Grease 2 movie review- The forgotten sequel

If Grease was made in the 80s what would it look like? 

Director: Patricia Birch

Writer: Ken Finkleman 

Cinematographer: Frank Stanley

Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Maxwell Caulfield, Lorna Luft, Adrian Zmed, Didi Conn

Year: 1982

Stephanie Zinone (the mesmerising Michelle Pfeiffer) is the leader of Rydell High School's Pink ladies of 1961-1962, a gang of girls from the original movie. Their counterparts are the T-Birds; Stephanie is tired of her relationship with the leader Johnny Nogerelli (the amazing Adrian Zmed), so she breaks up with him. The new English exchange student Michael Carrington (the breath-taking Maxwell Caulfield), hopes to win Stephanie over. Michael tries to overcome his nerdy ways while trying desperately to hold off the jealous Johnny.

Grease 2 is and will always be one of my biggest guilty pleasures.  I was first introduced to this 'national treasure of a movie by my nan when I was much younger, and I have to thank her for exposing me to the pinnacle of cinema which is Grease 2. Now I know nothing can beat John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, because, duh, they are the originals! But 22-year-old Maxwell Caulfield (absolute heartthrob) and 23-year-old Michelle Pfeiffer seem to absolutely steal the spotlight in this sequel and make me question my sexuality a little too much. I don't know if nostalgia is a factor for the reason I rate this so highly (it probably is), but I have to be brutally honest, and I'm ready to get cancelled for this, but: the musical numbers are far better! There I said it. It's rare that I enjoy a musical, there are only three that I will rotate watching (mainly for comfort), but it's really the only movie with an absolutely banging soundtrack that I will blast from Spotify on my computer and annoy my neighbours as I sing along in my bathroom mirror with my hairbrush, non-stop. I am the main character. Grease 2 is definitely of the so-bad-it's-almost-too-good genre, and when I mention this forgotten sequel to friends, they had no idea it even existed. I was proud to be the person to introduce them to a truly underrated piece of exceptional cinema. I still have no idea why we, as a society, turned our backs on such a masterpiece. After all, Grease 2 is a movie for all the people who saw Grease and thought, "if only this movie had an 80s soundtrack".  

Maxwell Caulfield, who played Michael Carrington, bought the simp representation and energy that was very much needed. I mean, in 'Charades' he sings about Stephanie and how she 'can't feel the real' him whilst walking around alone and sad in the canteen with a tray of food he doesn't eat #Michaelisdepressed. This is quality cinema, right here! High School Musical wishes it was Grease 2. I don't see Troy Bolton slipping into a leather one-piece and learning to ride a motorbike to impress a girl. Michael's dedication is unmatched! And don't get me started with the independent girlboss Stephanie Zinone, who doesn't need a man to be cool (even though she does end up with one); well, I guess that feminism didn't last long. Stephanie singing 'Cool Rider' which is all about what she wants in a man after rejecting Michael because she's a bad bitch and likes to belittle men is one of the best parts of the whole entire movie (we need to make men insecure more often!). 'Cool Rider' in itself deserves 5 stars; that girl knew exactly what she wanted and what she was doing. Once a bad bitch, always a bad bitch. Johnny Nogerelli takes the cake for #menaretrash, and Louis DiMucci tries to trick a girl into having sex with him. This movie really said, "men suck! but not you, Michael; you're a nice guy who can pull off leather and amazing bone structure". As I've referenced previously, the musical numbers are far better. 'Score Tonight' is a song sung whilst playing extreme 60s Olympic bowling, and yet it's literally a song about sex. 'Do it for Our Country' is not just a song about war; it's a song about sex. 'Girl for all Seasons' is not just about the weather; it's also about how men have lots of different relationships and can pick and choose who to have sex with. 'Prowlin' is not just a song about walking around with your buddies. It's also, you guess it right, a song about sex. And 'Reproduction' is pretty self-explanatory. Let's face it Grease 2 has some great songs which reflect its refreshingly equal rights sexual honesty, and there's nothing as shocking as the "Did she put up a fight?" line in 'Summer Nights' from Grease. This film is just extremely hormonal and horny, and that just makes it so much better. Apart from the abundance of sex, the songs are extremely catchy and a lot more memorable than the songs from Grease. If someone put a gun to my head and asked me to sing a song from Grease, I'd start singing a song from Grease 2. (because I'm a dumb bitch, but you get my point!) 

Grease 2 is just a gender-swapped version of the original, and it still stuck to the idea that you have to change for someone to like you, which isn't true at all (says me, who will also change for a person I like so they will like me back). That's not the only glaringly obvious problem for me, as this movie is supposed to be set in the 60s; why are some of the musical numbers and costumes straight out of the 80s? I mean, I'm not complaining; I do love the 80s, but why set your film in a certain time period and not stick by it? That's just my historical accuracy side coming out. Also, Louis trying to trick a girl into sex and Johnny leading a girl on and using her for sex whilst still pining and trying to control his ex is not cute. Parts of this movie haven't really aged well, except Michelle Pfeiffer, who has aged like fine wine *chefs kiss*. It's not as badly dated as it's contemporary, but there are still some pretty bad problems within this movie. But it also brings forward two strong female characters within Stephanie Zinone and Paulette Rebchuck, and a pretty beautiful relationship between Stephanie and Michael, even if the relationship was first built on deception and lies because she didn't know it was him; # relationshipgoals. But in the end, she doesn't just fall in love with his motorcycle theatrics; instead, she falls in love with him because she knows he's smart and caring and is a guy who actually likes her for who she is, and not because of the way she looks or her status. Stephanie is cool. She doesn't need to be a bitch to be a badass, she wears what she wants, and she does what she wants. No insecure man-child (Johnny) is going to tell her what to do. 

"Grease 2 has a female protagonist who changes tires, is sexually awake and unimpressed by the basic boys around her. She is very important."

— June Diane Raphael, 2017.

 

I'd still highly recommend watching this film. It's something I put on to transport me back to my childhood or when I need to relax or have a little fun in my life and sing and dance along to the songs. I'm so sorry to everyone who has seen me dancing by my window in my room like I'm in some sort of movie. This film is one of my comfort movies, me and my friends love watching it. Although some find it overtly campy (which it is, and that's another reason why I love it) and a sort of cheap rip-off of the original, this film just brings so much more to the table than Grease. I'm sorry, but have you seen 22-year-old Maxwell Caulfield in leather? I think that's evidence enough. Michael is the underrated simp of the century! Boys take notes. I guess we all like a bad boy who's actually secretly the nice geeky guy. So basically, someone who doesn't exist, and here I'm reminded that I have high standards and that I will die single and alone. This movie has everything I've ever wanted and more; it has it all. This movie is my 'Cool Rider'. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Favourite quotes:

"What are you going to be when you grow up?" 

"A burden on society."

"We're going to die and I'm wearing my mother's underwear!" 

"Besides, there's gotta be more to life than makin' out." 

"I ain't no one's trophy."