Based on the stage musical that preceded it by several years -- and that's currently one of the longest running productions in Broadway history -- "Grease" the film opened in 1978 and went on to become the biggest grossing movie musical of all time. Re-released theatrically for its twentieth anniversary and now arriving on home video, and sporting a revamped soundtrack, it's not hard to see why.
Still as fresh as it was two decades ago -- which is easy to do when the subject matter concerns a lightweight, period piece -- "Grease" features a fun cast, great music, and a non-taxing story. Although its whimsical approach was -- and probably still is -- decried by many stage and movie critics, you can't help but enjoy the film, and only the most hardened of viewers won't like this feature.
In 1978 and hot off his success in TV's "Welcome Back Kotter" and his first big film, "Saturday Night Fever," actor John Travolta was the "next big thing." Exuding tons of charm and a streetwise attitude that compensated for regular smarts, Travolta inhabited Danny Zuko like the role was written for him and is one of the reasons for the film's success.
The film also features Olivia Newton-John who, in the late 70's, was a big international pop star. Although a little old for the part, she perfectly fit in as a high school senior and her great singing voice certainly didn't hurt her attempts at getting the role. It's also fun to see the performances from cast members who later become better known, such as Stockard Channing (Oscar nominee for "Six Degrees of Separation), Jeff Conway (who later appeared on TV's "Taxi"), and Lorenzo Lamas (TV's "Falcon Crest" and "Renegade"), along with older stars such as Frankie Avalon, Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, and the popular (in the 1970's) retro-50's group, Sha-Na-Na.
Regarding the film's artistic merits, one shouldn't carefully scrutinize it since a) it's not meant to be a serious musical (like today's Broadway megahits) and b) it would fall apart like a cheap suit if inspected too closely. Needless to say, the characters are all caricatures of what people were like -- or at least the popular notion of what they were like -- in the 1950's. The plot is simplified to its most bare-bones structure and loosely follows the boy meets girl, loses girl, gets girl back scheme, and offers few, if any surprises. Toward the end, a nationally televised dance contest consumes a great deal of screen time and does little to move the story forward.
Even so, it's those, and the rest of the film's choreographed musical numbers -- some of which were added especially just for the film -- that make the movie work. Standouts include "Greased Lightnin'," "Summer Nights" (a perfect, superficial examination of the differences between how men and women see the same events), "You're The One That I Want" and the Oscar-nominated "Hopelessly Devoted To You." Those songs -- while not always perfectly fitting in with the time period -- helped to sell millions of copies of the soundtrack. When combined with the winning performances from Newton-John and Travolta (who sings his own numbers), both transport the movie beyond its overall flimsy construction.
While musical purists (as in the Broadway types) probably cringe when they hear the numbers or see the film, most everyone else will enjoy the production. Designed to be nothing more than pure bubblegum pop, it's a fun, toe-tapping diversion that showcases a nifty performance from Travolta and is fun to see again and again.
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