Grease
Grease
Directed by: Randal Kleiser
Produced by: Bronte Woodward
Distribution: Paramount Pictures
Starring: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Film Quality:
D100 + 100 => 185
Audience: D100 + 100 => 200
Critics:
D100 + 100 => 185
Profits:
Domestic: 161,730,543
International: 96,969,405
Total Gross: $258,699,948
It was hard to describe exactly why, but you think it was a combination of trying too hard to copy Some Nights and trying to be too much like Broadway. For the former, it was like Disney with Star Wars, coloring the numbers and trying so hard to repeat a lightning strike instead of understand why it resonated so strongly, and for Some Nights it's because it was Carrie's manifesto against Hollywood and a deeply personal story of tragedy and perseverance. For the latter, they just looked at the current trends on Broadway and slapped something to basically do a stage play on film, but never taking the time to actually think about what was needed for a movie.
Grease was none of that. It proudly stood on its own in spite of being an adaptation of a Broadway play, making sure to do everything necessary to make a good movie first and then focus on the musical. Perhaps most importantly about Grease that captured the love of critics and audiences alike was that it was just relatable and fun!
A slice of life romance about a bad boy greaser and a good girl transfer student who fell in love over the summer and try to maintain their relationship amidst the messiness of high school, Grease used a lot of cliches and played with the tropes straight that should have made it a bad movie, but instead it was part of the charm and what made it so memorable. If you wanted to know how the film is, you need look no further than the opening, "~Grease is the time, it's the place, it's the motion! Grease is the way we are feeling!~" Instead of trying to tell a grandiose love story to equal Some Nights, Grease just focused on the characters and all their fun and engaging stories, just getting invested in their lives and showing all the highs and lows of high school that anyone can relate to along with some great 50's love. Director Randal Kleiser admitted in interviews that he looked to American Graffiti for inspiration in creating the film's tone and atmosphere, and it showed as Grease was kind of like Graffiti without the angst and with the diegetic rock music replaced with pop musical sequences, which all in all made it a good film.
This made critics fall in love with the film, but what truly cemented it as a box office success was just how fun and cool it was! Grease knew it wasn't telling a story like Star Wars, so instead of trying to be deep and super impactful, they had you fall in love with really fun and relatable characters who you can see as your best friends and just go along for the ride as they go on adventures and try to figure out life. Every actor was at the top of their game with John blowing it out of the water as Danny Zuko, essentially kind of being like you as John Milner if he sang his heart out in the day. You felt John definitely was going to get an Oscar nod for this, but what you did not expect was the breakout bombshell debut of the lovely Olivia Newton-John. Watching her was like watching a blonde Australian Carrie with her and John having the same chemistry and synergy that Carrie and John had in Some Nights while Olivia had strong screen presence on her own. You could definitely see her going lots of places after this.
But by far the main star of the show had to be the music. Every single song was an absolute banger. Just as Graffiti's soundtrack was a devotional to classic rock, Grease's score was a heartfelt tribute to early pop and doo-wop. Everything from the titular Grease to You're the one that I Want had heads banging and foots tappin throughout the movie, and you were unashamed to say that in the coming weeks you would frequently duet Summer Nights and You're the One that I want with Carrie to Mary's delight. Also surprising was a cool cameo from Elvis as the Teen Angel, looking close to his prime and giving a beautiful performance with Beauty School Dropout that was equal to some of his best. For the rest of the year Grease's songs would dominate the radio stations across America and apparently went multi-platinum.
With how awesome Grease was, you were surprised that it didn't cross half a billion dollars, just barely becoming the 10th highest grossing film at a quarter of a billion. To be sure, it was a stunning accomplishment on its own with over 40 times the budget and Paramount having a fat pay day to fund their Star Trek productions. However, you had a feeling it should have been more and its full potential was cut. In this you were partially responsible with Solomon Kane bullying Grease to a constant second place in the South. War of the Worlds also provided fierce competition even in its closing window, and Mark Hamill didn't make things easier with his Indie hit Corvette Summer having provided tough competition across the globe as a close second thanks to it starring Luke Skywalker as well as being one of old UA's last great films. Still, what Grease lacked in financial domination it more than made up for in cultural impact. You could tell even this early on that it was starting to make waves in American culture in a similar vein to Star Wars. Everyone wanted to be cool like the kids from Grease and when people weren't dancing to the movie's hits they searched for a return to 50's life in any way they could.
For a rarity when it came to Grease's release, instead of watching it in general theaters you and Carrie attended the opening premiere despite it being a Paramount film. You both made an agreement after Rocky that you would attend all non-Universal premieres that starred friends and family, even if the O'Brians arrival at the red carpet and public enjoyment would give a slight boost in ticket sales to the rivals. It was a good move fortunately as it gave you a nice chance to treat Carrie to a lovely date night with a nice fancy dinner before. Since Mary's birth, date night usually meant a quiet evening on the couch or a nice home cooked dinner, so with Mary now having grown up enough to be fine without seeing you two for a half a day, it meant you could have more nice nights like this while Mary had some special grandma-granddaughter bonding time.
