Grease (1978)

Written by John Chard on February 1, 2020

You're a fake and a phony and I wish I never laid eyes on you!

Grease is directed by Randal Kleiser and stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing & Jeff Conaway. It's co-written by Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey (Musical), Bronte Woodard & Allan Carr.

1958 and Danny (Travolta) has a holiday romance with the pretty and virginal Sandy (Newton-John). She ends up going to the same high school as he, but he's under peer pressure to stay cool and uphold a tough guy image. They fall out, argue, make up, their friends are equally unstable. Oh and there's the small matter of some truly memorable songs and dances too.

As full of gusto as it is cheese, Grease is the musical that's hard to dislike. The acting is so-so, the direction one dimensional and the plot could have been written on a 50s beer mat. Yet we love it because of its faults, the kooky charm that sidles up alongside those roaring tunes. We care not that these actors are too old to play high schoolers, the fun is watching them have fun being teens again. Hell there's even innuendo unbound and cheeky lyrics for those of an adult mind. A truly great fun movie that's longevity shows no time of ending any time soon. Watch it, enjoy, sing along, pick a favourite tune and character, and then salute it; for Grease is the word baby. 9/10