It should not work, but somehow does

Rating: 9/10 (23 May 2007)

Now the subject of a UK-based reality TV show, as talent scouts look for stars to play the leads in a new stage production, "Grease" is probably the definitive high-school movie musical. It's energy and light-heartedness has endeared it to generation after generation of fans.
Danny (John Travolta) is an LA high-school student who has a brief summer affair with Sandy (Olivia Newton-John), a beautiful Australian girl. When the summer's over, Danny returns to school at Rydell High and the company of his gang The T-Birds and their girlfriends the Pink Ladies. When Sandy unexpectedly turns up at his school, it leads to a complicated, comic romantic journey...
The movie should not work: the plot is flimsy and clichéd, nearly everyone is a walking stereotype and the cast of high-school students are played by twenty/thirty somethings. They should all look stupid up there, but they don't.
There are three main reasons for this: first off is the catchy and outrageously memorable music: "Summer Nights", "You're the One that I Want" and "Greased Lightning", to name but three, every song in the film has enough snap to get you singing and dancing. The use of stereotypes in the movie actually works: I don't think I know another movie with so many distinctive and memorable characters: from the romantic leads Danny and Sandy, and minor characters like brainless jock Chisholm and hyperactive supernerd Eugene, each one makes its mark.
In today's world, with online communities like Friends Reunited and Bebo connecting people with their old schoolmates, the use of adults to play teenagers might actually strike a chord. The lighthearted and affectionate friendships in the T-Birds and Pink Lady Gangs, are played with a lot of humour and honesty, and will almost certainly bring out nostalgic feelings in the older members of its audience.
This is why, for many people, "Grease" is still the word.