Growing up I was introduced to Grease 2 long before I was aware there was a Grease. And in truth, I was really only let in on the last 10 minutes of Grease 2 so you can imagine my surprise when I learned not only was there a whole pre-story, but also a whole other movie! My mind was blown at eight years old, thanks mom.
Now that I'm a little more seasoned on both films, I think that my introduction played a large part in my love for the sequel over the original. Even so, I find it to be much more relate-able as well as just all around more fun. I realize I'm in the minority in this. I've asked several people. Everyone loves Grease. Most people haven't heard of Grease 2. So if you wouldn't mind doing me a solid maybe I can shed a little light on this miraculous movie that does not get the credit that it deserves.
Plot
The plots are similar for the most part. Foreign exchange student comes to Rydell High. Meets/flings/loves the cool leader of their respective clique, feels like maybe their in over their head so in the end, try really hard to impress their cool love despite objections from the friends of their cool love and win their heart at the end of school party!
Now for Grease the foreign exchange student is Sandy Olsen (Olivia Newton-John) from Australia. She is friends with Frenchy (Didi Conn) and over the summer before school starts she meets Danny Zuko (John Travolta). They kiss a lot on the beach and she thinks she is going back home but ends up staying for the school year. She reconnects with Danny who is a total douchebag to her, so she tries to move past it and with a few failed attempts at getting back together she finally has to change her image and become a badass hottie in black spandex who grinds on him at a school-sponsored carnival.
In Grease 2 we meet Michael Carrington (Maxwell Caulfield), cousin of Sandy (though he's British). He is shown around by Frenchy (because she flunked out a few years earlier so here she is again - and sidenote so was Eugene, how did the epic nerd not graduate? Maybe he was a student aid this time around, ok moving on...) and also meets the lovely Stephanie Zinone (Michelle Pfieffer). They had no summer romance but in trying to woo her he catches on earlier than Sandy did that he also should probably revamp his image to get her in the end. He becomes a badass hottie that can ride a motorcycle and is accepted by everyone during their school-sponsored luau despite the fact that he broke a lot of stuff.
Characters
Lets start with the leads.
Sandy vs Michael - Both are pretty wide-eyed when they show up to America but the difference with these two is that Sandy actually tries to get Danny to like her before deciding she needs to change for him. Maybe it's because she had the time with him over the summer and realized that he could probably remember that he did like her, too? On the other hand, Michael did not have any summer lovin', so Stephanie really has no clue what he's about, so he has the freedom to create any image for her that she'd like? As attractive as Michael is, I would probably have to side with Sandy on this one.
Danny vs Stephanie - Both of them are kind of jerks. Danny is outright rude to Sandy when he finds out she's arrived at Rydell during a pep rally. Not wanting to come off as a loser in love he basically blows her off like their romance didn't even phase him, he does this all the time. Stephanie for the most part is nice to Michael though she kind of flirts with him to piss off her ex-boyfriend, but she never really calls him out, she just tells him that she isn't interested, it's his fault for not taking a hint.
T-Birds 1 vs T-Birds 2 - Besides the main characters we have the head T-Bird, the one that kind of rules them all. Kenicke and Nogerelli. Both have pretty dope names, but I think when it comes down to it Nogerelli has a smarter head on his shoulders, but Kenicke is a bit softer. Grease 2 gives their Birds a bit more of a story line with a few songs (granted there is a talent show) and they each get their own lovely woman. And I would say that they also had Birds that went on to have a few more successful careers. Christopher McDonald has been in a slew of things, Adrian Zmed had some success as a regular on TJ Hooker as well. Good for them! All Kenicke did was go on Celebrity Rehab.
Pink Ladies 1 vs Pink Ladies 2 - Again, besides the main characters the lead Ladies couldn't be further from different. Rizzo (Stockard Channing) can do no wrong. Lover of the sequel or not, there will never be another Rizzo. Sharon (Maureen Teefy) was one of my favorites but she was far more prudish than Rizzo was, though I'm guessing that's not hard. As for the others, again the Grease 2 ladies had more success after, too. Pamela Adlon was BOBBY HILL in King of the Hill. I don't think anyone will realize my excitement when I discovered this. She's done a lot of voice work and writing on things like Louie. Lorna Luft was the daughter of Judy Garland and sister to Liza Minelli and had some mediocre success doing guest spots in the 90's. Either way I don't think any of them went to rehab.
