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Grease 2
Paramount // PG // June 10, 2003
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
I'd like to begin this review with an anecdote. While watching "Grease 2", my wife and I noticed that a small frog had attached itself to the window by our front door. We immediately ran to the window to get a better look at the amphibian. Why? Because it was so much more interesting than the movie that we were watching.
The Movie
"Grease 2" takes place two years after the events in "Grease", and the action (?!) once again takes place at Rydell High School. And, as in the first film, the story centers around the T-Birds, (Johnny (Adrian Zmed), Louis (Peter Frechette), Goose (Christopher McDonald), and Davey (Leif Green)) and the female counterparts, the Pink Ladies (Stephanie (Michelle Pfeiffer), Paulette (Lorna Luft), Sharon (Maureen Teefy), and Dolores (Pamela Segall). Into the mix comes Michael (Maxwell Caulfield), an exchange student from England, who just happens to be the cousin of the Sandy character from "Grease". (Wasn't Sandy Australian?)
Michael immediately finds himself drawn to Stephanie, but he quickly learns that A) Pink Ladies can only date T-Birds, and that B) Stephanine is only interested in finding a "cool rider", whatever the hell that is. So, Michael decides that he must find a way to be cool so that he can catch Stephanie's eye.
I know what you're thinking. Adrian Zmed? Maxwell Caulfield? Liza Minelli's sister? "Grease 2" has got to be a great movie! Not only is "Grease 2" one of the worst movies ever made, it gets my vote for the most unnecessary sequel ever. Anyone who's even remotely familiar with "Grease" can see that the plotline of that film has simply been transposed in "Grease 2" with the male and female roles reversed. Whereas Danny was cool and Sandy was the straight-laced one in "Grease", the outsider Michael is now the "nerd" while Stephanie is the object of affection. Cars are replaced with motorcycles in the sequel and a somewhat familiar cast was replaced with actors that were unknown at the time...and the majority have stayed that way. Along with its musical qualities (more on that in a moment), "Grease 2" was meant as a comedy, but writer Ken Finkelman has trouble creating anything amusing. (And Paramount then let him write and direct "Airplane II"!)
Director/choreographer Patricia Birch has attempted to create rousing musical numbers in "Grease 2", but she was stymied by some of the worst songs ever written. The soundtrack from "Grease" spawned many hits, but have you ever heard a song from "Grease 2" on the radio? The songs, such as "Reproduction", "Score Tonight", and, of course, the infamous "Cool Rider", are ludicrous and the dance scenes seem to go on forever. The atrocious songs are the final nail in the coffin of this laughably bad movie.
Video
"Grease 2" comes to DVD courtesy (?!) of Paramount Home Video. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. Considering the fact that the film should have been burned immediately after its theatrical debut, this transfer looks pretty good. The image is sharp, and for the most part, clear, although some daytime shots some significant grain. Also, some scenes display a very obvious halo effect at the bottom of the screen. The colors look very good, as the film is populated with many reds, blues, and pinks. There is the occasional problem from artifacting, most notably during the presence of horizontal lines.
Audio
This disc boasts a newly created Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which displays some of the same problems which plagued the 5.1 track on the "Grease" DVD. For starters, the recording level is quite low here, and I had to turn the volume up much higher than usual. The dialogue is clear in most scenes, but muffled in some. For the most part, surround sound and stereo effects are either very discreet or totally absent. As with "Grease", it's only during the musical numbers that the sound diverts away from a truly mono sound.
Extras
There are no extras on the DVD.
Given that "Grease" was a very popular and successful film, it's not a surprise that a sequel was made. It's just surprising how truly awful "Grease 2" is, and this no-frills DVD appears to show that Paramount is well-aware of this fact.
The Movie
"Grease 2" takes place two years after the events in "Grease", and the action (?!) once again takes place at Rydell High School. And, as in the first film, the story centers around the T-Birds, (Johnny (Adrian Zmed), Louis (Peter Frechette), Goose (Christopher McDonald), and Davey (Leif Green)) and the female counterparts, the Pink Ladies (Stephanie (Michelle Pfeiffer), Paulette (Lorna Luft), Sharon (Maureen Teefy), and Dolores (Pamela Segall). Into the mix comes Michael (Maxwell Caulfield), an exchange student from England, who just happens to be the cousin of the Sandy character from "Grease". (Wasn't Sandy Australian?)
Michael immediately finds himself drawn to Stephanie, but he quickly learns that A) Pink Ladies can only date T-Birds, and that B) Stephanine is only interested in finding a "cool rider", whatever the hell that is. So, Michael decides that he must find a way to be cool so that he can catch Stephanie's eye.
I know what you're thinking. Adrian Zmed? Maxwell Caulfield? Liza Minelli's sister? "Grease 2" has got to be a great movie! Not only is "Grease 2" one of the worst movies ever made, it gets my vote for the most unnecessary sequel ever. Anyone who's even remotely familiar with "Grease" can see that the plotline of that film has simply been transposed in "Grease 2" with the male and female roles reversed. Whereas Danny was cool and Sandy was the straight-laced one in "Grease", the outsider Michael is now the "nerd" while Stephanie is the object of affection. Cars are replaced with motorcycles in the sequel and a somewhat familiar cast was replaced with actors that were unknown at the time...and the majority have stayed that way. Along with its musical qualities (more on that in a moment), "Grease 2" was meant as a comedy, but writer Ken Finkelman has trouble creating anything amusing. (And Paramount then let him write and direct "Airplane II"!)
Director/choreographer Patricia Birch has attempted to create rousing musical numbers in "Grease 2", but she was stymied by some of the worst songs ever written. The soundtrack from "Grease" spawned many hits, but have you ever heard a song from "Grease 2" on the radio? The songs, such as "Reproduction", "Score Tonight", and, of course, the infamous "Cool Rider", are ludicrous and the dance scenes seem to go on forever. The atrocious songs are the final nail in the coffin of this laughably bad movie.
Video
"Grease 2" comes to DVD courtesy (?!) of Paramount Home Video. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. Considering the fact that the film should have been burned immediately after its theatrical debut, this transfer looks pretty good. The image is sharp, and for the most part, clear, although some daytime shots some significant grain. Also, some scenes display a very obvious halo effect at the bottom of the screen. The colors look very good, as the film is populated with many reds, blues, and pinks. There is the occasional problem from artifacting, most notably during the presence of horizontal lines.
Audio
This disc boasts a newly created Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which displays some of the same problems which plagued the 5.1 track on the "Grease" DVD. For starters, the recording level is quite low here, and I had to turn the volume up much higher than usual. The dialogue is clear in most scenes, but muffled in some. For the most part, surround sound and stereo effects are either very discreet or totally absent. As with "Grease", it's only during the musical numbers that the sound diverts away from a truly mono sound.
Extras
There are no extras on the DVD.
Given that "Grease" was a very popular and successful film, it's not a surprise that a sequel was made. It's just surprising how truly awful "Grease 2" is, and this no-frills DVD appears to show that Paramount is well-aware of this fact.
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