I had a great many thoughts after my most recent viewing of Grease. The first is a thought I always have; I remember what it was like to be teased by the Girl Scouts in the third grade because I had never seen it. Teased is the wrong word. A better description is: made to feel like a social leper and outcast because I'd never seen this movie. The second thought I have is a question about the rating of this movie. In just one song they throw out lyrics like "pussywagon" and "We'll be gettin' lots of tit." This thought always brings me back to my first thought and I wonder why these girls' parents let them watch this movie at the age of 8.
Don't get me wrong, I think Grease is a classic. Great song and dance numbers, classic high school storyline, good performances all around.
What I've never really understood though is why parents are so quick to show this to young girls. The centerpiece of the plotline is that you should change yourself (into something you think is negative) to be with the guy/girl you have a crush on. Just the overt sexuality, had it been made in today's movie climate, would have garnered at the very least a solid PG-13 rating. Then you have this godawful storyline encouraging young girls to slut themselves up to win over the popular guy at school. It's horrible!
The way it was done as a film, Grease is just more appealing to younger people. It's appealing to adults in a nostalgic way. If this movie was actually made for an audience of not children, I would shrug and blame this on bad parenting. However, it was clearly targeting preteens and younger. And that's why, despite my love for this movie, I give it a thumbs down.
Two thumbs way way down for the parents who let their children watch this.
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