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Originally a hit Broadway musical, "Grease" became a hit film musical in 1978 starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, and Stockard Channing (TV´s "The West Wing"). The movie cemented Travolta´s rising star, and Newton-John´s fame as a singer lent the project welcome authenticity. For some reason, the musical genre inspires mad affection from people who really dig them (I should know, for my sister´s always belting one Broadway standard or another), and "Grease" must be one of the most-watched and most-adored film musicals of all time.
At the beginning of "Grease", we see Danny Zuko (Travolta) and Sandy (Newton-John) enjoy the final moments of their summer fling. He´s about to start his senior year in high school, and she´s going back to Australia. However, when the fall term begins, Sandy appears at Danny´s Rydell High. Apparently, he never told her about his belonging to the "T" Birds, the local greasers, so he gives her the cold shoulder at school in order to maintain his reputation. Didn´t you know? Greasers don´t hang out with preppies.
"Grease" presents a very simple story about two young things trying to figure out a way to be able to have a romance without being stigmatized by their friends. My previous sentence sounds more serious than the film actually is; after all, we´re not talking about an interracial relationship or a love between 2 persons separated by fundamentally, drastically different backgrounds. The movie charts Sandy´s attempts to be cool and Danny´s attempts to be more mainstream.
Of course, only in a movie are people allowed to be 2 extremes at once. By now, it shouldn´t surprise anyone that Sandy can be a sexy rebel (as witnessed in the ubiquitous photos of Ms. Newton-John in tight-fitting black clothes). Danny shows his buddies that you can be tough and sensitive at the same time. Only in the movies can you eat your cake and have it, too.
The actors exhibit a great deal of energy in well-choreographed song-and-dance numbers, and there´s also a great deal of physical humor as well. For example, there´s a scene where Sandy gets out of Zuko´s car, and he tries to follow her. However, she slams the door, hitting him in the groin, and he collapses. Travolta´s face neatly expresses the pain and clumsy horror of being nailed where it hurts most.
Despite many re-runs on TV, I´ve never actually seen "Grease" until watching the DVD for reviewing purposes. I admit that I enjoyed it a lot even though musicals are not normally my cup of tea. For me, the most surprising thing watching "Grease" is witnessing how well Mr. Travolta can dance. He´s all over the place, twisting and turning his body until it seems like his skeleton was made of cartilage, not bone. The actor has opted to make action films like "Face/Off" in recent years, but it´d be a treat to see him in go-for-broke dancing again.
"Grease" isn´t a great film, and it certainly is not in the same league as "Singin´ in the Rain", "The Sound of Music", or even "Evita". However, "Grease" IS great fun, a romp filled with the kind of exuberance that we wish we could enjoy in our lives. Few people are ever as cool as Danny Zuko, and even if it were possible to attain his level of coolness, real life eventually forces us to grow out of being cool 24/7. "Grease" lets us inhabit "cool" every time we enter its world for 2 hours.
Video:
First the good news: the 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen video transfer boasts strong colors, great contrast levels, and a bright picture that fits the sunny cheeriness of a musical. Now, the bad news: the video suffers from an excessive amount of dirt. A thin layer of dust seems to have permanently settled onto the film negative. Scratches, a few hairs, and some white specks also make unwelcome appearances. Back in the day, this sort of transfer would´ve been acceptable on VHS tape, but the clarity afforded by the DVD format draws attention to the image´s weaknesses.
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[release]10568[/release]