Brillantine

This movie is such a classic musical and movie in general. The songs are so catchy and well known. Olivia and John made this movie as good as it is. But overall I wanted to do this review in tribute to Olivia, she put up a good fight but left too soon:(. She was only 73 and left us just yesterday. She left an everlasting impact on females, people and especially Australians. As an Australian she truly is an icon. RIP Dame Olivia Newton John.

Despite what others say about it, I really do dig this movie. You can't fail to like the songs, especially Grease and Summer Nights. The characters will live on forever. I saw a reunion show on TV recently, and you can tell this movie was as much fun to watch as it was to make. A classic in all aspects!

I will admit I didn't like "Grease" very much at one point, but like some other musicals, it has grown on me. It is just a fun film, yes with some corny dialogue and some slow moments, but the performances, choreography and songs more than make up for any misgivings. I like how "Grease" is filmed, the cinematography is smooth, and the costumes are lovely to look at. The script has some nice raunchy humour, if a little corny at times. Also there is a nice compelling story in general, even if it is slow in spots. The performances are of high energy. John Travolta, is it just me or wasn't he really sexy here? I thought Tim Curry was sexy in "Rocky Horror Picture Show" but Travolta's Danny who swivels his hips like Elvis brings a different kind of sexiness as well as acting like a tough kid, which he isn't really. Olivia Newton-John, dressed in whites and creams looks beautiful and is appealing as Sandy, she is almost unrecognisable in the final musical number. Stockard Channing provides a voluptuous contrast as Betty Rizzo, and does it with swagger. What makes this movie enjoyable are the song and dance numbers. I wasn't keen on the songs when I first saw the film seven years ago, but as I have been re watching the film over the years, like the film they have really grown on me. "Summer Nights", "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Grease Lightening" and "We Go Together" are classics. Overall, this film is fun, you mayn't like it first time, but if you give it another chance it could well grow on you. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The movie has proved more durable than anyone would have thought. It took substantial critical hits for being a Califoria-ized, Olivia-Newton-John-ized adaptation of a beloved, long-running New York show. At least, we mused at the time, they changed the story so they wouldn't have to make Ms Newton-John affect any sort of American accent: certainly not a New York one.

And yet it seems to stand up well on its own. The New Yorker observed at the time that nobody involved with this movie was alive during the era it was supposed to depict, but they clearly had a fine time with the music. Yes, the scenes were clearly from sunny 1970's California, but this didn't bother the kids who saw this in 1978, and enough time has passed that it shouldn't bother us who remember that it was supposed to be in Brooklyn, in the '50's.

Have fun, kids.

Grease is a vapid, campy, so sweet for its own good, and over-the-top musical that has a terrible message, inconsistent storytelling, unfocused plot, and a stretched running length. But it features wonderful catchy songs, a charismatic and insanely energetic performance from John Travolta, who has an incredible chemistry with Olivia Newton-John, and characters that almost all of them are fleshed-out. If all these things aren't enough to make this movie charming what else could be?

(7/10)