those print and television ads trumpeting that " ' grease ' is still the word " are right on the money .
to celebrate its 20th anniversary , this quintessential movie musical is getting the royal treatment reserved for classics like " star wars " -- a well - deserved , red - carpet rerelease .
that 's fantastic , especially when considering of all the classic characters and scenes the film has served up -- who can forget aspiring beautician frenchie ( didi conn ) being serenaded by her tell - it - like - it - is guardian angel ( frankie avalon ) ? or the hard - nosed principal ( eve arden ) reminding the student body to " be an athletic supporter " by rooting for the home team ? or national bandstand emcee vince fontaine ( edd byrnes ) flirting with marty ( a pre- " empty nest " dinah manhoff ) ?
and these are all probably considered minor moments . . .
a very skinny john travolta and a very young olivia newton - john have the respective leads of danny zuko and sandy olsson , and their pairing still ranks as one of screendom 's most effervescently charming .
for those eight of you who are n't familiar with the story , here 's a brief recap : greaser bad boy danny and aussie good girl sandy are reunited for their 1959 senior year at rydell high after a brief fling during the summer ; both thought she was going to return to her native continent before school started , but both were wrong .
sandy tries to rekindle their relationship , but danny 's too cool a cat to fall for her wholesome appeal in front of his t - bird buddies ( including jeff conaway ) .
so sandy hooks up with a gang herself -- the pink ladies , headed by sassy , sexy rizzo ( stockard channing , just superb as an independent woman well ahead of her time ) -- and danny , who still really feels love for her , attempts a compromise of ideals in order to win her back .
the drag race finale is yet something of a drag , and i never have thought much of " greased lightening , " the film 's big " guy " number ( that choreography -- ack ! ) , but " grease " 's flaws amount too few to carp .
the movie 's first showpiece is " summer nights , " where danny and sandy separately recount wildly different versions of their fun - in - the - sun romance .
not only is " nights " tremendously catchy , but it 's also a smart look at how men and women see the same events with varying eyes .
there has yet to be a live - action musical sequence that rivals the one - two punch of
" you 're the one that i want " and " we go together ,
" " grease " 's euphoric cappers .
all this and
some of the most pleasing moments come from the smaller , quieter moments ; the oscar - nominated " hopelessly devoted to you " is a lovely showcase for newton - john , and channing 's lamenting ballad " there are worse things i could do " is one of " grease " 's most unjustly overlooked tunes .
the soundtrack is remastered ( though travolta still hits that awful high note at the end of " nights " ) and the restored widescreen allows us to see previously pan - and - scanned - out choreography , but nothing else has changed -- no computer - generated backgrounds , no outtakes or new musical numbers , no jabba the hutt cameos .
and it 's a testament to " grease " 's timeless success that nothing needs to be changed -- it 's the same all - around blast
it 's always been , with an appealing cast in a fun story told with great music .
to ' 90s viewers , " grease " will probably recall disco and bellbottoms as much as it made its original audience nostalgic for doo - wop and poodle skirts .
but regardless of what decade it transports us to , we can all agree on one thing -- without a doubt , " grease " is still the word .
a smart look all - around blast tremendously catchy timeless success an appealing cast in a fun story told with great music superb some of the most pleasing moments a well - deserved , red - carpet rerelease