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Starring: | John Travolta & Olivia Newton John |
| Directed by: | Randall Kleiser | |
| Written by: | Bronte Woodard, Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey |
It's with some
reluctance that I write this review, as I know I'll be hated by
many (including some of my closest friends) because of what I'm
about to write. Grease isn't very good. There, I said it
and I'm sorry for any insult or emotional pain I might have
caused to any fans out there.
Based heavily
upon the stage-show, Grease is an up beat, feel-good
musical that has spawned an appalling sequel, countless CDs and a
larger fan-base than most premier league football teams. But why
don't I like it? With the exception of the Blues Brothers,
I'm not a fan of musicals, I find them shallow, ill conceived and
heavily dependent upon merchandise, but that's just me. The main
reason I avoid all things Grease is that I saw the stage
show before the film. It was in the London west-end, nearing the
end of its run in a small theatre, with an unknown cast and no
big star. And despite myself, I didn't find it disagreeable. The
songs were acceptable (even amusing at times), the
characterisation was incredible for a stage musical (in a
cartoon-character kind of a way) and the comedic moments were
actually funny. I was amazed that there was no taste of bile in
my mouth, and that I had no need for therapy afterwards. So when
my friends finally managed to get me to watch the film (as part
of a deal: I would watch Grease if she would watch Blues
Brothers, she got the better deal) I didn't complain too
loudly. I wish I had.
Despite being
an almost direct adaptation of the stage show of the day,
somewhere along the line, something had been lost. The characters
seemed less cartoon like, and more two dimensional; the songs
packed less of a punch, and at times made me desire the
fast-forward button and the comedic moments just weren't as good.
I don't know if it's because twenty-odd years have passed since
the filming, but it just seemed . . . tame.
The songs are
famous to get toes tapping at "any" party, there's Summer
Loving, Greased Lightning, that one with the line "You'd
better shape up" and those other ones. Out of an
entire musical, only three songs are actually that memorable (I
know I'll be criticised by all of you who know the lyrics to
every single song in the film, but hey, everyone needs a hobby),
taking up about 8 minutes of the film. That's kind of pathetic
when you factor in at least two yawn-worthy songs (about 6
minutes) and the film seems less of a musical and more of a
chore.
| Now, I
wouldn't complain about the music if there were some
decent filler material in between warblings, but the film
was lacking in this area too. Dialogue was cheesy at the
most, or as I like to call it, just plain bad. On stage,
this seemed to me to be a parody of all things musical,
they realised that the lines were terrible and so used
them that way. In the seventies however, such shallow,
predictable discourse was not only the norm, but highly
respected. As such, today it seems ridiculous to watch
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John exchanging some
lines that wouldn't seem out of place in a twelve-year
old girls love story. I would quote some here, but I
won't (partly because I refuse to type such profanities,
but mostly because I can't be bothered). |
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Summary: If you're someone who likes to hear actors in their thirties play kids in their teens, spouting seventies dialect in the fifties then this is the film for you. If you like to watch over-ripe cheese on your TV set, then don't let me get in your way. If however, you have a shred of taste in your body (and/or a Y chromosome) then stay well away. With ear defenders if possible. Sorry.
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