"Rizzo! Genoffathatthiganoffashun!"

Rating: 8/10 (10 July 2000)

I was amazed to find that, at date of writing, Grease had scored less than an average 7 with IMDb voters. Surely this film is a classic, an iconographic representation of an age? That is, not the 50s, but the 70s, where filmmakers were becoming more knowing. Grease stands as the greatest of all film musicals as, while possessing the requisite laughs, character, romance and song; it is also ironic and self-aware, which puts it way ahead of turgid and dated bores like "Carousel" and "South Pacific".
Of course, we've seen it a million times now, so there's really not a lot left to say. We can still thrill to Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, she the better singer, he the better dancer, neither of them terribly good as actors. We can still be amazed that Stockard Channing as Rizzo never really took off after this film, largely absent from the screen until 1993's "Six Degrees of Separation". What really helps with the superb set-pieces are the fact that each of the supporting players get more than a cursory character, each holding their own sub-plots well. My personal favourite is Doody (Barry Pearl), who, while not getting a lot to do, meaning his name isn't that apt, does get to perform some very funny faces. Then of course, there are the songs. Maybe the supply of good songs run out just before the end ("We go together like ramalama dingadingadong", anyone?) but for the most part they're first-rate.
The lack of strong song material was what really hindered the weak sequel, Grease 2. Instead of traditional structures of verse-chorus, the 1982 movie had characters merely melodising straightforward lines to a tune. Even the teacher joins in at one point, seriously negating the cool. Catchy choruses were out of stock, with extended words inadequate substitutes. "We're gonna scoo  oo - oo  ore tonight" goes one song, forgettably. Other songs sounded like weak rip-offs of the original's "Sandy"; with only "Girl for All Seasons" being a worthy number. Two other numbers managed to become more than their parts, such as "Back To School", thanks solely to a blistering vocal from Levi Stubbs off-camera. The other, Cool Rider (again, chorus: "Coo  ooo  ooo  ool ri  der, Coo  ooo  ooo  ool ri  der") was saved by a seductive interpretation by Michelle Pfeiffer, suggestively riding a stepladder. Maxwell Caulfield was okay as the English Michael, (Though was Cliff Richard to Travolta's Elvis), but generally it was an artificial and lifeless retread, the others (Pfeiffer included) adding shame to their resumes. Grease is a brilliantly witty pastiche of 50s b-movies, whereas Grease 2 is a not-so-witty pastiche of Grease. Like a photocopier, duplication always produces inferior copies. Thankfully Grease is one of the few films  unlike say, Planet of the Apes or A Nightmare On Elm St.  not to be denigrated in light of its sequels.
But now that the dust has settled on this one, all that's really left to ask is questions. What sort of moral message is being handed out by a virginal girl only achieving happiness by dressing as a slut?; What is the line that Kenickie shouts to Rizzo on the fairground, almost inaudible?; Who is the guy that sits alone in the stalls for the girls' perspective on "Summer Nights?"  is it a cameo?; why have I seen two versions of this film, one where "Summer Nights" ends in a split screen, the other not?; Isn't it ironic that the drive-in plays an acne commercial, ending with the line: "It's time to face up to Face/Off"; Lastly, we can also marvel at the laughable stupidity of the BBC, who, every time this film is screened, crudely edit out a whole verse of "Grease Lightnin'" because John Travolta couples the word "tit" with "sh**". Yet then leave in the entire next verse as he proclaims his car to be a "real pussy-wagon"!!! Finally, if nothing else, watch this for the spot-on 50s take-offs (The Greased Lightnin' visuals; Olivia and John in the prologue with deliberately cheesy dialogue and "Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing" playing in the background; Frankie Avalon appearing as an agony aunt angel); or for Barry Gibb's superb theme score. An exceptionally good movie.