So I went to see a 40th Anniversary showing of "Grease" tonight and there were only about 13 people in the audience!

Maybe they all died in a grease fire.

They watched it on TV (if they even heard of it).

It slipped their minds.

Wow, it's hard to believe this movie is already 40 years old. That means Stockard Channing is gonna celebrate her 102nd birthday this year.

Anybody in costume?

No, R5.

Grease is no The Ten Commandments. Once you have seen the show a dozen times, via movie or on stage, there's no reason to watch it again.

R7=Julianne Hough

The best scene in The 10 Commandments is when Moses splits the sea. That scene never gets old!

Grease is fabulous too! Travola and Newton-John were so young and beautiful in it.

I saw GREASE for the first time at our Pride Center about a years ago and it seemed very dated and kind of boring. Wouldn't watch it a second time. I recognized the songs but the movie was meh.

***should be "about a YEAR ago"***

Sorry, OP. It looked like an overblown, but cheaply produced, television show 40 years ago. There was no reason to see it then and even less now.

r10, really I rewatched it on Netflix and enjoyed it. I remember seeing this when I was younger and loved it. It is a classic. How can you said it was dated when it was period piece -dated to the 50s?

Nice girl becomes a whore to keep her thuggish, single-digit IQ boyfriend. Pass.

It wasn't too good back in 1978.

Proud to say @ 63 I have never seen GREASE.

I saw it and had a great time. The restoration was a true revelation compared to the late 1990s reissue; the picture is razor sharp, the sound is crystal clear without any of the weird added effects, and I don't know when Olivia Newton-John's voice ever sounded better.

It was dated already when it came out. A tiresome film that tries too hard and all in the wrong way. Both leads were terrible. ONJ was unwatchable.

I agree about the restoration, R16. The picture never looked better.

What’s with all the hate for “Grease” on this thread?

I saw it last night here in The Midwest. The theater holds 208 people and the seats were 75% sold based on the online buying screen. I appreciated that it was a good print with subtle audio enhancements; thanks TCM! I enjoyed it as always, but really noticed that the movie moved along at a quick pace without commercials, just 2 hours. What a treat these days. How many of the cute backup dancers saw what was underneath Allan Carr’s caftan?

I washoping to see it again in the movie theater but I had prior commitment.

Most people are massive cunts R19.

Did they make John Travolta convincingly heterosexual?

I hear they're doing wonderful things with CGI these days.

In that British spy movie they had Elton John moving like a young Tom Cruise on wires!!!

R19 it's not hate, I just don't think it's that good. I saw it in the cinema in '78, enjoyed it then, watched it again and just didn't feel the same way. I can see why kids today wouldn't like it. It's really targeted to teenage girls but comes over as sexist by todays standards, and the biggest problem to me is that most of the cast are obviously too old to play teenagers . Each to their own though, if other people enjoy it thats fine.

Everyone has already seen it 1000 times.

Geez, can't wait for the Xanadu 40th Anniversary thread. What a bunch of curmudgeons up in here.

Grease and its soundtrack looks and sounds antiquated to the current generation.

the current generation isn't the demo they're going for sweetie.

Looks like the older generation isn't interested either.

it's played out over the years.

Grease takes place in an Alternate Universe

The original Broadway production was fun, raunchy, and gave the audience a loving look back at an earlier era.

The movie chucked most of it and created a bloated musical episode of "Happy Days."

You're old OP

Can't stand it. And after that, every fuckin high school wanted to produce it. Gawd make it stop.

I'm old too, r33. 45 years old in fact!!! I was just a little kid when my mom took me to see Grease as a little gay child. I wanted to be Sandy and I wanted to fall in love with Danny!

FWIW I saw a rerelease of the film back in the late 1990s, and the theater was packed with teens & people in their 20s.

Maybe now everyone is just sick of it.

The baby gays and eldergays are too busy celebrating and fantasizing for David Hogg's birthday.

I loved the original stage production, but I hated the movie and always will.

Travolta and ONJ were beautiful. I saw it in theaters for its 20th anniversary and the theater was packed. Little kids in the aisle singing and dancing along...

Our culture has changed for the worse if we cannot appreciate the exuberance of a charming, lightweight movie-musical

Most of the people who wanted to see it, saw it at the Sunday matinee.

