Year: 1978
Director: Randal Kleiser
Country: US
Language: English
Grease is the word! In the 70's it was 50's nostalgia, and in the 2010's it is 70's nostalgia. Of course the picture would probably have faded into obscurity by now if it wasn't for 70's megastar John Travolta, who puts more charisma into his Elvis-like acting than Elvis himself. He was the definition of hunk back then; bringing grown women to tears of joy at just the sight of him, and making heterosexual men just a little less confident in their sexuality.
Good Australian girl Sandy (Olivia Newton John) and greaser Danny (John Travolta) fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance? The answer is yes, if Sandy becomes the stereotypical male fantasy.
No seriously, Grease spends the majority of the picture attempting to break down insultingly simplistic gender stereotypes (Boys and emotion? No way!) only to say "fuck it" and resolve in social conformity. Danny is an ass the entire film and he is rewarded by Sandy changing her entire way of life for him. Do you two really go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong? Wait...what the hell does that mean?
Does great, albeit sometimes nonsensical, music triumph morality? In this sensitive world of ours, how are we not offended by Grease? Instead of being seen as an intelligent woman, Sandy is seen as a prude bitch who needs to just "loosen up". Also, for a musical about the 50's it bears no resemblance to any 50's musical I've seen.
In conclusion, aside from the tunes and the star, Grease is a failure on so many levels. Instead of treating love and romance in any vaguely serious way, it goes for camp and thus hits a glass ceiling. It could have been so much better, but instead it's a poor man's substitute for Saturday Night Fever. Piss on it! 2/5
No comments:
Post a Comment