Plus it was just nice to lend some support to John. For the past year you hardly saw the guy save for the Christmas season and while you both had been busy career and personal wise, it felt wrong to neglect the bond with your friendship. Fortunately he didn't seem to mind, just being happy as could be that you both attended.
The after party was also pretty nice. Turns out that when you're no longer the boogeyman of Hollywood (At least to most people), major events with fellow celebrities and industry people could be fun. It was nice talking to fellow stars as an equal, although admittedly you felt like half the time you were approached for networking with everyone who had a job in town trying to get an in for a Lucasfilms gig.
"Olivia you were absolutely wonderful! I honestly feel like you did a much better job with John than anything I did in Some Nights." Carrie complimented Olivia Newton-John, the Australian's face turning a bashful scarlet at the words.
You really enjoyed meeting Olivia for the first time. She was a pure soul not yet tainted by the town, so optimistic and cheerful, you were glad that John had a good partner to help carry the film.
"Oh you don't need to fib for me." Olivia said.
"Olivia, if there's one thing about my wife you should know, is that she never gives bullshit compliments with shallow smiles. If she says you're good then you're good, and perhaps we'll see a trend of John Travolta's female co-stars winning Best Actress." You praised sincerely as well.
Olivia couldn't stop smiling as she looked at the ground, "Well to be honest, I purchased a VHS of Some Nights and spent days watching it over and over again to figure out how to perform alongside John. So if anyone's responsible for my performance it's you Carrie." She said earnestly.
"Well if I ever direct a musical, you're gonna be at the top of my list with Carrie." You said.
You then noticed a weird absence, and looked around but couldn't find the other star of Grease. "Has anyone seen John?" You and Carrie talked with him at the start of the party, but you lost him since then.
"I think I saw him out by the balcony. Seemed to just be by his lonesome." Olivia informed.
You thanked her and then sought to find your best friend, smiling as you overheard Olivia beginning an inquiry about the O'Brian married life as so many tended to do.
Collecting two beers, you made your way out to the balcony, and sure enough John was hanging around as a party of one, simply staring out into the LA night in deep thought.
"HEY ZUKO!" You yelled out, John jumped a bit in fright but calmed down and laughed at the sight of you.
"Jesus Bruce, you could have scared me so hard to jump off the balcony." John said.
"Hey come on, you're way too ugly to be the second coming of James Dean." You joked, getting a laugh out of John, who brought you in for a hug.
You opened up the two beer bottles and the two of you clinked beers, thankfully getting a small undisturbed rest from the claustrophobic and loud party inside.
"So how's Dad life treating you?" John asked.
"Very tiring and everyday Mary seems determined to find some way to have me start growing white hairs." You started in playful exaggeration, "But these have been some of the most happiest days of my life. I don't think I'm the best Dad, but I'm doing my best and there's just something so amazing about raising a little angel and watching her grow day by day to become someone wonderful, and you got a part in that. I'm really happy and thankful to be doing this with Carrie. She's the best Mom you could ever ask, taking to everything naturally and she makes Mary smile and laugh so much." You say in joy.
John nodded solemnly, "Hopefully I find something like that one day." He says with a sad tone. You frowned at the words. John was by no means undesirable as half of America wanted to be with him and it was easy for the star to find dates. The hard part however came with making it last and meaningful with John unable to find his Carrie.
You patted his back, "Hey, there's no need to rush things out. You're in the prime of your life, a sexy Hollywood superstar with one of the best voices in music. Carrie and I just got lucky finding each other so young and we just blitzed to Mary, we're not the norm." You tried to encourage, bringing a smile out of John.
"What about Olivia? You guys had pretty good chemistry, any chance that continued off-screen?" You prodded, with John shaking his head.
"Nah, she's seeing someone and while she's a fine woman, she's more of a friend like Carrie if you know what I mean." John answered.
You take a swig of beer, unsure how to respond, though it seemed like John had things handled for the most part, "Don't worry about me too much Bruce. There's probably a Mrs. Travolta somewhere in town if not later. If I don't have anything serious by 30 then you and Robin can start hooking me up with all of your lady friends."
You chuckled and then decided to switch topics, "So....Grease looks like it's going to dominate the summer. What's next?"
Unfortunately it seemed like the question only seemed to make things worse as John's mood grew far more sour than his love life, "Crap, I'm sorry John if-"
"Oh no, it's nothing like the hell I was going through for Some Nights. Though I guess it's the reason why I'm not partying with the cast and guests, even if everyone loved us." John said in slight frustration.
You waited in silence as John collected his emotions and gathering his thoughts, simply letting it be known in body language that you were here for him now as you always would be.