Who the hell goes to see Grease on a Tuesday?

The Frankie Valli "Grease " disco theme song is amongst the worst movie themes ever.

It wasn't even the worst stage-to-screen adaptation of 1978.

It was a Wednesday, R40, which actually is the day most people go to see Grease.

28 and never seen it

I'm waiting till I retire to see it for the first time. Gotta save the best things for last. Does Travolta present hole?

Saw the show in previews at the Broadhurst.

Just a kid so I waited at the stagedoor for autographs at a time when there would be like 3 people. Because people were normal back then. Except for budding theater queens.

Met a girl my age for whom it was her 5th time and she was ecstatic. First inkling that there was something going on with this show that I wasn't seeing. Never saw it again in any form.

The film of Bye Bye Birdie is a million times better. Though don't like the stage show. Lots of mediocre Broadway song filler. Maybe you had to see it with the original cast and Champion staging which must have been dynamite.

He used to be so dreamy

Bless you, R43. You made me laugh out loud.

No mean feat these days.

Thank you!

I can only offer an opinion from personal experience, so I could be a little off-base here. But as a professional working musician in the opera and theater world, I can suspect what the problem might be for "Grease."

"Grease" is a show that relies predominantly on nostalgia for its musical and dramatic success. When you look at the music (the composition and style of the songs), the characters, the setting, and the drama of the plot, every element of the show is vulnerable to feeling dated. It was written in 1971 and set twelve years earlier at the end of the 1950s. It takes a very talented team to create something of a period that won't immediately date itself. (Of course, one can argue that the creative team was only interested in capturing the simplicity and fun of the time, and that's perfectly fine. I am fond of telling my composition students that "not everything has to be a masterpiece"... but most of us also strive to create something that will endure and remain relevant long after its creation.)

I played rehearsal and pit piano for a production when I was high school student in the 1990s. The musical has some charm, in a "show choir" sort of way, and some of the tunes are catchy. But it didn't take long in the rehearsal process for me to grow bored of the music. Now that I am older (and more musically experienced and educated), I can see that there isn't much musical sophistication in "Grease."

The songs capture the simplest and most basic elements of late 1950s popular music. Ask yourself how many recording artists from the late 1950s or early 1960s are still popular today. I can think of a few (Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, etc.)... but how many people aged under 25 listen to these artists?

As for the drama, I'm not going to rehash discussions about how character arcs don't really mesh with contemporary ideals.

Since "Grease" doesn't really have that much staying power (in my opinion) musically or dramatically, its sustained popularity is limited to nostalgia, limited to those who saw the show at the right time and the right age for it to resonate with them. It had a big boost from the movie version in 1979. If you were aged 16-22 at the time the musical was written, you would be 63-69 years old today. If you were aged 16-22 when the film was released, you would be 56-62 years old. And so--I hate to say it--but the audience for which "Grease" still holds interest is very, very limited.

R46 is right. The 1950s is becoming like the Gilded Age in terms of nostalgia value. Who cares anymore?

r49 and r50 really miss the point of the movie all together. typical.

What's the point then, R51? (It's as deep as Shakespeare!)

it's a fun movie from 1978! just enjoy it or don't. no need to critique it like it's deep. it's pop.

That 1990s re-release was the only way to see the film in its original widescreen aspect ratio at the time.

Why don't you go flog your log, R49.

R47 Yes. When watching Grease again I actually thought he was handsome back then.

Only a privileged few can say that they were in the audience for the school production of Grease starring Louis Tomlinson.

He looks so stiff in that clip. The other guys playing the T-Birds are all into it and he so uninterested and lame. r57

Grease is the Word

You're the One that I Want.

"Now that I am older (and more musically experienced and educated), I can see that there isn't much musical sophistication in "Grease." "

MARY! "Magic Changes" didn't communicate that to you the very first time you heard it? The music in the show is simple. The problems in the show are problems that teenagers have. Yes. It is all very light.

But in its original form, it did a good job of capturing the style and the sensibility of the era, very much heightened as it was to make it theatrical. The creators of the original production of GREASE knew completely that the music of the era was unsophisticated and not at all complex. But it had a characteristic sound of its own. And they created a look back at it with unsophisticated music of their own that, nonetheless, did a very good job of embracing the music of that era with affection and appreciation.

