Grease the Musical

Are musicals usually your go to movie genre? Yea, they weren’t mine either. However, there is one movie that changed my mind, “Grease.”

The movie “Grease” takes place in the 1950s at Rydell High School. The movie was released in 1978. It is another romantic movie, the ones that are common nowadays. Danny Zuko, the bad boy played by John Travolta, experiences a short summer romance with Sandy, the good girl played by Olivia Newton-John. Unfortunately, the romance had to come to an end once Sandy’s parents decide to move back to Australia. Danny mentions that their love “is only the beginning,” foreshadowing the events that were to follow.

After Sandy’s parents eventually change their mind about moving back to Australia, Sandy enlists in Rydell High School, where Danny studies at. However, Sandy has no idea. She meets a new friend, Frenchie, who was kind enough to make Sandy feel welcomed. After class during lunch, Frenchie introduces Sandy to her 3 friends, Jan, Marty, and Rizzo, who are all part of a group called The Pink Ladies. Meanwhile, on the bleachers during lunch, Danny and his friends hang out.  Fooling around, Danny’s friend interrogate him. His friends all wonder what Danny did at the beach. At the same time, Frenchie asks what Sandy did that summer. Danny and Sandy both break out into a song, each individually explaining to their friends about their romantic summer. 

Personally, I never liked when the movie was interrupted by the singing. I always thought it was unnecessary, especially with the corny dancing and melodramatic lyrics. Surprisingly, when I first watched the movie, I found the songs rather catchy. The words to the songs told a story that explained the romance between Danny and Sandy more in depth. Without the songs, the storyline would be dull. However, I liked the main characters because of their acting and singing. The rest of the movie involves Sandy and Danny making up. Throughout the movie, they do more corny dances and more catchy songs are played as they do so. Afterall, the soundtrack album was the second-best selling album of the year in the United States back in 1978. Although the beginning of the movie was great, I did not like the ending. Sandy changed her appearance to please Danny. I do not feel like Sandy should feel like she would have to change herself to please others. 

I would recommend watching Grease if you are into romance and musicals. The catchy songs and talented actors will keep you watching. If you find yourself watching Grease and end up falling in love with the main characters, Grease 2 is not for you. There are different characters playing the roles and it will leave you wondering where John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John went because of how good they were in the first movie. Although the plot in Grease 2 is decent, it is not the same as the first movie, but that’s a different story.