WARNING :
some graphic, adult topics discussed in this post.
And some adult language.
And, some potentially offensive opinions.
Some movies come out of nowhere and surprise you. This is one that, when I started buying DVD's on the internet- I had
never heard of before and I still can't believe that. I mean, it has Geena Davis, Jim Carrey, and Jeff Goldblum in it and they were all huge stars from my very earliest memories of going to the theater to watch movies. (Well actually that's not true, I remember the way in felt inside the theater watching Bambi- and I was pretty young when that was re-released, but that's only what 1990)
What makes this movie so great is that it's completely unpredictable and unusual for its' type. It's also incredibly smart and the kind of hip that isn't offensive and annoying. Julie Brown wrote most of this screenplay and she really knows what she's doing. Of course, the director seems to have some of his own ideas (some of them a bit too sleazy, which is this movie's one serious flaw). But she is
really funny here and so are most of these ideas. Like Valerie's "The Ground You Walk On" music number. Yeah-
it's a musical. And more like Little Shop of Horrors than Grease. Real funny stuff. I especially love, "it was almost religious how I believed in you. It hurt when you destroyed my belief." Geena Davis is an absolute riot here. Another great moment is when she's doing her nails and crying over her cheating boyfriend when a soap opera on the TV has the hero doctor doing the same thing. Other than the immortal lines- "but what about your wife?!" "She's in a coma. You're not," is her sobbing routine (and of course her clever retort: "
you weasel dick!").
The "Brand New Girl" musical number has me all the angrier at Legally Blonde, which definitely ripped it off with the "Bend and Snap" (which I
hated anyway!). And it's still funny. Though, "Cause I'm a Blonde" would have been this movie's greatest highlight but unfortunately, it's not that well shot in the movie. As a musical number- Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, and Michael McKean ruin the whole thing! There's nothing in the song for them to do, so they just clog up the scenery. As do the extras dancing like this were Psycho Beach Party (or, since that film was made so many years later- any of those 60's beach dancing movies). Pure cheese, when it should be pure satire. It would have been funnier as a proper music video, with scenes at an actual beauty pageant and on the street. Another really great song is cut from the movie but is on the DVD as an extra- "Big and Stupid." As it is now, you only hear it in the Deca Dance club scene, but there was a little street-cruising musical number that went with it. The lyrics are so damn funny.
You gotta love, "what kind of guy does a lot for me? Superman with a lobotomy."
Oy-freaking-vay! If this thing isn't the saddest, most delusional, and overproduced turkey to ever find bigtime success with movie-goers... what is? History may be kind to it, but watching it now is an utterly embarrassing experience from front to back.
This movie has, overall, a pretty good music soundtrack. No big secret. But has anyone ever noticed before that the filmmakers have added a chorus of like backup singers to overdramatize it even more? Take "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" for example. I don't know if that's on the record/cassette/CD, but "Hopelessly Devoted to You" is. And this movie destroys the power of that song. Even though Olivia Newton-John is doing a great job with the scene, the entire scene is completely ruined by these backup singers. SHUT UP! And God, if it's not them ruining everything- how about the actual singing? Okay, that's a bad segue into a heavy criticism of "Greased Lightnin'," but I'll allow it. What a sick, perverted piece of trash. But it's nice to know that bad gay dancers like cars and want to pretend they want "tit" and "pussy." I know I'm going too far, but- otherwise, I'm speechless. That scene is one of the most shocking things I've seen in film history. Instead of being a rousing, jumping musical number- it's disturbing, ghastly, not at all for children, and in
incredibly poor taste. What director, studio head, producer, or executive in the whole of Hollywood thought this was appropriate for families?! Or - in fact - anyone... And I don't even know what's creepier, the dancing or the lyrics. Another quick observation: those 3 dildos hanging off the side of the screen (guys with really bad greasy haircuts making jerking gestures) during the "You're the One That I Want" number (when Danny and Sandy are standing in the spinning tunnel and holding each other. Pure tastelessness. Couldn't be
more out of place.
This movie is one big perv fest. And I don't mean to seem like a prude. I'm not. But God I've seen sleazier movies with more tact and class than this. Or that were more inspired. This movie is meant to feel liberating. But instead, it's just cheap and lame. With bad cheap shots spilling out of its' ears throughout. It's practically oppressive. Not to mention how much of it centers on the double standard between men and women- where the girls will be punished for getting around but the guys can live it up with anyone they want to and not be bogged down by serious commitments. This movie almost favors that. Which brings me to the movie's best quality: Stockard Channing. Her "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" is the one spot of honest to goodness intelligence in the entire film. It's just a summary of the whole thing her character is going through, but hits all the right points anyway. It's a very serious song and every line makes a big statement. All of them true, sharp, wise, and important. Almost a total paradox coming out of a movie like this. Rizzo becomes the movie's only brave character. She doesn't let the pressure get to her but she reveals that she's also human.
All the greaser characters in the movie, including the girls, have a really "Mtv" oriented idea about sexuality - irresponsible, cheap, and fast. Talking a lot about getting it and possibly giving it away, sex without condoms. Making them nothing but irritating (though I did like the Doody and Frenchie characters, I admit). But the nice girl Sandy won't make a little kissy-face at the drive-in and calls Danny's car a "sin wagon" because she thinks he doesn't respect her. That's an awful big leap for this movie to make about something innocent like that (and- since his friends weren't around, what's the excuse for him doing something he clearly wouldn't have done during the summer they spent together?). Quickly, Sandy's observant and nice (and sometimes sassy) character becomes judgmental, irrational, and impossible to relate to. Danny's supposed to be the mess (and he is- none too respectful toward women, especially Rizzo; his "sloppy seconds" line was nasty even for a movie like this). First the sleaze, now the movie's reverse puritanical streak (trying to earn moral points by chastising the behavior after glorifying it). It's all overwhelmingly foul.
Oh, and the guy with glasses and bow-tie is a real square, man (or whatever they called it back then). Not cool at all. But just because he does well in school and isn't popular... he's involved in the dance committee. HUH? Valley Girl corrected this mistake 5 years later as Carrie did 2 years earlier - the popular kids are
always on the dance committee! Is this actually authentic at all? It's also alluded to that just because he dresses this way, he's gay. Though the movie doesn't exactly finish that off by saying it's a bad thing. Gee- thanks for small favors... 'Course, he also gets picked on and his last scene involves him getting a pie in the face. Did anyone making this movie know what they were doing at all? (Or, was there a lot of drug use going on on the set?)
This movie has gone up and down and up and down in my estimation over the years. The best way to know for sure is to get the DVD. DVD really allows you to see a movie clearly and to not be swayed by VHS problems and such. Everything is clear and easy to digest and your concentration can focus in. And now I think I finally see the movie the way it really is: a beautifully atmospheric fantasy... with horrible dialogue. Thankfully, the music and cinematography and the technical quality of the film often takes over the dialogue and frequently irritating characters. And since the movie's 2 hours long, the fact that it gets very repetitive isn't helpful. But again - the music, the look of the movie, the
amazing natural surroundings and those detailed sets... It's very awe-inspiring.
7/10