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Grease: The Ultimate Sing-Along Special Edition

Grease: The Ultimate Sing-Along Special Edition



Total Film

December 2006

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Director Randal Kleiser
Starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Cert PG

Film ****     Extras ****

This is a grade-A improvement on Grease’s original 2002 DVD release, padded out with proper extras including the titular sing-along feature. Anyone who’s ever stumbled into a karaoke bar, willingly or not, probably has the lyrics to ‘Summer Nights’ and ‘You’re The One That I Want’ committed to memory, but now you can also pipe along to the smutty word-blur of ‘Greased Lightning’ (“You know that ain’t no shit/We’ll be getting lots of tit/In Greased Lightning”) and the peculiar ‘50s nostalgia of ‘We Go Together’ (“We’re one of a kind/Like dip da-dip da-dip doo wop da doo bee doo”, etc).

It’s the campy, catchy tunes and inventively choreographed musical numbers that make Grease as fresh and fun today as it was in 1978. But top marks also go to the energetic cast, who jump through the hoops of a clichéd high school plot with swagger, vibrancy and plenty of laughs. And it’s not only a showcase for John Travolta’s sexual swagger, Olivia Newton-John’s honey-voiced innocence and Stockard Channing’s bitch-tastic sarcasm – every cast member steals their memorable moment or few.

A couple of the new featurettes are strictly filler (want a duck-tail hairstyle to match Grease’s barnets? A camp LA hairdresser shows you how), while an interview with the baby-faced Travolta at the original premiere is tantalising but brief. But Grease-maniacs will be too busy being living-room superstars to notice.

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