The Faculty - The faculty is in large part the same from movie to movie. Same principal and assistant (though in the sequel Blanche seems to have lost it a bit), same coach. We see more interactions with teachers in the sequel too and with that comes more teachers. Super sexy Miss Mason (Connie Stevens) and awkward Mr. Stuart (Tab Hunter - HIS NAME IS TAB!). For that alone, Grease 2 wins.
The Music
This is probably the toughest call. Trying really hard to put my personal feelings aside, this needs to be looked at logically. If we take that route almost anyone will side with Grease. The songs are very much renowned in pop culture, everyone knows the songs even if you've never seen the flick. Summer Nights and You're The One That I Want have been used countless times, Greased Lightening made a cameo in Home Improvement! The songs are go-to for any karaoke aficionado. The songs are timeless, you cannot argue with that. BUT. If you listen to the songs in Grease 2, while cheesy, they actually do a better job of telling the story. And in my opinion that is probably why they're not as able to crossover and be welcomed into other situations. They seem to be written to honestly move everything forward. They do a better job of supporting the plot, even though when you think about it, a lot of songs from Grease are meant for this as well, they just try to be a little more subtle about it. That really doesn't make them better or worse but it sure does give Grease 2 a disadvantage. Plus Grease 2 is much more sexual a movie. They have a song called Reproduction for God's sake, that's hilarious (sidenote, we had our copy recorded from TBS and that song was cut so I didn't find out about it until much later) and one of the Birds basically begs his Lady to do it with him for the sake of America. That's gold. And I'm pretty sure no one would pick Michelle Pfieffer over Olivia Newton-John vocally however I think that Michelle Pfieffer certainly holds her own.
Opening song - Grease vs Back To School Again
Back To School because it isn't a cartoon and has sweet dance moves.
Super random but I think fun song - Beauty School Dropout vs Score Tonight
Score Tonight because bowling.
Lovers quarrel song - Sandy vs Cool Rider
OBVIOUSLY Cool Rider. What teenager in the 80's did not want to be her for at least a second.
Longing for love song - Hopelessly Devoted To You vs Charades
Charades sucks. It's one song I was super glad was cut from the TBS version, seriously Hopelessly Devoted To You kicks it's ass.
Questioning your sexual decisions song - There Are Worse Things I Could Do vs Let's Do It For Our Country.
Honestly I really want to go with Let's Do It For Our Country on this one because growing up I found that song amazing, but any song that Rizzo sings, especially when heartfelt, makes it really hard so I'm going to call it a draw.
T-Bird song - Greased Lightening vs Prowlin'
Greased Lightening, hands down.
Pink Lady song - Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee vs A Girl For All Seasons
Sigh. As much as I love the Rydell High talent show in Grease 2 probably should side with Sandra Dee because...Rizzo.
Battle song - Summer Nights vs Who's That Guy
Who's that Guy because it's dark and mysterious and there is a fog machine. Just kidding, it's a tie. Summer Nights is amazing and classic even if I do get sick of it on occasion.
Final love song - You're The One That I Want vs We'll Be Together
Go ahead, hate me for picking We'll Be Together. But it was the first song I'd ever heard (that 10 minutes above I mentioned) and it's where I learned the word "certainer". Plus when they're all jumping at the end? I've tried to recreate those jumps more times than I can count.
Granted a lot of this is propaganda to try and get everyone to love Grease 2 as much as I do, which I also realize is a lost cause, but regardless of that it's a stand up movie. Its too far under the radar to be a cult classic, but not enough to not be made fun of. If given a fair shot I've found a lot of people can enjoy it! That's all I want, so please, go rent it from your local video store and make it a Blockbuster night!
Too soon?
Grease 2 is Awesome!!
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