My girl cousin and I saw it 15 times in a row. We knew every word of the dialogue and songs,and I was terribly disappointed when I watched it again after a many year gap . Not so much in the movie,its what its always been,a sugar coated romp,but in the fact that I had changed so much it just didnt relate to me anymore.I still know every word of the songs though.

My favorite scene in the movie:

Stockard Channing as Rizzo: I feel like a defective typewriter. I skipped a period.

Dinah Manoff as Marty: Sounds like menopause.

Michael Tucci seems really sexy to me when I watch Grease today. My tastes have definitely changed.

My sweet, virginal, perky sister went to a screening and came out a trashy, slutty WHORE.

I used to see the greaser guy quite a bit at seedy gay bars back in the 80s. I read that he passed away of AIDS. The woman who played Cha-Cha is dead too.

Cha-Cha

Great back in the day but yeah it seems really rapey & dated now.

In the time of SNF, Grease and Welcome Back, Kotter, I never thought that Travolta was good looking. To me, he was pre-repulsive and he later aged into full repulsive. I have no desire to see a Travolta film.

This was probably my favorite scene

R70...

Still a fun, enjoyable movie after all these years. I loved the reunion extra on the blu-ray with John, Olivia and cast singing songs from the movie.

There was always a Rizzo in every group. Overly developed, cock-hungry female who was not that attractive but fucked every guy in class. I always thought it was odd that Danny was more embarrassed by his friendship with Sandy than having fucked Rizzo.

I preferred the sequel.

Was Frenchy supposed to be a relative of Sandy's?

Did Frenchy's carpet match the drapes?

It's an old, racist movie. Fuck it.

[quote] It's an old, racist movie. Fuck it.

The era in which the movie took place was racist. You could pretty much play that card with a lot of films.

There's at least one distinctly racist line in the movie.

I'm a Grease fan! Since I saw it at the movies when I was 6 years old!

Travoltas weird pervy spa antics are turning everyone off it

Next time I visit LA, I wanna check out the school. It still looks a lot like it did the movie. They must get a ton of visitors.

R82 Yes, it still looks the same from the front. There are quite a few other LA Grease locations to check out as well

Nevermind. I just saw your link R82

Racist? What the fuck? Did you want Sandy to be a mudshark?

I loved Grease. While Stockard Channing, as well as the rest of the cast, was older, her solo song, There Are Worse Things I Could Do had the most dramatic effect to the movie. Her delivery was poignant, raw emotion, that a real actress could convey. I admired her acting in many other characters she brought to the screen. Grease was a throwback to the musicals, like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Don't forget.....

It's a school night, OP.

The kids don't wanna see a bunch of 40 year olds play teenagers or a greasy, super effeminate wop turd who is gayer than RuPaul's bleached, waxed asshole? Quelle surprise.

Grease will always be a classic. If the kids today see that posted on instagram they will go check it out.

Grease is not a classic. It's had its day.

Grease is a classic. Face fact.

It's a shitty movie. More specifically, a sloppy movie. Overblown at one moment, too cheap by half at the next moment.

Linked above is a photo of Frenchie with pink "hair." It's stated in the movie that she dyed it herself, but the goddamned thing is obviously a wig. Not even a human hair wig, but the kind of wig which, at the time, you could pick up for $15 in a Korean store front on 14th Street.

Except for the addition of 'Hopelessly Devoted' and 'You're the One That I Want,' it never feels like anyone was particularly in charge of anything while this film was being made.

r92, its a fun movie. go jump in a toilet.

It's a "fun movie" and a "classic" for those that think ketchup is too spicy.

you obviously don't know what fun is, r94. you're just a bitter, dried up twig on your family tree.

R95 No, I'm a happy person. I just don't have bland, pedestrian tastes, thank you.

and...

Grease 2 was a sad excuse. r96, take your tastes to the toilet and eat a big glob of shit.

Yes, R73, there was a Rizzo at least in every school. Ours was named Renee. She was just ok looking but did have a pretty nice body. She started fucking guys at parties when she was a freshman and became knows as All the Way Renee. She continued to slut her way through high school. Much like Rizzo, she looked older than her age, although not menopausal.

