Grease

This movie is such a classic musical and movie in general. The songs are so catchy and well known. Olivia and John made this movie as good as it is. But overall I wanted to do this review in tribute to Olivia, she put up a good fight but left too soon:(. She was only 73 and left us just yesterday. She left an everlasting impact on females, people and especially Australians. As an Australian she truly is an icon. RIP Dame Olivia Newton John.

Sandy and Danny, their names alone mean nothing, together they represent the film we all know and love that brought us 'Summer Nights' and 'Greased Lightnin'. Grease is an infamous musical-play turned film, adapted and produced by Allan Carr, chartering the summertastic rock 'n' roll of the 1950s, centring on the highs and lows of a group of teenagers at high-school, Rydell High.

The film begins with two people having a summer romance, Sandy (Newton-John) an uptight, naïve, nerdy Australian girl and Danny (Travolta), a 'jack-the-lad' 'T' bird. After the opening credits which are amusing cartoons of the main characters we see the two well known groups of teenagers, the Pink Ladies and the 'T' Birds going back to school after summer vacation. The rest of the film centres mostly on the relationship of Sandy and Danny, the problems they face, and the ups and downs of their high school chums. The main characters and the unusual pairing of Sandy and Danny makes for comfortable viewing.

My favourite part of the film is the music, this film has such a brilliant soundtrack. If you have the chance to watch the film on DVD you get the added bonus of a songbook. However with a musical film you do find some parts unrealistic when they sing, why would a group of lads sing Summer Nights for example? Yet that aside the songs, mostly corny love songs are addictive and easy to pick up unfortunately will be in your head all day. Grease may not have had a lavish budget like films made today, but this 1978 film directed by Randal Kleiser still manages to have great audience appeal. Its' scenes and costumes are basic and probably didn't break the bank to produce but this all adds to the realism of the film.

I like the film and could watch it over and over again. Newton-John's debut performance is excellent but her character Sandy is too 2D and has no depth. Travolta's performance is to perfection and this film benchmarked his film career. Danny is 3D, he can be loving, self obsessed, a saviour and a winner, whereas Sandy to me is just a bore. All characters bring something different to the film making it a success. Rizzo is the hard nosed cow, bitchy about Sandy, possibly jealous, who seeks revenge on her boyfriend by going out with his arch enemy. There is also Marcy who loves the men and has lots of boyfriends, and Frenchy who becomes Sandy's best friend who is caring.

This uplifting, audience grabbing film may be slightly cheesy but there is just so much to love about it, especially the soundtrack and dance moves! This gives it longevity making it such a great film that could be the best musical ever made. This classic film deserves a 5/5 just for being groovy! But I just can't stop thinking why is it called Grease?!

I personally love this movie, however I have been told that you have to be a big fan of musicals to enjoy it. The music is catchy, the dancing is impressive, and the story line is great.

Sandy and Danny meet in California over summer break and fall in love. Little did they know that they would be attending the same high school when going back to school. Both were surprised and excited to see each other, however they were influenced by there friends at school. It is a question throughout the whole film whether or not Danny and Sandy will be able to regain their love.

I will admit I didn't like "Grease" very much at one point, but like some other musicals, it has grown on me. It is just a fun film, yes with some corny dialogue and some slow moments, but the performances, choreography and songs more than make up for any misgivings. I like how "Grease" is filmed, the cinematography is smooth, and the costumes are lovely to look at. The script has some nice raunchy humour, if a little corny at times. Also there is a nice compelling story in general, even if it is slow in spots. The performances are of high energy. John Travolta, is it just me or wasn't he really sexy here? I thought Tim Curry was sexy in "Rocky Horror Picture Show" but Travolta's Danny who swivels his hips like Elvis brings a different kind of sexiness as well as acting like a tough kid, which he isn't really. Olivia Newton-John, dressed in whites and creams looks beautiful and is appealing as Sandy, she is almost unrecognisable in the final musical number. Stockard Channing provides a voluptuous contrast as Betty Rizzo, and does it with swagger. What makes this movie enjoyable are the song and dance numbers. I wasn't keen on the songs when I first saw the film seven years ago, but as I have been re watching the film over the years, like the film they have really grown on me. "Summer Nights", "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Grease Lightening" and "We Go Together" are classics. Overall, this film is fun, you mayn't like it first time, but if you give it another chance it could well grow on you. 8/10 Bethany Cox

GREASE (1978) **** John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Jeff Conaway, Stockard Channing, Dinah Manoff, Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Edd `Kookie' Byrnes, ShaNaNa, Frankie Avalon, Joan Blondell, Ellen Travolta, Eddie Deezen, Lorenzo Lamas. One of the best Broadway musicals ever adapted for the big screen largely thanks to producer Allan Carr and director Randal Kleiser set at Rydell High circa 1950s with Travolta (in his other iconic role) as leather jacket wearing, hunky hood with a heart-of-gold Danny Zuko recalling his `Summer Nights' with Aussie sexpot Newton-John (in her sunny to sultry iconic turn) as goody-goody Sandy who learns some things from The Pink Ladies' tough yet tender leader Rizzo (Channing, ditto). Good old fashioned knuckle-headed comedy and toe-tapping tunes that will have you dancing and singing along to `Greased Lightning' (imagine Elvis doing this!) , the dance contest's hyper-paced `Hand Jive' sequence and the closer `We Go Together'. Title tune by Franki Valli. A film I've seen probably a hundred times and never tire of.