Grease

For a movie so widely considered a classic, Grease is a painful movie to sit through.

It’s based on the original Broadway play of the same name, and stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as Danny and Sandy, two high school kids who fell in love over the summer and long to see each other again.

It turns out they’re going to the same school, and it’s only a matter of time before their paths cross again. But Sandy sees some changes in Danny, now that he’s hanging out with his high school buddies. So Danny has to put the charm into overdrive in order to show Sandy how much she means to him.

Even if it means singing and dancing, which in this 1950’s high school comes across as normal...

Ah, musicals!

If the dialogue weren’t bad enough, most of the songs more than make up for it. A couple of them have a somewhat catchy beat, but for the most part they seem like they were written by a malfunctioning computer with a grudge against the moviemakers. (Editor's note: our reviewer warn't born when Grease originally came out, and doesn't remember just how big some of the songs were) Travolta and Newton-John are likable enough in the lead roles, but the movie is just too bad to make you care. You know they’re going to end up together, so why do you have to sit through this?

In all fairness, it’s probably more enjoyable if you don’t see it for the first time 24 years after its original release. You’ve undoubtedly heard people talking about what a great movie it is, but they surely saw it many years ago and have a soft spot for it. Seeing it in the year 2002 makes it feel tired, dated, and unbelievably painful.

If you’re already a fan, you’ll be glad to have a “classic” finally available on DVD. Otherwise, this is your last warning.

For such an apparent classic, it’s a wonder Grease didn’t get a better DVD. This disc makes The Santa Clause Special Edition actually seem like a special edition.

The picture is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, but it’s terrible considering what we’re used to. The movie is set in the 1950’s, and it looks like it was made then, as well. It’s horribly grainy, soft, and in some places it looks like it was sneezed upon. The sound, despite being a 5.1 Dolby Digital track, would have sounded the same if it were stereo. Surround use is nonexistent except for one instance where a car backfires. Why they used surround for something that isn’t even relevant to the movie, and not for the big song-and-dance routines is beyond us, but there it is. They could have had a lot of fun with this track, but it was not to be.

The only extra aside from the trailer (based on the trailer, it makes us wonder why anyone went to see the movie), is a series of interviews with the original cast and crew. It’s not very long, and is basically everyone reminiscing about what a great time it was to work on Grease, and doesn’t actually tell you anything informative. Hard core fans may enjoy it, but for people who didn’t like the movie, the interviews just seem like more of a bad thing.

If Paramount treats all their classics this way, we can all start being very afraid.

Grease, from Paramount Home Entertainment
110 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John and Stockard Channing
Produced by Robert Stigwood and Allen Carr
Screenplay by Bronte Woodard
Directed by Randal Kleiser

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