R86, I agree that There Are Worse Things I Could Do eventually became one of my favorite songs as I got older. Stockard Channing gave it heart and soul.

I like the movie but was of that generation who saw it as kids when it first came out in the theaters (I was 10 years old), and my friends and I went to see it countless times. It was fun, lighthearted, and had many catchy pop songs. Olivia and John made a gorgeous pair. I enjoy it for the nostalgia, but I don't think I'd pay to see it in a theater again. I've seen it too many times to pay for it.

R98 Have fun having dinner at Golden Corral, tackpot.

I loved Grease, always will. John Travolta was in his prime during this time. I had forgotten what a great dancer he was. The fact that Grease is John Waters' favorite film makes me love it even more.

It's fabulous. I wanted to be Sandy but the shameful truth is I was a Rizzo.

I never miss seeing one of my favorite films on the Big Screen. I've seen Gone With The Wind; Cruising; Taxi Driver; The Wizard of Oz... I want that movie theater experience.

This summer I get to see Rosemary's Baby!

It’s a fun classic!

I cannot imagine how much of a turd you would have to be to revere such a shit show as Grease. It was embarrassingly bad. Only someone as delusional and a full on crackpot like Janbot, maybe.

r105, you still ranting? Give it up.

How many 40 year old movies did you go and see when you were young, OP?

R105 Thank you! I mean, seriously!

Um, maybe Gone With the Wind, in constant re-release for decades after its premiere runs.

Randall captured a lot of energy and chemistry from cast who obviously were having the time of their lives filming.

[quote] I cannot imagine how much of a turd you would have to be to revere such a shit show as Grease. It was embarrassingly bad.

Of course it's bad, which makes it all the more fun. I don't think it was ever meant to be The Sound of Music.

The new Blu-ray 4K release is absolutely gorgeous. Like watching for the first time and looks better than it did originally on screen. And a great commentary but director Randall Kleiser.

such a hot little bitch when he was younger

Stockard Channing still sexy in her 70s

So sad that our beloved Jan now looks like Grandmama from the Addams Family.

I would have eaten his ass until I got to his liver.

I'm surprised Grease was rated PG with all this going on...

I'm eating! The last thing I wanna see is Didi Cohn spread eagle with her tongue out

Grease 2 is more popular with the young generation of today than the original. I think because they can relate to the characters more... the lead actress is not a wimp and the lead guy is a bit more sensitive.

Oh jeez, in your dreams r119

It's funny that people single out There Are Worse Things I Could Do. It's probably the song that was changed the most from the original. It's too muzak for my tastes.

While I like You're The One That I Want, that running through the fun house was a lame choice.

For you John Travolta lovers, nobody has mentioned that in Saturday Night Fever he walks around in skimpy black underwear.

[quote]I'm surprised Grease was rated PG with all this going on...

I am surprised as well. I thought the lyrics to Greased Lightning would get it classed an R. These were the days before PG-13.

R20 is "The Midwest" a new theater in the Village? You can't mean the real midwest, do you?

I always felt that the "new" Sandy was a bit much, especially for this taking place in the 50s. Not to mention that we're supposed to believe Frenchy was responsible for this makeover.

Barry gibb’s demo for the title song.

1) The main people interested in re-visiting this film are over the age of 45 and seldom actually go out to see movies anymore. They'll watch it at home if they're feeling nostalgic and not shell out $80-$90 (for a couple) for a night out to see an old movie. (Tix: $15 x 2 = $30; Parking = $10 to $15; Cheap Dinner before: $25 x 2 = $50)

2) People under the age of 30 only go to the cinema to see a super hero movie. Also: don't care about any thing that existed before they were born

I would have loved for Grease 2 to be a continuation of the original film rather than a remake with a different cast. Similar to American Graffiti when they made More American Graffiti.

r120, it's true you cunt.

r120, in my dreams? Well, explain this fuckface:

r120, and this:

r120, and this:

r120, and this:

r120, and this:

r120, and this:

r120, and this:

[quote]Barry gibb’s demo for the title song.

Stigwood called Gibb at the last minute for the theme song. On the Blu-ray they show the credits with the original song they were going with and it's awful.

I'd like to meet one person of the "young generation of today" who has even heard of Grease 2, let alone think it's a better movie than the original.

