Grease (1978)

Grease (1978)

In director Randal Kleiser's (and Paramount Pictures') popular and lively romantic comedy and quintessential pop musical with a 50s score, it was the director's feature film directorial debut. Most of the film was shot on locations in the Los Angeles area, including various high schools (Venice HS, Huntington Park HS, and John Marshall HS in Los Feliz), Malibu's Leo Carrillo State Beach Park (for the opening beach sequence) and the Los Angeles River Bason (for the car race sequence).

The film presented various stereotypical scenes of life as a late 1950s teenager - at a football pep rally, a local malt shop Frosty Palace, at a school dance-off contest, a drive-in movie theatre, and at a graduation school carnival. There were many production and dance numbers, such as the title song: "Grease" and other hits in the likeable, top-selling soundtrack. In retrospect, the PG-rated, dated and escapist film was often over-rated (mostly for its catchy tunes), and some of its more problematic elements were often overlooked. There were numerous vulgar sexual references (especially in the "Greased Lightning" song), frequent instances of sexual innuendo (i.e., "flog your log"), and misogynistic behavior (including implied date-rape) by the main male character. In the gender-role switch in the film's conclusion, 'good girl' Sandy (mirroring squeaky-clean and virginal 50s star Sandra Dee) transformed into a slinky, black leather pants-wearing 'bad girl' with bright red lipstick to please her greaser boyfriend.

The story was based upon Jim Jacobs' and Warren Casey's original 1972 off-Broadway stage musical "Grease," that featured early appearances by male stars Richard Gere, Treat Williams, and John Travolta. The film version was co-produced by Robert Stigwood and Allan Carr (who was also responsible for its adaptation), who had purchased the musical film's rights in 1976. The screenplay was written by Bronte Woodard.

The film version transferred the original stage setting from urban Chicago to Southern California in the late 1950s, and effectively portrayed the various high-school teen cliques at Rydell High School - the leather-jacketed greasers known as T-Birds, and the rebellious Pink Ladies. Grease represented a continuation of the explosion of rock-music hit films (after Saturday Night Fever (1977) ) - again featuring super-star John Travolta now paired up with singer Olivia Newton-John - they were the "oldest" teenagers in America at the time. Its success led to a disastrous run of inferior imitators, including: Thank God It's Friday (1978), Can't Stop the Music (1980), Xanadu (1980), The Apple (1980), an unsuccessful sequel Grease 2 (1982), and Staying Alive (1983).

At the time of the film's making in the summer of 1977, Saturday Night Fever (1977) hadn't been released yet (it opened in December of 1977), although Travolta had already become a favored star due to his appearances on ABC-TV's sit-com Welcome Back, Kotter (airing from 1975-1979). His co-star 29 year-old Olivia Newton-John originally balked at playing a teenager due to her advanced age, but then agreed - it was her US feature film debut.

The highly-successful film was nominated for a single Academy Award: Best Original Song ("Hopelessly Devoted to You" by John Farrar). With a budget of 6ドル million, the film grossed revenues of 190ドル million (domestic) and 396ドル.2 million (worldwide). Its soundtrack album in 1978 was at the top of the charts, just behind the soundtrack album for Travolta's previous film Saturday Night Fever (1977).

• in California during the summer vacation time of 1958, two teens: rising senior Danny Zuko (John Travolta) (Class of '59) and Australian Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) became summer lovers; Sandy sorrowfully told Danny that she would be leaving and returning to Australia, and wouldn't see him again ("I've had the best summer of my life. Now I have to go away. It isn't fair"); when she asked him: "Is this the end?", he tried to reassure her: "Of course not, it's only the beginning"
• the scene transitioned into the opening title credits - an animated sequence to the tune of the title song: "Grease" - at first emphasizing the use of grease in the duck-tail hair style of the 50s - by the lead greaser Danny (John Travolta); Sandy was introduced as a cute, smiling virginal and sweet blonde

• "Grease" (Lyrics: ♪♪ "I solve my problems and I see the light We got a lovin' thing We got to feed it right There ain't no danger we can go too far We start believin' now That we can be who we are Grease is the word They think our love is just a growin' pain Why don't they understand? It's just a cryin' shame Their lips are lying, only real is real We stop the fight right now We got to be what we feel Grease is the word Is the word, is the word that you've heard It's got groove, it's got meaning Grease is the time, is the place, is the motion Grease is the way we are feelin'...")

