The Phony Fifties Made Glorious

Rating: 10/10 (1 May 2020)

Following a great run on stage, this film adaption features Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta at just the ages (Newton-John was 30, Travolta 24) at which they could play teenagers and get away with it, and much of the movie's success hinged on their appeal singing songs like "Summer Nights" and "Hopelessly Devoted" (my personal favorite). Of course, realism is never the point in a musical; the point is romance and fantasy and looking a something in a new way. It has always amazed me that science fiction fans can believe almost anything-walking on Mars, invaders from Venus-but they cannot believe a simple romantic fantasy. The title song, performed by Frankie Valli is a signature song of the last half of the 20th century. This movie represents in one very special way a stretch of Hollywood history that seems pretty obscure in the 21st century. Joan Blondell appears in this film as a sympathetic waitress; keep in mind this is the actress who delivered "Remember My Forgotten Man" Gold Diggers of 1933. "Beauty School Drop-Out" with Frankie Avalon is memorable, as is film legend Eve Arden as the clueless principal delivering the line, "If you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter." Grease is the musical that sums up the repressive, nasty, ignorant, terrific 1950s. There was also a Grease 2 four years later, which you will want to check out if "Grease" does it for you, but it was generally panned. Arguably John Travolta is the best all-around actor-singer-dancer of the last half of the 20th century. ---from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013