Its only flaw is its fatal flaw

Rating: 1/10 (6 June 2005)

Great story, good cast, timeless themes, good music, and just about everything one could want from a movie or a musical. So what's the problem? Answer: check the birthdates of the actors against when this movie was made.
The cast was so far beyond high-school age when this movie was filmed, and it showed. Putting on high-school clothes and acting immature are not enough to wash away this terrible oversight. It's not like there aren't good actors of high-school age, and it's not like most movies don't cast young twentysomethings as high schoolers, but this movie went way too far.
Stockard Channing as a sexy 17 year-old? She was THIRTY-THREE when this film was made, and she never was that sexy. Travolta was 23, Olivia Newton-John was 29, and Jeff Conaway was 27. There was plenty of good teen talent around at that age, but I suppose the musical requirements limited their search.
The age problem ruins what was otherwise a great movie that should have been entitled: "Grease: The Left-Back Years."