John seemed to appreciate it, giving a nod of thanks before continuing, "I've been really blessed after Some Nights. Got a lot of great starring or standout roles on film and television. Most of the stuff I've worked on have been fun productions, critics and audiences love me. It's just...I don't really know where to go from here or what I should do with my career."
"How so?" You asked.
"Well I hope you don't mind if I ask you this, but what kind of movies do you like to star in, or direct I guess?" John answered with a question.
"Action and adventure. It's where my talents lie physically and as a Director and there's honestly just something so raw and real with action that can't be replicated in other emotional beats of a film. Star Wars was the best time I ever had making a film, and Conan when it wasn't a shitshow was somthing truly great and epic. I guess George and Steve made them my favorite genres and I wouldn't mind if they were most of my filmography. But I also want to branch out and do some other stuff. Maybe return to my roots with Comedy and just make people laugh, be in a great and fun musical like you, do a neat horror or fantasy concept-"
"Do some mushy lovey dovey romance with Carrie?" John teased, to which you laugh.
"Yeah I'll take as many of those as I can get." You say. It would be nice to do more intimate stuff like Five Nights, but you would be happy and content if Carrie did separate projects, because at the end of the day she was still your beloved wife and would shine brightly co-starring with or without you.
"Yeah I think that's where my problem is. I got an Oscar and I'm part of the A-List club with you, but I don't know what the hell to do with my career, just let people come to me and sign off on something that's decent and pays the bills. Only problem is people just want the handsome urban bad boys who can sing or dance really well. Nate Rusfield, Tony Manero, Danny Zuko. I love all of those films and I loved my roles, but I'm worried I'll just be seen as those and never get to experience more."
In another time you would have just given John words of encouragement and a pep speech, but a recent gift by Kathleen made you realize that for once you could lend a hand to John in the way Carrie had with Some Nights.
"Well....what if hypothetically speaking I was currently tapped in as Director of a major franchise blockbuster and I could give you a main role that would exist completely beyond your usual typecasting and really show your strengths as an actor?" You said slyly.
John's jaw dropped and he looked absolutely stunned, "YOU'RE OFFERING ME A ROLE IN STAR WARS?!" He yelled in absolute shock and glee.
You panickingly looked around before the vultures tried to weasel their way into Empire, but thankfully the music and crowd was loud enough that John was hopefully drowned out. "No, John it's not Star Wars. We don't have too many new characters and while you might fit this one part, I'd have to read the script from George first before I made any firm offers."
"What the hell man? Why you getting me excited for nothing?" John said with a light punch to your shoulder, genuine hurt seen in his eyes.
"I'm not, just let me finish. The public's going to know in a few weeks so you're one of the first to know outside the production team. I've been hired not only to play Batman for his first film, but I'm also the Director." You informed.
John gave a sour look, "But Batman belongs to Columbia. Did you just quit Lucasfilms?"
You shook your head, "No I'm still co-owner, just doing a bit of contract work, although technically it's a co-production cause ILM is helping out with the SFX and set work plus I got a guy for choreography. Long story short, the Producer came to my house and she got me hooked on a brilliant vision for the caped crusader and convinced me to sign on, said I was the only one fit to play Bruce Wayne."
"So you're just going to be running around in your underwear like Adam West and fighting goons with gadgets?" John asked in confusion.
You shook your head mirthfully, "No, we're going to make a departure from the West show, be more comic accurate. You ever read any Batman comics?"
"No, I kind of bullied guys who read comics growing up." John confessed,
"Well the recent runs have made Batman more gritty and grounded, telling mature stories of a war on crime and Batman's struggle to clean the darkness of Gotham City and deal with his own personal demons. We're going for kind of a similar route, showing Batman's first year in his crusade as he and the good cops of the GCPD take on the mob, really show how the mythos is born." You explained.
"Well if you're Batman where do I come in?" John asked, excitement leaking out of his voice
"Floyd Lawton, AKA Deadshot. A ruthless Assassin for the Falcone crime family who never misses a shot and gives Batman his first fight with a true supervillain."
"Oh hell yeah that sounds awesome!" John said in excitement. John definitely wouldn't be anyone's first pick for Deadshot, but you had faith that he would see it through with his usual passion and high dedication, and if John wanted a departure from bad boy singers then this was it.
"I can't finalize anything yet because I need to run you by the Producer and Alan, but considering you just starred in Grease, I can't imagine they would say no. Plus it's going to be really nice to finally star in a film together. The one thing that bothers me about Five Dates is that you didn't join us." You say.
"Not your fault, I just had a crappy schedule and swapping me out for the King of Pop and Luke Skywalker is a pretty good trade." John assured. "Just so we're clear, this is a film you believe in and think is gonna be good? It's not just a payday?"
You rolled your eyes and gave John a hard stare, "Do you remember who you're talking to?"
John laughed at that, "Right. Well if it's got Bruce O'Brian as Director then I'm in all the way, no questions asked."
You smiled, reaching out and shaking John's hand. "Looking forward to kicking your ass, Deadshot."
"Wait, what?"
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