Grease
Directed by Randal Kleiser
Written by Bronte Woodward from the original musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
1978/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/YouTube rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Danny: You can’t just walk out of a drive-in.
I had a lot of fun watching this. It was better than I remembered.
Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) have an idyllic summer romance on the beach. Sandy is from Australia and they sadly part, thinking the odds are that they will never see each other again. But Sandy’s plans changed and she finds herself in the senior class of Rydell High, which Danny also attends. Problem Sandy is a good girl and Danny is a greaser, perhaps the head greaser. However, they continue to be in love with each other though Danny does his best to conceal this from the guys.
Sandy is adopted by the Pink Ladies, girls that date greasers. She begins a rivalry with Rizzo (Stockard Channing) who has a yen for Danny and Rizzo does her best to sabotage the romance. The story covers such musts as multiple misunderstandings; a dance contest; and a drag race. The movie is filled with upbeat music and fantastic dancing that celebrates the joys and pains of highschool. With an outstanding cameo cast including Eve Arden as the principal; Sid Caesar as the coach; Joan Blondell as a waitress; Frankie Avalon as a Teen Angel; and Alice Ghostly as the school’s car mechanics teacher.
I saw this first as a stage play and when the movie was released I was kind of disappointed because it did not capture the 50’s the way the play did. However, on repeat viewing I didn’t care about that. I just enjoyed almost two hours of high energy entertainment. If you can tolerate musical comedies and want something that will put a smile on your face, I can recommend.