Travolta must have pulled some prime cock when he was younger.

The only thing good that came out of G2 was Michelle. The cast has no chemistry, the musical numbers are amateurish, the dialogue idiotic, and the songs make my ears bleed. No one in their right mind would prefer it over Grease.

Plus it had Lorna Luft. Don't forget that. She made Stockard look like a spring chicken. Look at those teef

r137, you fucking asshole... did you even look at the links that were just posted upthread. Grease 2 is more popular with kids than Grease, that's just a fact. Nobody relates to Olivia Newton John's character like they do to Michelle Pfeiffer. And people now realise Danny was a total prick and Michael Carrington was a dreamboat.

r139, the Grease 2 cast had amazing chemistry, the dialogue was hilarious and the music numbers were inspired. It says a lot about the sequel that it's a hugely popular movie in its own right and its popularity is now surpassing the first, which most people find dated with boring, traditional characters.

It really is all the rage with the kids, R137!

...which most people find dated with boring, traditional characters.

Link please.

r143, did you miss the half dozen links posted from different sites all stating GREASE 2 is a superior movie? Or are you just being wilfully fucking obtuse?

r144 you don't think the Grease 1 characters are conventional stereotypes? The wimpy damsel in distress, the shit for brains jock who is evasive with her around his tribe? Grease 2 threw out all that bullshit and gave us a strong, free spirited leading lady and a male lead who was a hunk and a nerd all at the same time.

The problem with Grease 2 is that it had the most boring title of any movie ever. Grease Too?

Your said "Most people" R146. I'd like a link to your data as well as background on your polling sample.

How gay is it?

r147, that's hardly a problem... at least the sequel was fantastic entertainment. Wheras Newton John's simpering Australian twat in her nightgown pining after that dimwit was truly embarrassing. r148, I've LINKED to the Grease 2 articles... dozens of them... letting you know that most millennials prefer the sequel. Only people who grew up in the 50s are protective of the first Grease, anybody who wasn't born when it came out doesn't give a fuck about it. Most kids grew up watching Grease 2 reruns on HBO and have more affected for the sequel, it's just a fact.

*affection

[quote] It really is all the rage with the kids

This is true. Especially those who were young during the 90s. I used to frequent a coffee house where the soundtrack was played non-stop. All the young gaylings were infatuated with Maxwell Caulfield and Lorna Luft was some sort of icon.

R142 lol that’s why the first one is getting anniversary reissues in theaters, many blue ray reissues, and made 1000 times the second one did. Pfeiffer has practically disowned Grease 2. You’d have a better chance of her talking about Hollywood Knights a 1980 low brow high school film. The second one bombed so bad it stopped any chance of a sequel. Moral of the story. Don’t stage musical numbers in bowling alleys.

It's not as good as Mary Poppins...

You can stage musical numbers in bowling alleys, just don’t edit them into giant piles of shit.

This Grease 2 fanatic is psychotic. No one of any age loves or has heard of Grease 2. That's a fact.

Did Rosie O and Brooke sing There Are Worse Things I Could Do in the mid 90s productions?

People aren't interested because Eve Arden is in it.

It's hilarious how the old-time Grease fans are so in denial about Grease 2's 21st century popularity. r153, i'll take a musical number in a bowling alley any day over some cheesy ending with a flying car.

OMG we have a Grease 2 troll. It's Lorna isn't it? In my family three generations can sit in front of the TV and sing every song and just about recite the dialogue to Grease. As far as the sequel it's more Grease Who? than Grease 2.

R159 sure Jan.

[quote]Did Rosie O and Brooke sing There Are Worse Things I Could Do in the mid 90s productions?

Yes

Cast Album

Brooke

Whoops, sorry Brooke on stage

Well something screwed up...on YouTube search GREASE Brooke Shields as Rizzo

I was such a young kid when I saw the film I really thought high schoolers looked that mature.

Thanks for those links Rosie/Brooke song links. (I'm R157.) I was curious to how they'd sound. They sing well. for non-singers.

Funny how Brooke sounds exactly like Rosie

A lot of people don't care much about special showings/ theater re-releases these days. I went a 20th anniversary re-release screening of Grease in '98 and the theater was almost packed.

It's mindless fun, but I've never understood. It's supposed to be set in Chicago, but it's filmed in LA, and everybody has Jersey accents?

