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Popcorn Reviews
With Cybèle: Grease
By Cybèle Elaine Werts
CybeleW@aol.com
First published in the Shelburne
News, Shelburne Vermont
Popcorn Kernel Rating: 3 1/2 Kernels: Choreography
so clean; lyrics so clear; outfits so tight; plot so
predictable. This film is the unconscious fantasy of Americans
and any red blooded patriot will like it.
I was 13-something when I first saw Grease,
and it was a watershed. No kidding! I was moved; I thought about
it for days. I could FEEL every bit of it’s sunny unreal world
in my adolescent blood, teaming with hormones. So I just
couldn’t wait to run out at 35, and see if it held any juice.
The good news is that not only did I remember the words to all
the songs, but they’re pretty darn well written. As a somewhat
jaded adult I noted the sharp choreography and the molded plot
much more than I did as a kid, but it still entertained. Oddly
enough, the scene with Frankie Avalon which bored and confused
me as a kid still bores and confuses me. I mean really, what was
this, a scene vehicle for Avalon? Yuck!
What really surprised me was that there was
some very real social commentary in this frothy cherry coke
flick. The one thing that I didn’t like, but which is pretty
much endemic to Hollywood, is that Danny (John Travolta) changed
who he was to impress Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) by changing his
character. He letters in track and learns that impressing the
guys at the expense of someone isn’t real nice. Sandy’s
approach to life change came via black spandex, cigarettes, and
a slutty attitude. What does this teach us?
I won’t bore you with more prostheletizing,
but I will say this. Dispite the squeaky clean of this charming
foray to the fifties, the character of Rizzo (Stockard Channing)
was more than just a bad girl in black. Rizzo suffers a
pregnancy scare and is humiliated by all the poodle skirted
virgin girls of the high school. She sings (yes it IS a musical)
about how she might sleep with a guy or two, but at least
she’s honest and doesn’t lead them on. Dispite her being a
"bad girl" she still ends up with her guy, an unusual
ending for a film culture that generally punishes bad girls. She
shows a depth of character that Sandy and Danny never even
approach. So yeah, it holds up. Good clean fun at 13 or 35.
Suggested Gustatorial Accompaniment: Cherry
coke with two straws.
Copyright 2000
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