• the animated credits presented the two main male and female groups in the film; first - Betty Rizzo (33 year-old Stockard Channing) - an ultra-cool bad-girl and the leader of the Pink Ladies, and Danny's ex-girlfriend, whose "tough girl" members included:
  • Marty Maraschino (Dinah Manoff)
  • Jan (Jamie Donnelly)
  • Frenchy Facciano (Didi Conn)

• and then, Danny's best friend Kenickie (Jeff Conaway), and other greaser T-Bird gang members, that included:
  • Sonny LaTierri (Michael Tucci)
  • Putzie (Kelly Ward)
  • Doody (Barry Pearl)
• when Danny and Sandy returned to high school in the fall, Sandy (who had become friends with the Pink Ladies) and Danny presented differing versions of their summer romance to their respective friend-groups during their infectious, sing-along paralleled duet of the song "Summer Nights"; her version was sweet and romantic, while his was laced with sexual innuendo and lust:
  • Danny: "Summer lovin', had me a blast"
    Sandy: "Summer lovin', happened so fast"
    Danny: "I met a girl crazy for me"
    Sandy: " I met a boy, cute as can be"
    Chorus: "Summer days driftin' away, to uh-oh those summer nights"
    The T-Birds: "Wella, wella, wella, huh, Tell me more, tell me more, did you get very far?"
    The Pink Ladies: "Tell me more, tell me more, like, does he have a car? Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh...."

• but then to their surprise, they realized that they were both enrolled in the same school - Rydell HS, when they ran into each other after an evening's HS pep rally (and bonfire), where Sandy had performed as a cheerleader; Sandy explained how she was now enrolled as a transfer-exchange student for the fall due to a change of plans rather than going back to Australia, and was excited to see him; however, after his initial joy in seeing her, Danny had to maintain a false and cool facade to keep his cocky reputation intact; he reacted with a shrug to her enthusiastic greeting:
  • "That's cool, baby. You know how it is. Rockin' and rollin' and whatnot"
• the swaggering but limber "bad boy" American greaser Danny hadn't revealed to "good girl" Sandy that he was the rebellious leader of the leather-jacketed T-Birds, and thus couldn't show too much interest in her; she was upset by his fake phoniness and told him off:
  • "What's wrong with you?...What happened to the Danny Zuko I met at the beach?...You're a fake and a phony and I wish I'd never laid eyes on you!"
• there would be many ups and downs in the romantic relationship (with break-ups and reunions) between rebellious bad boy Danny and good-girl Sandy
• the prim and proper Sandy was invited by Frenchy to an overnight sleep-over at her house, where the "goody-two-shoes" Aussie was reluctant to join in drinking wine, smoking cigarettes, having her ears pierced, and eating Twinkies with the other Pink Ladies; Frenchy announced she was dropping out of school to go to beauty school to become a beautician, considering it "a very strategic career move"; Rizzo donned a blonde wig to mock and make fun of the prudish Sandy by singing and dancing: "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee"
  • (Lyrics: ♪♪ "Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee Lousy with virginity Won't go to bed Till I'm legally wed I can't, I'm Sandra Dee..."
• after retreating to the bathroom, Sandy also wandered out to the outdoor back porch later in the night, garbed in her white nightgown, where she lamented and wistfully sang the poignant song: "Hopelessly Devoted to You," and strolled into the backyard
• the T-Birds crashed the party, and soon after, Betty Rizzo found herself making out with Kenickie in the backseat of his "Greased Lightning" dragster (purchased with summer-job money); in the passion of moment, she disregarded the fact that his condom ("my twenty-five cent insurance policy") was broken (that he had purchased in the 7th grade), and went ahead and had sex with him anyway, without protection
• during sex, they were interrupted by rival Scorpion gang greasers/racers: Leo "Crater-Face" Balmudo (Dennis Cleveland Stewart), the leader, and his girlfriend Charlene "Cha-Cha" DiGregorio (Annette Charles) (Danny's former lover), who deliberately backed into Kenickie's jalopy to dent its bumper
• in the auto-shop at school, Danny and the gang sang "Greased Lightnin'" - a wild, sex-laced ode to the sexy muscle car of their dreams:
  • (Lyrics: ♪♪"Well, this car could be systematic, hydromatic, ultramatic, Why, it could be Greased Lightnin'!.....We'll get her ready We'll get her ready With a four-speed on the floor They'll be waiting at the door You know that ain't no s--t We'll be gettin' lots of tit, in Greased Lightning....You are supreme The chicks'll cream, For Greased Lightning...With new pistons, plugs and shocks I can get off my rocks You know that I ain't braggin' She's a real p---y wagon, Greased Lightning ♪♪")
• Sandy began dating football player Tom Chisum (Lorenzo Lamas with bleached blonde hair) after being snubbed by Danny; at the Frosty Palace diner where Sandy was sharing an ice cream sundae with Tom, Danny came up to her at the juke-box to apologize for his coldness at the bonfire-pep rally: ("It was me, of course, but it wasn't me"); Sandy referred to her "jockstrap" boyfriend Tom as a much more "simple person"; she called out Danny's jealousy, and challenged him to get into better physical shape after he boasted: "I can run circles around those jerks"
• to improve himself and impress her, Danny received phys. ed. training from Coach Calhoun (Sid Caesar), and failed trying out for basketball, wrestling, and baseball but eventually began to succeed in track and field, where it was more difficult to break the game rules

