This film is ultramatic! (Grease (DVD))

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Grease (DVD)
Date:	03/04/08 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Everything

Disadvantages: Nothing

In 1978, director Randal Kleiser gave us a magical and historical musical film that epitomised high school in the US in the middle of the 20th Century - Grease is the word!

The Plot

Australian Sandy Olssen visits America for a summer and meets bad boy Danny Zuko. Come term time, she finds herself at Rydell High, and meets the Pink Ladies, a group of girls at the high school, the 'It' girls of the school. She soon fits in with them, and becomes a cheerleader for the high school football team. On a rally night for the team, she finds herself face to face with Dnny and finds out he is the leader of the 'T-Birds', the school's 'It boys' gang! What follows is a wonderful tale of successful and hilariously unsuccessful romance and the stereotypes of high school.

The Cast and Performances

This film made a star out of its two leads. John Travolta plays Danny and Olivia Newton-John is Sandy. The on screen chemistry is overwhelmingly powerful between the two of them, and they bounce off each other's charisma and presence to create magic throughout the film. They are ably supported by a host of actors, including Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci and Kelly Ward as the T-Birds, and Stockard Channing, Didi Conn, Jamie Donnelly and Dinah Manoff as the Pink Ladies. The cast as an ensemble are near perfect in their deliverance of the film, and are directed expertly by Kleiser in all aspects.

My Opinion

I have not a bad word to say about this film. I must have watched it dozens of times, and each time I do, it never bores me. Embarrassingly enough I could probably recite the majority of it.

The acting is immense, and the direction equal to it. The mood and atmosphere provided by the score is perhaps the strongest feature of the film, with the cast singing a large number of the tracks, and Sha-Na-Na providing the majority of the music at the Dance Off.

The catchiness and believability is spot on, and it paints a picture of life in the mid-20th Century in America that is both great and bleak in many ways for many people.

Conclusion

Near perfect musical film.

I rate this film at 5 stars out of 5.

The DVD is available from amazon.co.uk for £3.98.

This review may also be posted on ciao.co.uk.

Thanks for reading.

Summary: Grease (1978)