Conventionality Belongs to Yesterday

Rating: 4/10 (7 January 2011)

Love is a many-splendored thing for dimpled stud John Travolta (as Danny) and pretty blonde Olivia Newton-John (as Sandy). They frolic on the beach for a summer. We later learn it was "all talk and no action." When school starts, we also learn how little they spoke, as Mr. Travolta is surprised to discover Ms. Newton-John is an Australian exchange student attending swingin' Rydell High School. The way these character look, act and speak suggests Rydell is a "special" school for those who are having trouble graduating. Best pals Stockard Channing (as Rizzo) and Jeff Conaway (as Kenickie) are a little brainier.
"Grease" is a moronic adaptation of a stage hit set in the 1950s, made to sound like the 1970s.
Considering the personnel involved in this picture, old-timers offer ironic "rules" for the enclosed "dance contest." Eve Arden warns, "Anyone doing tasteless or vulgar movements will be disqualified." More importantly, Sid Caesar notes, "All couples must be boy/girl." So, art doesn't always imitate life. There are a lot of familiar faces; see who you recognize, and why. If you get bored, don't stop until you find the great "video" located near the end of the film - the "You're the One That I Want" duet performed by Newton-John and Travolta, driven by a pulsating bass line, is a terrifically sexy pop fire-starter from 1978.
**** Grease (6/13/78) Randal Kleiser ~ John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway