'Grease' was about music, love and fun
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How many times has "Grease" been reviewed? How many millions of people have seen this film and want to really sit back and read another run-of-the-mill review about their beloved film? I´m sure if I sat down here and typed up a straight review, I´d say absolutely nothing that hasn´t already been said a dozen times. Way back in my childhood, when "Grease" was in its initial release, or an early re-release, my older sister took my nephew Don and I to go see the film. I was like six years old and don´t have any true memories of the film. Don and I are the same age, so we probably goofed off and got yelled at more than we actually watched the film. In a more recent re-release, I went to see the film in a theater. My girlfriend at the time loved the film, but she wanted to leave. Two times where I actually attended a paid screening and still, I can be considered a "Grease" virgin. So, instead of reviewing the film, here are musings and thoughts of a "Grease" virgin, while watching the film.
Musings of a "Grease" Virgin
The movie starts out with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John sitting on a beach. Sandy (Olivia), gets nailed in the face with a wave. I had a high school teacher that called her Olivia Newtron-Bomb. She sure was a bombshell back I the day, wasn´t she? Anyways, it looks like these two crazy kids sure enjoyed their summer together and it seems Danny (Travolta) is trying to pressure her into something. Well, if I spent my summer with her and thought I´d never see her again, I would.
Now, we are off to high school. We have the T-Birds. Sonny (Michael Tucci) really doesn´t look like a bad kinda dude. He doesn´t seem like he belongs in a ´tough´ group. Woah! Eddie Deezen. I love that guy. He is absolutely funny. Back to the T-Birds, Jeff Conaway sure looks familiar in the role of "Kenickie." I know I have not seen many films he was part of, but he sure has a familiar look. He and Travolta look like they could be real ´toughs,´ unlike poor Sonny.
A little bit of trivia. Michael Biehn has a brief cameo in this film. Biehn is a great actor. He was awesome in both "Terminator" and "Aliens." James Cameron needs to get Biehn back to work.
I look at the Pinkies and I have one question. How can you consider these the kind of girls that the ´tough´ T-Birds would chase after? Marty (Dinah Manoff) is cute. However, Stockard Channing as Rizzo is not very attractive. Maybe back in 1978, but not now. Frenchy and the other girl look like the kind of girls the T-Birds should be making fun of and ridiculing. I don´t get it. I have a hard time believing these are ´hot chicks,´ I´ve seen enough "Happy Days." They seem like nice girls with cigarettes. Put the smokes down darling.
Which brings me to my next point. How in the Hell can any guy make fun of their friend when somebody as cute as Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) has feelings for him? I´d be patting any of my friends on the back and congratulate them for good taste and offering good luck. Yet, poor Danny must treat the lovely Sandy like a disease.
I admit. I cheated and inserted the Michael Biehn trivia after listening to parts of the commentary. Here is another tidbit: The final scene of the song "Summer Loving" which features the faces of Travolta and Newtron-Bomb was digitally touched up for this DVD release to look nicer.
These kids are very old for high school. The leader of the "Scorpions" looks like he is in his mid thirties. What is he doing in Rydell? Maybe I´m being too hard on this classic film, but the casting seems like it was done more for dancing and singing talent than it was for believability. They did manage to hire Sid Caesar. Good move there. He is great as Coach Calhoun. Danny still needs beaten by his friends for treating poor Sandy badly. Again, the friends should look to him as a hero and not a zero. Here comes a white car. I know this car eventually becomes "Grease Lightning," but it sure looks like a hunk of junk in its debut.
Buckey and Frenchy and the girls have invited Sandy over for a sleepover. Smoking and drinking and Sandy is really out of place. Sandy is still hot when compared to the others and she may be innocent, but there is nothing special about any of the other girls. The songs have been catchy so far, but this "Sandy Dee" song bores me. This scene makes me wonder why this film became such a hit.
The "Grease Lightning" song is catchy. John Travolta dances around like a fool. This movie is a musical, but for a bunch of tough guys, he surely is moving effeminate. I love the look of the car in the dance number dream sequence. It is a shame that car wasn´t used in the film as the main car.
What is the purpose of the Saran Wrap?
I have to admit, the scenes where John Travolta trying to become a sport he can take part in is comedic gold. The scene he dribbles a basketball in is absolutely sidesplitting. Great stuff. They could have spent more time showing how bad Travolta´s character was at sports. So far, this has been my absolute favorite part of the film. The baseball and wrestling parts were funny too. This scene almost makes up for the sleepover.
A friend warned me about a scene about a Beauty School Dropout. Well, that pink hair is absolutely pink. I´m not sure what else I can say about it. I´m pretty sure that is Frankie Avalon in the musical number, but between this song and "Sandy Dee," I want to throw in some Pearl Jam and try to forget. A little bit ago, "Hopelessly Devoted To You" was sung by the Australian beauty. I remember that song well from the radio. Honesely, I didn´t know it was part of this film. That was a good song. This is a bad song. I´ve lost respect for Frankie Avalon.
The Dance Off portion of the film showcases John Travolta´s dancing prowess. I´m betting much of the reason for the success of "Grease" is due to Travolta´s ability to dance. Sha-Na-Na was the band. I grew up listening to them due to my mom and sister.
Does the FBI really have technology to identify anybody by their bare behinds?
The big car race sequence between the T-Birds and the Scorpions is very vanilla. The "Grease" theme song returns and the cars look great, but aside from a bumper mashing incident, an attempt at piercing tires and a small jump, nothing exciting happens as they race for pinks. The skidding turns looked good halfway through the race, but for being one of the big scenes in the film, it was very underwhelming.
I remember some of the carnival scenes from the movie. I´m sure when I was a kid, this was the best part. Kids love fairs and carnivals. I am starting to see why Mr. Pettis called Newton-John Newtron-Bomb. She looks incredible in black. Other than the cigarette. Thankfully, she put it out. Both songs here in the final scenes were great fun. The film has a very fitting end and Danny and Sandy can now be happy together and not get chastised by friends. Good times. "Grease" was about music, love and fun and the ending wraps them up nicely. And there was Dweezen!
There is the cool car. However, can somebody explain how it flies?
Video:
"Grease" makes its way to DVD again. A newly remastered transfer accompanies the interesting packaging. The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and looks absolutely stunning. Listening to the commentary rewarded with the knowledge that some digital touching up was done to make "Grease" look better than ever. That is, until a high definition release is made available. Colors in "Grease" are very lively and they are quite vivid and perfectly saturated on this DVD. The image is very clean and I imagine the digital touchup helped give it a pristine appearance. Black levels were very deep and matched up ideally with the letterboxing bars. Fleshtones are perfect and so is the bright pink of Frenchie´s hair. Detail does tail off a few times and the image is a little bit blurry, but for the most part, it looked wonderful and nowhere near how a thirty year old film typically looks. "Grease" is a beautifully shot and colorful picture. The DVD translates this well.
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[release]19293[/release]