bit more spice into the screenplay. The dialogue in every scene is dripping with innuendo and naughtiness but it always comes off as being more quirky than tasteless. It was a good way to update it.

Now for the bad stuff. Grease is full of actors who can't sing and singers who can't act. John Travolta doesn't have a lot of vocal charisma or range. The high notes don't come off particularly well in "Summer Nights" or "You're The One That I Want" and he sound as if he's struggling. Stockard Channing sounds a little flat singing "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" and "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" and while she performs her role as Rizzo perfectly, at the age of 30, she is more than a little bit too old for the part and it really does show. Olivia Newton John on the other hand has a lovely voice. She sings with so much passion and sincerity that it's hard to believe she's such a bad actress. The score hasn't dated particularly well either. It fails to live up to the tin pan alley pop style classics in films such as Singin' In The Rain and West Side Story. It's also nowhere near as romantic or as touching as those films, in fact it's not very romantic at all. Danny and Sandy couldn't have less chemistry on screen if you got Steven Seagal and Madonna to play them. What brings down this film even more is the superficiality of it all. The idea of the macho guy getting his hands on the sweet girl isn't very appealing to many and difficult to relate to for even more.

Still, while this film might not tug your heart or bring a tear to your eye, it's a very upbeat and very entertaining film and will probably remind you of your own youth at one point or another. After all, it's that kind of nostalgia that has caused this film to be ingrained into our culture. As a musical, it good but no classic, as a teen flick, well, you're better off watching this than American Pie and you'll probably find it a lot funnier too.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4