I swear that’s what I thought the lyrics to “Look At Me I’m Sandra Dee” went like when I was a kid!! Likewise, when John Travolta sang about Greased Lightning being “A real pussy wagon”, I thought he wanted to keep cats in it! But that’s one of the reasons that kids and parents alike love “Grease”; the kids ignore the stuff they don’t understand and get on with singing the songs and the parents giggle at the rude stuff!!
“Grease” bounced onto movie screens across the world in 1978 and quickly became the highest grossing movie that Paramount had released. It also became an instant classic and one of the best-loved musicals ever. I was 6 when it hit the cinemas here, and fell in love with it the very first time I saw it. Saturdays were my day, in that I could choose what we did as a family. My poor, poor parents!! Every Saturday for about a year and a half, I chose to go see “Grease”!! Again and again, and again! (I did recently apologise for it, but my mum told me that she loved it as much as I did, and never fails to watch it if it’s on the telly!!! My mum’s a Greaser too, and I never knew!!!!)
Set in the 50’s, the storyline is classic boy meets girl stuff; Sandy Olson, on holiday from Australia, meets Danny Zuko at the beach over the summer. After falling in love, she announces that she has to return Down Under. But, oh no, Daddy has got a job in the States so Sandy stays!! Danny is not all seemed to be, he is the leader of a gang of Greasers called The T-Birds, and not the wholesome jock that Sandy thought he was. And thus begins our story!
The characters are very cool (natch!!) and so believable that even now, when I watch say “Practical Magic” which co-stars Stockard Channing, I think “Hasn’t Rizzo grown up!” On one side you have the T-Birds: The aforementioned Danny (yum yum yum!!!), his best friend, Kenickie (Jeff Conaway, cool but not cool enough to be the leader, really into cars, buys Greased Lightning), Doody (Barry Pearl, the gang’s comedian, thinks he’s Jerry Lewis), Putzie(Kelly Ward, youngest member of the gang, very confused about sex) and Sonny(Michael Tucci, the serious and sensitive one). On the other, you have the Pink Ladies, who are supposed to exclusively date only the T-Birds. They are: Rizzo (Stockard Channing, slutty, bitchy, and possibly pregnant), Frenchie ( Didi Conn, Sandy’s friend, beauty school dropout, has the most fantastically coloured hair), Marty (Dinah Manoff, sex pot, into older guys, the one woman USO) and Jan (Jamie Donnelly, overweight, confused and funny). In order to date Danny, Sandy must become a Pink Lady. Sandy (Olivia Newton John, wholesome, perfect, quite sweet) might just be “too pure to be Pink”.
The music is outstanding, I don’t think there’s anyone that doesn’t know “Summer Nights” or “You’re The One That I Want” or “Greased Lightning”!! The album is still one of my most played, (I wore my first vinyl copy out, it was played so much!) The music makes Grease what it is; a phenomenon!! We know all the words and we ain’t afraid to sing them on dancefloors across the country still!!!!
“Grease” is a timeless classic; the kids still love it, the adults still love it!! It’s the ultimate feelgood movie, in fact, I’m going to put the soundtrack on now!! Altogether now, “Summer lovin’ happened so fast….”