Anthony's Film Review - Grease (1978)

The comedy and musical numbers make this movie lively and fun...

It must be fun to pay tribute to a specific decade in American culture even from a retrospective standpoint. Of course, it's also natural to do so after the decade ended, because that's when the nostalgia hits. Plus, if you are in that decade, you would be too busy living it and enjoying it. That's why, for example, George Lucas's American Graffiti was a 1973 film about the 1960s. Likewise, the 1978 musical Grease is an homage to the 1950s.

Now, I'm not the kind of guy who knows the intricate details of the 1950s and 1970s so well that I could point out the things in Grease that actually look and feel more like the 70s than the 50s. All I can say is that I was so wowed by the movie that I really believed I was taken back in time to the 1950s. For one thing, the animated opening credits for Grease reminded me a lot of 1950s animation I had seen before. Afterwards, all of the characters and the setting looked convincingly from that decade.

The stars of the movie are John Travolta as a greaser named Danny and Olivia Newton-John as an Australian foreign exchange student named Sandy. The two characters met and fell in love one summer, before Sandy returned to Australia. Little do they know that Sandy would be coming back as a high school foreign exchange student at Danny's school, Rydell High School. So imagine the mutual surprise when they come face to face in campus. Unfortunately, Danny is conflicted between his love for Sandy and his desire to fit in with his clique of buddies.

But don't focus only on these two characters. In fact, don't even consider them main characters, because you have a bunch of other characters who are fun to see. You have Frenchie who has aspirations for beauty school, the sassy Rizzo, and the other gals of the Pink Ladies. You have the loose greaser Kenickie and the other members of the T-Birds. You even have interesting members of the school faculty, including Eve Arden as Principal McGee and Sid Caesar as the athletics coach Calhoun.

Furthermore, don't even consider this movie to have one central storyline. There is really a mixed collection of little storylines, or rather, just moments of life. It doesn't matter what fairly ordinary thing is happening. It is quite enjoyable to observe young characters attending class, hanging out after class, going on dates, and visiting the local diner. Some of it is funny too, like when Danny is failing miserably in various sports such as baseball and basketball.

So that's the comedy portion of Grease. Then you have the musical portion, because after all, the movie is based on the stage musical of the same name. This is where the magic really happens. Every musical number, whether it's a solo singing performance or an ensemble of dancers mixed with music, is a joy to watch. If I had to pick my favorites, I would name three: "Summer Nights" with Sandy and Danny singing about each other while at different parts of the school campus, the one called "Greased Lightning" that begins in the school's auto shop, and the final one at the carnival with the unforgettable tune "You're the One That I Want."

Everyone involved in singing and dancing for this movie is great. Still, I want to focus a bit more on John Travolta because he has done this for another movie from the same year: Saturday Night Fever. With that movie as well as Grease, he establishes himself as an exciting musical talent. I love his work in both movies, but if I had to pick one over the other, I would choose Grease because it's all about fun times. Saturday Night Fever is, too, but it also mixes a bit of drama. It's natural to want to be lively than not, so I'm going with Grease.

This is a movie that inspired audiences upon release and continues to do so for future generations. It doesn't matter if you lived through the 1950s, 1970s, or neither decade. Grease is a joyful musical that is sure to delight anyone, young or old. It's 110 minutes of feel-good fun.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Grease, visit the Internet Movie Database.