I thought it was set in La didnt they live near a beach where danny and sandy met?

Grease 2 was shit. I watched it and kind of like it but it's still shit.

Even Xanadu is better than that shit show Grease Pew.

Hedda Lettuce showed Xanadu a while back as part of Chelsea Classics and I was expecting a campy treat, but the truth is, it's just plain dull.

I love Xanadu.

Oh God, I loved Grease 2. The Charades song brings me to tears.

Huge fan event here for Grease 2. So glad the movie is finally getting the respect it deserves, despite what the cunt claims at r105.

The only good thing about that movie is how HOT Sandy's cousin was.

R179 must be the same people that elected Trump.

[quote]I was such a young kid when I saw the film I really thought high schoolers looked that mature.

If you look at a yearbook from the 1950s, the seniors really do look old compared to today's teenagers. The hairstyles for the women were not flattering for girls and made them look older than they were and the boys all wore suits and looked like 30 year old executives.

That was emphasized in the original set design with the yearbook photos around the proscenium, r182.

The character of Sandy was actually based on the young Donna Mills who the writer of Grease knew growing up in the Chicago area in the 1950s. Donna was a very conservative and introverted young girl and it's funny that Sandy takes on a new sexier persona at the end of the work, because Donna did the same, going on to play the sultry vixen Abby Cunningham in Knots Landing.

Donna confirmed that recently r184

Frenchy was ahead of her time with that pink hair.

Your hair looks like an Easter egg!

I never got that It looked more like cotton candy.

Those 2 side-by-side moles on Joan Blondell's face were very distracting.

R189 = Ellen Travolta, who was given a pity role and whose career amounted to bupkis.

Fun fact: Right before "Beauty School Dropout" starts, Joan Blondell goes to flick the drive-in lights off with her elbow and clearly misses by a mile.

On the new Blu-ray the director points out a Joan Blondell blooper. When she is carrying out the dishes and turns the light out with her elbow, she is no where near the light switch. Kleiser said it was years later he notice. Have to admit every time I saw I didn't it and now you can't help seeing it.

A lot of people who have only ever seen it on TV has never seen the true original widescreen version.

I see the Bedknobs Troll has found a new tactic.

Pfeiffer hasn’t disowned it, I think she was extremely disappointed in how it turned out, but it didn’t hurt her career as she had Scarface the next year which really launched her. When she was promoting hairspray she said it was one of the only films she could show her small children.

Grease 2 was supposed to be a launchpad for Andy gibb. He had recorded 2 duets with Olivia Newton John in late 78 (actually Barry gibb laid down the tracks with her and Andy cut his volcals for the songs later, as he was a drugged out mess and his final studio album was a disaster). However, Andy’s screen test for the movie.was horrible and he was axed from the project which delayed the movie even more.

For anyone that has the DVD set, is the grease day USA tv special in any of the extras? Vh1 used to show it on tv in the late 90s.

40th Anniversary extras

• Commentary by director Randal Kleiser and choreographer Patricia Birch

• Introduction by Randal Kleiser

• Rydell Sing-Along

• The Time, The Place, The Motion: Remembering Grease

• Grease: A Chicago Story—NEW

• Alternate Animated Main Titles—NEW

• Alternate Ending—NEW!

• Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes with Introduction by Randal Kleiser

• Grease Reunion 2002 – DVD Launch Party

• Grease Memories from John & Olivia

• The Moves Behind the Music

• Thunder Roadsters

• John Travolta and Allan Carr “Grease Day” interview

• Olivia Newton-John and Robert Stigwood “Grease Day” interview

• Photo Galleries

• Theatrical Trailer

"Two of a Kind" was supposed to be a reunion of "Grease's" John and Olivia. Sort of like what "The Main Event" was to 'What's Up Doc?"

Uh...it was a reunion of the two.

What's the alternate ending to Grease? The car doesn't take flight?

[quote] What's the alternate ending to Grease? The car doesn't take flight?

The car still takes flight only with Principal McGee and Blanche riding in the back seat, too.

r201, i hope you're kidding.

R201, are they reading the forms from last semester?

Would you pull that crap with Annette?

[quote] And why does McGee give Sandy the same form twice?

good point.