Randal Kleiser's 1978 musical, set in the Fifties, has some horrible acting but the kind of exuberance that has made it a cult classic.
Comment
09/26/08
Grease (1978)
84
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:50
Fresh:42
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: Grease is a pleasing, energetic musical with infectiously catchy songs and an ode to young love that never gets old.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Synopsis: This film adaptation of GREASE is the zippy smash hit translation from the Broadway musical tribute to the fabulous 1950s. As a new school year begins, wholesome Australian exchange student Sandy... [More]
Starring: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Director: Randal Kleiser
Reviews for Grease
There's a surprising strain of filth, too - this is much closer to Hairspray than High School Musical. The message is: burn rubber, have sex, strut about like a chicken. It's one that's hard to resist.
09/26/08
Top CriticMuch-loved but somewhat overrated.
09/26/08
Top CriticTravolta and Newton-John burn up the screen with all the passion of a potato salad while occasionally singing a song you know all the words to because they play it every week in small-town nightclubs.
03/03/08
Top CriticIts flashy opportunism (nostalgia pitched squarely at an audience too young to even recall the era) quickly becomes very irritating.
02/09/06
Top CriticClick to read the article
07/20/02
Clunky kitsch quality that makes Grease such a perpetual joy.
01/01/00
Top CriticOne of the most commercially successful transfers of a Broadway musical to the big screen, Grease is not a great movie but it's a lot of fun to watch and listen due to superlative cast.
09/25/09
Problematic but ultimately irresistible adaptation of Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey's hit Broadway musical. [Blu-ray]
05/25/09
...comes to life when Travolta and company are singing and dancing.
05/02/09
Travolta is a riot. Alternately swaggering to prove his "coolness" and re-affirming his ability on the dance floor, the actor gives the kind of performance that's perfect for the role.
04/30/09
Grease holds up for new generations because it captures the enthusiasm of youth and the vibrancy of California's sunshine-and-cars culture.
12/30/08
Grease has got it, from the outstanding animated titles of John Wilson all the way through the rousing finale as John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John ride off into teenage happiness.
07/18/07
Top CriticGood, clean, high-spirited fun.
07/18/07
Limp, cheaply made.
07/18/07
... a bowdlerized version of the original stage play
01/23/07
An unembarrassed movie musical, something my generation experienced only in Sunday-afternoon movies on TV.
12/30/06
Despite the film's rose-tinted rearview mirrors and Ipana-worthy cheeriness, it's not so much the Wedding Singer of its day as it is the Boogie Nights.
09/16/06
Its sensibility is not tied to the past but to a free-wheeling, well informed, high-spirited present.
05/09/05
Top CriticThe story is simple, easy, and fun.
10/24/03
Latest News for Grease
September 19, 2008:
Paramount DTV Sequel Plots Revealed 
Finding yourself morbidly curious about that slew of direct-to-video sequels announced by Paramount recently? You'll want to check out studio exec Louis Feola's recent interview... More...
March 03, 2006:
Travolta & Latifah to Share "Hairspray"
John Travolta and Queen Latifah have signed on to star in New Line Cinema’s upcoming feature film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical "Hairspray," it was announced... More...
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