Grease Live (2016)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

After enjoying a summer romance, high school students Danny and Sandy are unexpectedly reunited when she transfers to Rydell High. There Sandy must contend with cynical Rizzo and the Pink Ladies in attempt to win Danny's heart again. Grease Live! the live musical based on the 1978 music (not counting the sequel) is kind of tame just like it's predecessor's were, i mean as i said in my reviews for the movies, i loved the idea just not the execution or the story as a whole and this happens with this musical as well. To be honest the best thing that ever happened to the Grease name was probably that 'Glee' episode with Melissa Benoist and Blake Jenner as Sandy and Danny. (5.0/10)

why did you have to go and ruin a great classic movie again? every time you go and make a "live" version it is nothing like the original,i am tired of this. when someone wants to see a movie they want it too be good and not boring when you start grease live it starts out with many mistakes, it is boring and needs more flare to the fact that these characters are from the 70's and not characters from the 21st century. that might be my personal opinion but i that is probably not true a lot of people love the classic movies and hate seeing them ruined,it is hurtful and not fun to watch and make me want to cry and that is the truth. so next time you want to go and ruin a perfectly good movie make sure you know what you are doing

Obviously it is a big undertaking to mount a live television production of Grease. The stage musical is a mainstay of various theatre productions with regular revivals and the film version is a classic despite some of its cheesiness. Even John Travolta recently admitted the film has become timeless, popular with kids even with the suggestiveness of some of the dialogue and lyrics.Jessie J kicks of the rainy opening by singing Grease and we get to the setting very quickly and the opening number of Summer Nights. Julianne Hough is good as Sandy really evoking the memory of Olivia Newton John although her character hails from another part of the USA and not Australia. Aaron Tveit does well as Danny but never matches the cockiness of Travolta, which might had been easy to do if you are a young actor who just scored an Oscar nomination and a worldwide smash hit a year earlier with Saturday Night Fever. Vanessa Hudgens was less acerbic as Rizzo than Stockard Channing.The production has songs that are featured in the stage production which might not be familiar with those who have only seen the film version. The production knows it has go for those big tent-pole numbers like Greased Lightning, Hopelessly devoted, Sandy and the finale You're the one that I want.As it is a live television number there are stage set changes built in to the production as the cast have to get from one stage to another. There are lots of ad breaks. I cheekily recorded this to my TIVO and watched it 60 minutes after it started and then fast forwarded the ad breaks. The running time for me was about 2 hours and 15 minutes.I guess some people may not be happy with the diverse casting but Grease was always about people being true to their feelings rather than fitting in with stereotypes. The creators of the stage musical would only be too happy that the show has progressed.Some of the production limits it to its stage show origins. The car race was rather pedestrian masked by use of lighting and smoke.Despite the pruning of the lyrics in Greased Lightning, some of the dialogue might be deemed to to be rude to younger viewers but I think some of it flew over my son's head.

Let me start off by saying....Aaron Tveit, who plays Danny Zuko, is so undeniably the star of the show. If you don't yet know who he is, you soon will, and, along with the rest of the world, won't be able to forget him ever after! He has the most unbelievable vocals but he's also very good-looking (to be frank, the man is smokin hot) and has so much charisma. He is, like no joke, basically the definition of perfection! I've been in such awe of Aaron Tveit enough as it is prior to watching him as Danny Zuko. He is just epically flawless in all aspects of his performances; he honestly is that rare form of a human that truly excels at everything he does! I loooved him in the show Graceland and was so bummed when they didn't renew it for a fourth season! (He was the majority reason for why I got hooked on watching it right from the start of Season 1 Episode 1). If you watch him in anything he's a part of, you will without a doubt see what I'm talking about. He has some sort of addictive and magical appeal to him that just draws you in and you can't manage take your eyes off him whenever watching him on-screen. He quickly will become your main reason for watching anything else he's credited in. The whole cast of "Grease: Live" is right up there though as far as star quality goes. Julianne Hough (Sandy), Vanessa Hudgens (Rizzo), and Carlos PenaVega (Kenickie) are really great! Jordan Fisher (who played Doody) was a HUGE surprise for me since I hadn't known of him prior to seeing it. Fisher's performance is impeccable and his voice is so beautiful and sultry. (Really though.) Mark my words: You will wind up playing "Those Magic Changes" on repeat excessively after hearing it the first time around. In its entirety, and despite the technical difficulties they encountered (it's a LIVE production, so it was super ballsy and already prone to experiencing some technical issues, but that's regardless), "Grease: Live" is no doubt a game-changer; it's an irreplaceable experience for all the senses. It's not a remake of Grease, it's a whole new doubled-down version...and they sort of have, in many ways, made/rewrote history. Trust me when I say, it deserves to be #1 on your list of shows to watch (or soundtracks to buy) as soon as you have the time, and it's definitely beyond worth that time!