Grease

Grease is rated PG:

In the summer of 1978, Grease was indeed "the word." Featuring John Travolta, still sizzling from his previous success in Saturday Night Fever (released in 1977), and heartthrob singer Olivia Newton-John, the show had teens toe-tapping in a retro 50s style while humming along to the catchy tunes. (The 2006 DVD release even offers karaoke-style lyrics during the production numbers.)

Yet those long ago fans--who now are parents and possibly even grandparents-- may be a bit surprised to watch this Broadway musical film-adaptation today. Without the star power to blind and the chart-topping feel-good music to deafen, they are likely to see and hear more sexual innuendo and poor role modeling than they remember from those bygone days.

In a classic case of opposites attract, squeaky-clean Sandy Olssen (Newton-John) falls for greasy Danny Zuko (Travolta). Meeting during the Australian lass's Californian vacation, the naive girl doesn't realize the dream boy of her Summer Nights is really an experienced womanizer and member of a gang of lowlifes that call themselves The T-Birds. Or at least not until an unexplained change of plans has the blonde beauty relocating to America and serendipitously enrolling in the same school he is attending.

The gig is up as soon as their paths cross on the football field of Rydell High. However, instead of letting go, Sandy continues to privately be Hopelessly Devoted to Danny. Meanwhile, she takes refuge in the friendship offered by Frenchy (Didi Conn) and her pals The Pink Ladies. Unfortunately, these gals are only a shade lighter than scarlet women, and their leader Betty Rizzo (Stockard Channing) is quick to tease the foreigner for her wholesomeness, while pressuring her to drink, smoke and sleep around.

During the course of their final year of school, these seniors find plenty of opportunities to sing and jive (thanks to many musical extravaganzas and an American Bandstand knock-off dance competition), rumble with a rival gang, soup up a car called Greased Lightening (with parts just as hot as their vehicle), bet on and participate in illegal racing, as well as mess around in the back seat (passionate kissing and moaning are depicted, safe-sex practices are considered but abandoned, and one unmarried character suspects she is pregnant).

By the end of the movie, Sandy needs to decide what's the worst thing she could do -- continue to be who she has always been and lose the one that she wants, or dump her "Sandra Dee" image so she and Danny can go together? Despite the unplanned predicament of her friend, Sandy's choice is as obvious as the "electrifying" skin-tight spandex pants and off the shoulder shirt she sports during the movie's closing moments.

Full of teen promiscuity, smoking, drinking, being disrespectful to authority figures and breaking the law, the only actions worthy of emulation come from Frankie Avalon's cameo song Beauty School Dropout (and the impact of his "stay in school" message losses much of its punch because he's a teen idol forgotten by today's generation).

Caught up in the popularity of John and Olivia, the contagious excitement of the participating cast, along with the song and dance routines that were part of the 1950's revival sweeping the country at the time this film was released, I suspect many of us overlooked these themes. (Just like we excused the obvious age discrepancies of these "high school" characters and the actors chosen to portray them. Travolta was in his early twenties, while Newton John and Channing were in their thirties.) But without such distractions, our kids may prove to be more perceptive than we were.

Sexual innuendo is throughout the movie, including double meanings, crude slang terms, phrases and names for body parts, along with rude and sensual body movements. As well, teen characters constantly discuss their involvement in sexual activity and one shows off the hickeys on her neck. A teen couple is seen French kissing, fondling and moaning in the back seat of a car (it is implied other teens are also engaged in similar behavior). A couple discusses birth control, but decides to have sex without using it. Later, a teen girl suspects she is pregnant, but lies about the identity of the possible father. Another high school aged girl is shown necking with a thirty-something man she has been hitting on. Male students expose their posteriors in public and in front of TV cameras. A prankster spikes the punch at a party, while another pulls off a girl’s skirt. Teenaged characters smoke and drink alcohol, and talk their reluctant peers into doing the same. Violence consists of an accidental smack on the head causing disorientation, sports injuries, hits to private body parts (played for laughs), a food fight and an at-home ear piercing (implied but not shown). Rival gangs verbally threaten one another and do damage to each other’s cars. Teens participate in and bet on illegal racing (and a teacher from their school comes along as a spectator). It is inferred the students steal auto parts. Disrespect is shown for authority figures, who are portrayed as silly and/or old-fashioned. Language includes rude slang words, a couple of mild and moderate profanities, as well as the use of terms of deity, plus a hand gesture connoting a sexual expletive.

When Sandy first describes her summer relationship with Danny to her friends, she tells them, “he never laid a hand” on her. In response one girl concludes, “he’s a creep”, while Sandy maintains, “he was a gentleman.” Why do the two girls have such a different perspective?

Rizzo’s character teases Sandy by saying the pure and wholesome girl is just like Sandra Dee. Popular during the late 50s and early 60s, the young movie star was famous for playing a sweet teenager in the film Gidget, and as Debbie Reynolds’ replacement in the popular Tammy franchise. A portion of Sandra Dee’s life is depicted in the movie Beyond the Sea, the dramatized story of the life of her husband Bobby Darin.

In today’s movie making industry, teens are seldom shown smoking, although implied sexual activity and drinking are still very common. Why do you think portrayals of cigarette use have declined over the years? How does the current view of what is “politically correct” affect what we see in films and other media?

Singing and dancing twelfth grade students steal the show in the recent (and much more innocent) Disney TV movie High School Musical. A gritty portrayal of teenaged, rival gangs and the elaborately choreographed style of stage musicals are also blended in the film version of West Side Story.

DVD Release Date: 19 September 2006

Wearing a black leather jacket with the T-Bird’s logo on the back, Grease slides onto DVD as the Rockin’ Rydell Edition. Bonus extras include a Sing-Along (with lyrics appearing on the screen during the musical numbers), eleven deleted/extended/alternate scenes, the featurettes The Moves Behind the Music and the Thunder Roadsters, as well as a DVD Launch Party (offering a collection of “memorable moments” from the 25^Th Anniversary DVD launch). John Travolta and Olivia Newton John also get together to discuss their Grease memories. Audio tracks are available in English (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Surround) and French (2.0 Surround), with subtitles in English.