My Basic Ramblings: I really thought this would be the movie to knock Titanic off its #1 spot on the Box Office. I know now that I was wrong. But, since every single high school in the US has done a production of this musical at least once (Our Lady of Mercy High School/McQuaid Jesuit's production was in 1990), I figured it would be well-attended by the high school crowd.
When I went, March 29th in the afternoon, it was attended by little kids. Little kids who couldn't stay in their seats and who couldn't shut up.
I said before, in my review of Men In Black, that children should not be allowed to go to movies until they are old enough to sit still and be quiet for 90 minutes. I realize that many parents go to matinees and take their little children so they don't have to get a babysitter, but many people go to matinees because it's cheaper than going at night, and they don't want to have their movie-going experience ruined by the THUNK-THUNK of the kid three seats down jumping in and out of his seat over and over and over. One matinee a day should be designated the "NO LITTLE CHILDREN" matinee, and everyone would be happy.
That said, Grease is probably the biggest example of Actors Playing Young. It happened in Evita (Madonna playing 15), it happens in Beverly Hills, 90120, and it happens here. Stockard Channing does not look 18 by any stretch of the imagination. But it doesn't matter. Maybe because teenagers from the 50's just look older (check out any yearbook from that era and you'll see what I mean), maybe it's because they sing and dance so well. I don't know. But it works.
I was singing, of course, with every song. (We've had the soundtrack ever since I was a little kid, and apparently when I was in kindergarten I told a fellow male classmate to keep his "filthy claws of my silky drawers," an event I don't remember which my mother never fails to bring up whenever this movie is mentioned.) One time in college, I sang "Hopelessly Devoted To You" to an 8 x 10 autographed picture of Jimmy Carter, to the amusement of my friends. (I got the picture on a deluxe special tour of the White House back during the Carter Administration, because my uncle held a position in government. We got to see the Oval Office and all sorts of cool stuff. The only thing I remember about the entire trip is getting a paper cut on the envelope of photos they gave us.)
I was amazed at how raunchy the movie is. I mean, say the lyrics to "Greased Lightning" out loud. And when Sandy and Danny are at the drive-in, and Sandy slams the door shut to Danny's car, look at the reaction on Danny's face. Not something I noticed when I was eight....
Anyway, this is a great goofy movie and you should watch it and sing along most merrily.