And we are back! After what seems like an absolute age, I am back writing about films. I’ll be doing less and yet so much more. Quality over quantity and all that bollocks. Tuesdays are now reserved for reviews of new films (or newish, I’m not made of money) and Fridays are the days I can write whatever I want. These may sometimes be straight up reviews of films I have seen recently or bigger deep dives into areas of film I find interesting. But I’m going to keep it a bit lighter and more casual than the Tuesday reviews. With that being said, let's crack on with the first Friday piece about my love of Grease 2 (1982) and why it is better than the original.
My relationship with movie musicals is very much like the nation’s relationship with Marmite. I either love them or I hate them. I am sure if I truly thought about it I could probably find some that fit somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, but for the most part, it is an accurate description. Grease (1978) is one of the good ones and yet, despite all odds, its sequel holds a much dearer place in my heart. My love for Grease 2 started as a bit of a joke and even now I understand that it is a very flawed film. Rewatching it recently made me realise that the direction and editing aren’t exactly stellar. There are some moments in the film where the editing and shot composition is downright bad. And the story is effectively the same as the first film but just gender-reversed. With all those issues, why then do I prefer this film to the original?
The Story
Yes, I know what I just said about the story basically being a rehash, but there are added aspects that definitely improve on the original. To be honest, off the top of my head I couldn’t tell you exactly what the story is for Grease. In my mind, it is just a selection of songs of Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) making up and falling out until she eventually completely changes who she is a person to win him? It’s been a while so I could be wrong. And while Grease 2 basically follows this outline but with Michael (Maxwell Caulfield) attempting to win over Stephanie (Michelle Pfeiffer), they add interesting elements to spice it up. For one, Michael creates an alter-ego to his nerdy self-early doors. He is a mystery biker and the complete antithesis to his normal, nerdy self, and he remains a mystery to all the characters until the end. But at the same time, he wins Stephanie over with his normal self as well, so by the end of the film, you feel like he hasn’t just completely changed for her or her for him (which isn’t exactly the case for Grease). Secondly, Stephanie is unsure of her role as a pink lady which causes added conflict and makes her a much more interesting character as she fights with who she wants to be and who she is expected to be. Thirdly, and most importantly, the T-Birds are the antagonists. They are ultimately quite likeable, but they are also the villains of the piece, which is a great idea for the film, basically flipping the original on its head somewhat. Overall, it is miles more interesting and miles more memorable.
The Music
This may be the most contentious point I will make. The songs of Grease are beloved, and I do enjoy them as much as the next person. But they genuinely don’t hold a candle to the songs of Grease 2. I will find myself listening to the soundtrack for this film in my own time and not skipping a single song, I think it is bloody brilliant. I would just list them off but what’s the point when they are all great. That being said, I do need to mention one song which has aged horribly. The song without context is a bop, but it becomes extremely questionable when you know the context. This is the song ‘Let’s Do it For Our Country’. So, this song is based around one of the T-Birds attempting to coerce one of the pink ladies into having sex with him despite her not wanting to. How does he do this? By taking her to an air raid shelter and getting two other T-Birds to set off an air raid alarm, signalling nuclear war, meaning they may never get a chance to have sex as they could die. Like I say, a great song without context, with context extremely questionable. I have tried my best to put the video here but it keeps breaking my post so you'll have to seek it out yourselves.
Everything Else
Seems silly to have paragraphed the other two sections when I do in fact prefer every aspect of this film (except some of the technical aspects) over the original. In terms of laughs, I get much more joy out of this film, and the characters are all far better as well. Take both the T-Birds and Pink Ladies for example. In the original film, you have the one or two who are memorable and important, and the others all get cast to the wayside. Not the case in this film. Each of the characters for both groups are memorable and fun and definitely stick in your mind far more than in the original film. This might be because the T-Birds as a group are the antagonists and so more focus is placed on them. I also love how horny this film is, to a ridiculous level. Almost every conversation is about getting laid, and don’t even get me started on the songs about sex. One of them is literally called ‘Reproduction’. Some of the creative choices also seem a little mad and weird which really adds so much to the film.
So, if I haven’t sold you on this film already, I don’t know what to say. Yes, it isn’t exactly ‘good’ in a general sense, but boy is it fun and I love it for that. Ignore that 37% rotten tomatoes score. What do critics know anyway?
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