‘Grease’ Still A Hit For Same Old Reasons

When word arrived that the nostalgia wallow “Grease” was coming back to theaters 20 years after its original release, I asked the friend I’d seen it with in high school for a deposition.

Do you remember what you thought of the movie then?

“I was really excited about the music, because I think I had the Broadway album. I was upset that John Travolta was in it. I was so insulted that they cast him. He was in that TV show at the time, playing, what was his name?”

Vinnie Barbarino, in “Welcome Back, Kotter.” Do you remember what I thought of the movie, besides my loathing of that “Grease is the word” song?

“No, not really.”

There you have it, evidence that two 17-year-old girls experienced “Grease,” not as a life-altering moment, but as one of the fairly good movies of the summer of ‘78.

And yet the “Grease” phenomenon went on to make $360 million, sell 8 million albums and inspire enough touring stage revivals to keep Adrian Zmed and Sally Struthers in steady work.

A recent issue of Entertainment Weekly traced the history of the Rydell High cinema success story, recounting how Henry “The Fonz” Winkler was the original choice for Danny Zuko, the bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold part that went to Travolta. For the Bambi-eyed Sandy, producer Allan Carr wanted to hire Susan Dey, then stumbled on Olivia Newton-John at a party at Helen Reddy’s house. (Talk about a seminal ‘70s moment!) The story also recounts how Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolf Nureyev dropped by the set to watch Didi Conn perform the “Beauty School Dropout” number with Frankie Avalon. But nowhere is there an explanation of “Grease’s” powerful hold on the public imagination.

I’m going with the Misha-Rudy theory. Viewed again all these years later, “Grease” is, in essence, a zesty smidge of fluff. Sure, it falls prey to “Happy Days” syndrome, that plastic interpretation of the ‘50s that reduces the decade to a Disney theme ride. But the songs are peppy, the actors intent on selling them. And the big carnival finale is choreographed with an old studio slickness, right down to the fanciful flying car.

In short, “Grease” is an unembarrassed movie musical, something my generation experienced only in Sundayafternoon movies on TV. The rare brushes we had with the genre were through cynical takeoffs such as “Cabaret” and overblown rock operas like “Tommy.”

For ‘70s audiences the movie was special enough to lure the two greatest ballet dancers of our time to the sidelines. They weren’t there to see Conn struggle to hold a tune. They came to experience the stuff dreams are made of.

With movie musicals still in short supply, young fans will flock to “Grease” now for the same reasons we did back then. Even though Hollywood doesn’t really know how to make them anymore, and modern society can no longer embrace them with the right suspension of disbelief, the “Greases” of the world will always find an audience. They’re the ones we want, ooh, ooh, ooh, honey.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: “Grease” Location: Newport, Spokane Valley Mall, Showboat Credits: Directed by Randal Kleiser, starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John Running time: 1:50 Rating: PG