Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1688. Grease 2 (1982)

    1688. Grease 2 (1982)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on March 11, 2017 110-119 mins, 1982, 4 - 5.9, Comedy, Mar 17, Movies Of 2017, Musical, Review, Romance, United States
    4.2 An awful rehash
    • Acting 4.2
    • Directing 4.3
    • Story 4.1
    • User Ratings (1 Votes) 5.9

    Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Maxwell Caulfield, Adrian Zmed

    Director: Patricia Birch

    Running Time: 115 mins


    Grease 2 is an American film and the sequel to Grease. A couple of years after Danny and Sandy’s rocking romance, Rydell High sees another duo in the same situation, but their allegiance to certain cliques keeps them apart.

    If you want a lesson in how not to make a movie sequel, then look straight at Grease 2. Apart from the word Grease, the setting, and a few returning cast and crew, there’s nothing that relates this film to the original. What’s worse is that it features almost exactly the same plot, badly disguised as something slightly different, making this much closer to a remake than any sort of sequel.

    So, the main thing to know about Grease 2 is that it’s barely a Grease sequel. There’s no Danny, no Sandy, none of the classic musical numbers, and none of the same flair. And this is all coming from someone who doesn’t think particularly highly of the original in the first place.

    There are so many things that make this such a poor film, but the worst part of all is definitely the story. Whilst the original may have been insanely cheesy, it had a bit of passion to it. The story here is almost exactly the same, but retrodden in the dullest and most effortless way imaginable.

    For starters, the lead characters are pretty much the same, only this time, the nervous one is the boy and the girl is the popular one. Their romance is identical to Danny and Sandy last time out, and the majority of the supporting characters aren’t too far away from their counterparts in the first movie.

    Now, a shameless rehash of a film is generally pretty poor form, but what makes Grease 2 even worse is that it tries to cover that fact up with a few lacklustre new editions. For example, one of the characters is British. Also, the guys in the leather jackets aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Et cetera. Despite all that, it’s impossible to look away from the fact that you’re just watching Grease being made again, just with much less effort.

    The performances here aren’t much to write home about either. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John really made the original movie, and are the reason so many people remember it to this day. In the case of Grease 2, there’s no-one who even comes close to them. Michelle Pfeiffer is okay in the lead role, but all of her co-stars are incredibly poor.

    From the completely overenthusiastic rider played by Adrian Zmed, to the plethora of comically ridiculous members of staff at Rydell High, there’s nobody that does anything to make this an entertaining watch. What’s worst, however, is that Maxwell Caulfield, whose performance is very dull and uncharismatic (especially when compared with Travolta’s), is shuffled out of the main frame of the picture.

    That’s right, one of the film’s two leads is barely in it at all. Apart from making him an even less entertaining and relatable presence, Caulfield’s rare appearances worsen how wooden he feels on screen, in a role that should definitely be bringing a lot more fun to the table.

    And then we come to the musical numbers. I’m no big fan of the original Grease soundtrack, but at least it has two fantastic songs, and the rest are all passable. In Grease 2, the music is totally laughable. It’s bad enough that the musical numbers feel completely forced, unnecessary and unnatural, but the things the songs are about are completely ridiculous, to the point where we have an entire five minute song dedicated to bowling innuendos, or even one that begins with an explanation of plant reproduction that descends into a class of teenagers harrassing one another.

    If there are some positives to take from this film, I guess you could say that it’s not a bad-looking film. The costume design is just as good as the original (although the same can’t be said for the lacklustre production design), and the dance choreography in the musical numbers is okay, but not stellar.

    Overall, it’s easy to see why Grease 2 hasn’t stood the test of time like its predecessor. A laughably bad musical with unlikable and underdeveloped characters that take part in a pathetic rehashing of the same story, badly disguised as a new plot that nobody would care to watch anyway, and that’s why I’m giving it a 4.2.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.0
    Review
    March 8, 20170

    1685. John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

    8.2
    Review
    April 1, 20140

    509. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

    9.6
    Review
    January 17, 20140

    421. The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)

    8.6
    Review
    March 28, 20160

    1299. Modern Times (1936)

    8.6
    Review
    May 9, 20170

    1750. The Grey (2012)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.