Watching it now, it’s certainly not the storyline, which besides from the twist of Sandy attending the school, is very weak.
I’d say it’s the songs and characters, plus 50s nostalgia.
What do you think it is?
Oh and Travolta is no doubt a superstar in this movie.
You answered your own question. It was the fact that John Travolta was a huge star, plus 1950s nostalgia (which was all the rage at the time). Also, it was an adaptation of a very popular broadway musical.
shareThat's true, but nobody thinks these days 'oh that's the adaptation of the musical', I believe it's superseded it completely, unlike say 'Phantom of The Opera' the movie, when you say 'what do you think of Phantom' most aren't going to think of the movie. But if you say 'what do you think of Grease?' I'm sure everyone will automatically think of the movie.
shareAFAIK "Grease" the musical is still a staple of many High School drama productions so its familiarity even with kids under the age of 20 is more palpable than something like "Happy Dayz" or "American Graffiti" which are cut from the same cloth in terms of pop culture era. When I was in high school in the 80s many of the 70s pop culture icons were already phased out and not part of the youth culture I was growing up with BUT the movie "Grease" still had its foothold with people my age and it stood as an ubiquitous reflection of American pop culture then even though it was reflective of the 50s nostalgia of the 70s.
shareI'd imagine most kids would think the stage production was an adaptation of the film, and not the other way around.
sharePlus, ONJ was a megastar in country and pop at the time. They even added Hopelessly Devoted to You just for her. Some folks forget that song was not part of the original Theater show.
shareIt's a lot of fun and enjoyable!
shareThat's true. I have another idea. The cast is basically all adults (ranging from 19 to 32) being high school kids again. Some definitely look their age. I think we wish we could let go of our responsibilities and have fun as a 17 year old again. I know Olivia Newton John said that she actually felt like she was having a do-over of her teenage years and enjoying something she didn't have. Olivia went to an all girls school so it was a completely different experience.
I too wish I had a cooler highschool year than I had.
It's the music for me. Just about every song is catchy. And some nice dance numbers.
shareTravolta was surfing on his Welcome Back Kotter and Saturday Night Fever fame. Olivia Newton John was really popular singer at the time too.
The Broadway musical was a hit too. Fun fact - Adrienne Barbeau (from “Maude”) was the original Broadway Rizzo.
Yeah, some of the songs are nice.
But I don't really like it otherwise, because of the dumb "you have to change your hair and your wardrobe and start smoking" message.
I never saw her transformation as permanent. She was accepted by her group as she was, she did it to show she can loosen up and have fun.
shareHow could it not be permanent?
That is how her "friends" wanted her to be, and it's very hard to stop smoking once you start it.
I also thought she was just showing everyone that she could be the bad girl if she wanted and do it better than any of them. She was the same ole Sandy the next day.
shareThat is not what it looks like to me, sadly enough.
shareSaturday Night Fever wipes its butt with Grease
shareYea, John Travolta was coasting on his fame from Welcome Back , Kotter into Saturday Night Fever and Grease until a infamous movie,Moment by Moment released in 1979 stopped his momentum cold and nearly wiped his fame out until Urban Cowboy in 1985 started his career going--his fame is mostly miss or hit.
shareUrban Cowboy was 1980. He made that movie Perfect with Jamie Lee Curtis that bombed, and then did basically nothing until Pulp Fiction...
shareSaturday Night Fever hasn't aged well, and I thought it was average when it came out - but you had to see it because you knew all the songs...
Grease is still great. My GenZ kids liked it when they were little.
I don’t even care about the music and the clothes, the story is really strong and is absolutely relatable today. Grease however is not
shareA few years ago, I bought the double blu ray of Saturday Night Fever and Grease. I bought it mostly to watch Saturday Night Fever. The famed movie critic Gene Siskel called it his favorite movie of all time. So I wanted to check it out. Other than some nice dance scenes and some catchy music, I didn't really l like it all that much but I guess for Siskel it hit all the right notes. But then I watched Grease and that was a great surprise. I made the mistake of watching Grease 2, too. That was a huge mistake. One of the worst sequels I've seen.
shareGood songs and nostalgia for some who are much older. It's a decent movie.
share