• while running hurdles on the track, Danny fell and Sandy came to his aid and they reconciled; later that evening, she persuaded him to take her inside the Frosty Palace, although he still felt embarrassed to be in public with her; members of both groups (the T-Birds and Pink Ladies) joined them at their table, to order Polar Burgers and ice cream sodas and Eskimo Pies
• at closing after everyone else cleared out, Frenchy admitted to white-haired kindly waitress Vi (Joan Blondell) that she had dropped out of beauty school: ("Beauty school sure wasn't what I thought it'd be....I dropped out"); seated alone, Frenchy fantasized about being visited by a "guardian angel" - Teen Angel (Frankie Avalon) with a chorus of female angels, who sang: "Beauty School Dropout" - and urged her to return to high school

• (Lyrics: "♪♪ ... Turn in your teasing-comb And go back to high school Beauty school dropout...Now your bangs are curled, your lashes twirled But still the world is cruel Wipe off that angel face And go back to high school Baby, don't blow it Don't put my good advice to shame..." ♪♪)
• a nationally-televised dance-off contest was held in the Rydell HS gymnasium, hosted by National Bandstand's Vince Fontaine (Ed Byrnes) - a sleazy womanizer who was hitting up Pink Lady Marty Maraschino backstage and on-camera; later after the dance she told Rizzo that Vince Fontaine had tried to date-rape her: "I caught Vince Fontaine putting aspirin in my Coke at the dance"
• Danny and Sandy were competing as one dance contestant-couple; to spite each other's new partners after breaking up with each other, Rizzo was paired up with Leo, while Kenickie's dance partner was Cha Cha; although Danny and Sandy were in the lead, Cha Cha rudely cut in on Sandy to dance with Danny - and they were declared the champions; after being awarded the trophy, the winners were featured in a spotlight dance to "Blue Moon" - while members of the T-Birds "mooned" the camera

• although still miffed by Danny, Sandy agreed to reunite with Danny at a drive-in movie theatre; he presented her with his ring: ("Sandy, would you wear my ring?"); she responded positively: ("Oh Danny, this means so much to me. "Cause I know now that you respect me"), but then when he tried to have touch her and make out, she objected and he obliviously responded: "Don't worry, nobody's watchin'"; she ran off and threw the "piece of tin" back at him in disgust; the heartbroken Danny sang: "Sandy" as he wandered through the outdoor drive-in parking area and playground in front of the giant screen
• (Lyrics: "♪♪ Stranded at the drive-in Branded a fool What will they say Monday at school? Sandy Can't you see I'm in misery?..." ♪ ♪)

• meanwhile, in another area of the drive-in, Rizzo told Marty that she might be pregnant ("knocked up"), and the word spread quickly; the next day at school, Rizzo sang to herself about her predicament, trying to put it into perspective: "There Are Worse Things I Could Do"
  (Lyrics: "♪♪... I could stay home every night Wait around for Mr Right Take cold showers every day And throw my life away On a dream that won't come true I could hurt someone like me Out of spite or jealousy I don't steal and I don't lie But I can feel and I can cry A fact I'll bet you never knew But to cry in front of you That's the worst thing I could do ♪♪")
• a drag-race (for "pink slips, ownership papers" of the loser's car) was held in a dry concrete riverbed (filmed in Los Angeles) between the T-Birds' "Greased Lightnin'" and the Scorpion's hot-rod; at the last minute, Danny stepped in for the injured Kenickie (who accidentally suffered a mild concussion), competing against rival Leo with bladed tires:
  • "The rules are, there ain't no rules. To the second bridge and back. First one back wins....You ain't gonna see me for dust, Zuko."

• during the exciting action scene and production number 'Thunder Road', Leo's hot-rod jalopy sliced into the side of Danny's "Greased Lightning" car (in homage to Ben-Hur (1959) ), but Danny won nonetheless and became everyone's hero; after the race, witnessed by Sandy from afar, she asked Frenchy for help to make her happy: ("to start anew") - by transforming her image
• as the school year came to a close, the school held an outdoor Graduation Carnival, with the festivities including a ferris-wheel and other rides and booths (i.e., a fund-raising pie-tossing booth and a cotton candy booth) on the high school stadium's athletic field; Rizzo yelled to Kenickie from the ferris wheel that her pregnancy was a false alarm
• in the film's climactic, show-stopping finale, Danny shocked the greasers - he had "turned jock" and appeared in a white letterman's sweater (for Track); but then Sandy appeared smoking a cigarette and wearing a skin-tight black outfit - after transforming herself (with Frenchy's help) into a greaser; Danny stripped down to his own black T-shirt; the newly-reunited couple sang about how they were now a perfect match for each other:
  • "You're the One That I Want" - a duet between Sandy and Danny
• (Lyrics: "♪♪...You better shape up Cos I need a man And my heart is set on you You better shape up You better understand To my heart I must be true Nothin' left, nothin' left for me to do You're the one that I want ♪♪...")

• "We Go Together" - sung by the ensemble cast, about how the gang was together again
• (Lyrics: "♪♪ We go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da ding-dong Remembered forever as Shoobop shawadda wadda yippity boom de boom Chang chang changity chang shoo bop That's the way it should be. Whaa-ooh, yeah..♪♪ ")
• the film concluded with the two driving - and flying away (!) into the clouds in a refurbished hot-rod

• the end titles were accompanied by a reprise of the title song: "Grease"