grease reviewed by jamie peck<hr>rating : * * * 1/2 ( out of * * * * ) paramount / 1 : 50 / 1978 / pg ( language , innuendo , brief nudity ) cast : john travolta ; olivia newton-john ; stockard channing ; jeff conaway ; barry pearl ; michael tucci ; kelly ward ; didi conn ; jamie donnelly ; dinah manoff ; eve arden ; sid caesar ; frankie avalon ; joan blondell ; edd byrnes ; alice ghostley director : randal kleiser screenplay : allan carr ; bronte woodward<hr>those print and television ads trumpeting that " 'grease' is still the word " are right on the money . to celebrate its 20th anniversary , this quintessential movie musical is getting the royal treatment reserved for classics like " star wars " -- a well-deserved , red-carpet rerelease . that's fantastic , especially when considering of all the classic characters and scenes the film has served up -- who can forget aspiring beautician frenchie ( didi conn ) being serenaded by her tell-it-like-it-is guardian angel ( frankie avalon ) ? or the hard-nosed principal ( eve arden ) reminding the student body to " be an athletic supporter " by rooting for the home team ? or national bandstand emcee vince fontaine ( edd byrnes ) flirting with marty ( a pre- " empty nest " dinah manhoff ) ? and these are all probably considered minor moments . . . a very skinny john travolta and a very young olivia newton-john have the respective leads of danny zuko and sandy olsson , and their pairing still ranks as one of screendom's most effervescently charming . for those eight of you who aren't familiar with the story , here's a brief recap : greaser bad boy danny and aussie good girl sandy are reunited for their 1959 senior year at rydell high after a brief fling during the summer ; both thought she was going to return to her native continent before school started , but both were wrong . sandy tries to rekindle their relationship , but danny's too cool a cat to fall for her wholesome appeal in front of his t-bird buddies ( including jeff conaway ) . so sandy hooks up with a gang herself -- the pink ladies , headed by sassy , sexy rizzo ( stockard channing , just superb as an independent woman well ahead of her time ) -- and danny , who still really feels love for her , attempts a compromise of ideals in order to win her back . the drag race finale is yet something of a drag , and i never have thought much of " greased lightening , " the film's big " guy " number ( that choreography -- ack ! ) , but " grease " 's flaws amount too few to carp . the movie's first showpiece is " summer nights , " where danny and sandy separately recount wildly different versions of their fun-in-the-sun romance . not only is " nights " tremendously catchy , but it's also a smart look at how men and women see the same events with varying eyes . there has yet to be a live-action musical sequence that rivals the one-two punch of " you're the one that i want " and " we go together , " " grease " 's euphoric cappers . all this and some of the most pleasing moments come from the smaller , quieter moments ; the oscar-nominated " hopelessly devoted to you " is a lovely showcase for newton-john , and channing's lamenting ballad " there are worse things i could do " is one of " grease " 's most unjustly overlooked tunes . the soundtrack is remastered ( though travolta still hits that awful high note at the end of " nights " ) and the restored widescreen allows us to see previously pan-and-scanned-out choreography , but nothing else has changed -- no computer-generated backgrounds , no outtakes or new musical numbers , no jabba the hutt cameos . and it's a testament to " grease " 's timeless success that nothing needs to be changed -- it's the same all-around blast it's always been , with an appealing cast in a fun story told with great music . to '90s viewers , " grease " will probably recall disco and bellbottoms as much as it made its original audience nostalgic for doo-wop and poodle skirts . but regardless of what decade it transports us to , we can all agree on one thing -- without a doubt , " grease " is still the word . <hr>© 1998 jamie peck e-mail : <a href= " mailto : jpeck1@gl . umbc . edu " >jpeck1@gl . umbc . edu</a> visit the reel deal online : <a href= " http : //www . gl . umbc . edu/~jpeck1/ " >http : //www . gl . umbc . edu/~jpeck1/</a> " suggestions , please , for the fourth movie in the series . how about ‘look who's talking back , ' in which the audience gets its turn ? " -- roger ebert on " look who's talking now " 
