Grease came out in 1978, the year I turned nine. My Mum took me to see it at the cinema, and I enjoyed it so much, that I dragged her back for a second time. Little did I know, that nearly twenty-five years later, it would still be a hugely popular film, and one of my won children's favourite movies.
All those years ago, I was swept away by the romance of it all, its almost fairytale qualities. Danny – a good looking American guy, with dark slicked back hair, an impressive pout and a charisma all of his own. Sandy – a blonde, innocent, fresh-faced Australian girl. They met on holiday and had a lovely little romance, only to be driven away, back to reality, separated by thousands of miles… How sad, how tragic.
But then, by a strange quirk of fate (Think fairy godmothers here!), Sandy ends up living in America and – guess what! – even attending the same High School as Danny. Aww, how sweet! But he’s with his mates, he’s part of a gang and is expected to behave a certain way, not to be a big sissy. He’s supposed to want rampant rumpy-pumpy,
not lurve.
Sandy, being a traditional romantic, dreams only of true love, her dashing prince riding her off into a beautiful sunset – not riding her in the back of a clapped out old car! So, we have the old conflict, boy meets girl – and how different these two species are. As we all know, men are strong, don’t show their feelings and are just out to impress their mates. Well, boys of a certain age, maybe. Girlies are pure and sweet, sugar and spice, pumpkins and mice, glass slippers and chastity belts.
So we have this fairytale princess and her prince, separated not by distance, but by values, by image and reputation. Will love ever find a way? Or will they just ‘make out’ in a drive-in, before forgetting each other five minutes later? Of course, if you’ve seen the film (and if not, how is Outer Mongolia these days?), you’ll know what happens, but let’s not spoil it for everyone else, eh?
Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta star in the film, playing High School sweethearts, while being thirty and twenty-four respectively at the time! Their acting was brilliant, played just the right way to strike the balance in what could have been an awfully naff film – but somehow ends up on the right side of naff to be magical!
I don’t know about you, but I grew up wishing I went to the sort of school where everyone broke out into song at the merest whiff of inspiration. I love all the songs in the film and know most of the words. The few times I have attempted karaoke (God help us!), it has been singing a song from Grease more often than not. It is such a feel-good movie, you just want to sing, dance, solve Third World debt, end wars, and teach Eminem his ‘please’ and ‘thankyou’s.
But when I watch it these days, sat alongside my eight and ten year old daughters who are huge fans, I feel slightly embarrassed about it. Why? Because, let’s face it, Grease is about sex! Danny’s mates expect to get a girl into bed and even sing about it. Hell, they even do up a car for that reason, suggesting it’s a ‘pussy wagon’. (For any children reading this, that’s a car that can be used for transporting your cat to the Vets, when it’s poorly.) Then Greased Lightning features that wonderful line – ‘You know that ain’t no sh*t, you’ll be getting lots of t*t!’ Hmm, and they criticise Eminem for dodgy lyrics.
Of course, the beauty of this is that, in a similar way to Carry On films (another of my passions), Grease can be viewed at several different levels. You get the OAPs tapping along to the catchy songs, admiring the 1950s fashions and the intricate dance routines; us thirty-somethings can see the sexual element but we’re old enough anyway – and the little ones just love the catchy songs, stare weirdly at the bizarre clothes and copy the dance routines a la Steps. See, everyone is happy.
Kids and teenagers can also relate to the film because of the issues it addresses – fancying someone, trying to be the same as your friends so you fit in and get accepted, wearing the right clothes, using the right ‘street talk’ and behaving in a certain way. How many of us can remember our first drag of a cigarette? I bet with most of us, it was because one of our friends suggested it. I know it was with me, I was eleven and in the park with some mates. One of these friends later pierced my ears – another scene reminiscent of Grease, when Sandy is in the Pink Ladies gang and trying her hardest to be like them.
So the film has everything really – great music, a good storyline, plenty of teenage themes to lean your angst on, a lot of humour and some great looking actors and actresses! It’s been one of my favourite films now for a very long time and judging by its popularity with my own kids, I think its longevity is guaranteed.
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Production Year: 1999 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Donny Osmond, Joan Collins, Richard Attenborough
Production Year: 1992 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, David Bowie, Def Leppard, Extreme, Elton John, Bob Geldof
Greasewas a phenomenal hit with its target teenage audience when it was released in 1977. ... more
The songs dominated the pop charts and brought heady success for its lead actors, John Travolta (Danny) and Olivia Newton-John (Sandy) despite the fact that--as w...
Postage & Packaging: £1.24 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Greasewas a phenomenal hit with its target teenage audience when it was released in 1977. ... more
The songs dominated the pop charts and brought heady success for its lead actors, John Travolta (Danny) and Olivia Newton-John (Sandy) despite the fact that--as w...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
John Travolta solidified his position as the most versatile and magnetic screen presence ... more
of the decade in this film version of the smash hit play Grease. Recording star Olivia Newton-John made her American film debut as Sandy, Travolta's naive love int...
![Grease [DVD] [1978]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78529728.jpg "Grease [DVD] [1978]")
Apr 28th, 2001
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