Sorry, this movie sucks

Better Late Then Never

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Set in 1961 Grease 2 picks up four years after where the first movie left off . it sees newcomer Michael Carrington, just recently arrived at Rydell as an exchange student from England falling for the beautiful Stephanie Zinone. However she show's no interest in him romantically as being the leader of the Pink Ladies, rules dictate that she and her friends can only date gang members of the T-Birds. Undeterred Michael formulates a plan to win her affections much to the ire of T-Bird leader Johnny Nogrelli.Given the the phenomenal commercial success and it's cult status it would have seemed inevitable that a sequel would be on the cards. Allan Carr, who was co-producer had made a deal with Paramount Pictures to be paid $5 million to produce a sequel within three years of it's predecessors theatrical release, and he delivered on that promise. Bringing in professional dance choreographer Patricia Birch, who had worked on the original's choreography to direct, she undoubtedly had a lot to live up to given it's reputation. An almost entirely new team of actors were cast, and the overall result although not completely utterly awful, still to this day leaves something to be desired.To it's credit the majority of the songs are of a catchy and dare I go so far as say being memorable with some energetic, well choreographed dance routines. It's certainly not boring and you get the distinct feeling that there is at least some attempt to do right by the fans by doing justice to what came before. However, the major flaw is with it's uneven script which relies a bit too much on toilet humour, some of which at the time wouldn't have been enough to justify it's PG certificate. That said there are some genuinely funny and inspired moments where I found myself laughing a bit more than I should have been. There are attempts as well to be larger than life, too larger than life in fact as are most of it's characters. The only members of the cast who seem at all restrained are it's two leads although Maxwell Caulfield with his smoldering goods looks which would no doubt have sent female cinema goers pulses racing is a poor substitute for John Travolta. He just lacks Travolta's charisma, and there's definitely something lacking in terms of chemistry between he and co-star Michelle Pfieffer, who incidentally comes off significantly better. Actually her's is one of the best performances of the movie with her portrayal of the gutsy Stephanie. Her high octane performance of the super fueled Cool Rider puts the Power in Girl Power long before the term had been invented, and you can see the early signs that she had what it took to be a star. Besides the lack of spark between them the plot involving Michael adopting a mysterious, masked biker alter ego in an attempt to woo the girl that he adores undermines the validity of any feelings that Stephanie has for him. Her "love" for him comes across as mere infatuation which is purely superficial. This is the girl who after all sang that she wants a Cool Rider with a motorcycle, "No ordinary boy is gonna do. I want a rider that's cool". It doesn't make her look good and she comes off as a immature young woman with a shallow schoolgirl crush. The flipping of the each side of the high school cliques that two lead protagonists come from, an obvious attempt to put a new spin on what made the first movie successful does little to alter the fact that this is still a retread over the same story, with an unconvincing main plot development thrown in. The overall quality of the acting from the new kids is decidedly patchy, with Adrian Zmed amusingly cocky without becoming overly obnoxious. Any reservations about them there may be, he manages to be likeable although indications may point to the contrary early on. Lorna Luft as the blonde bimbo Paulette pouts and overdoes the breathy voice in an attempt to channel Marilyn Monroe, but it merely grates although she does come in to her own more in later scene when she dials it down. And while it is great to see the returning cast members make an appearance, with the glorious Eve Arden reprising her role as school principal, Miss McGee, it's pretty unforgivable to see Didi Conn as frenchy largely wasted with little screen time she is given and with a contrived explanation as to her presence. In the end Grease 2 is something of an admirable failure which misses more than it hits but when it does hit it does with considerable impact. The kitch cheesiness of it however has meant that it has gained something of a minor cult status, perhaps by those who find it so bad to be good (although it's not even bad enough by my personal estimations to gain such dubious an honour) or those with lower expectations than others. It has made it's mark and whether you choose to embrace it or not, if you go for the former then I suppose it doesn't matter why it is if you can find something to enjoy.

I would never have made it through this had I not been too sick to do anything else. However, there are some good parts. Some of the singing and dancing numbers are fairly good and some of the characters work well together. The biggest problem, as I see it, is that neither of the two leads is much involved in any good numbers. I don't see a shred of chemistry between the leads, either. Maybe if someone else was in the role of Stefanie it might have improved things, but Michele Pfeiffer just isn't believable as a tough Italian girl (or a singer or dancer).I think Lorna Luft, although a bit old to play a high school student, did a very good job, although I wish there had been a number that showed off her voice. Another standout, in my opinion, was Leif Green, as Davey. I don't know why they would have him in a side car, rather than his own motorcycle. That was silly, but I think he did a great job with the role. If only the film had been stronger, it might have led to more of a career, for him. It was apparently expected to establish a career for Maxwell Caulfield, as well as Michele Pfeiffer. Although he was definitely very cute, I didn't really see much in the way of solid talent, there. While Michele Pfeiffer, although miscast in this film, in my opinion, did demonstrate some solid acting talent and later got the roles to prove it.

Loved this movie.. My whole family watched Grease 1 and 2 when we were growing up. Can't believe the backlash on Grease 2. It's hilarious and we loved it and know all the words to songs. We still watch it till this very day!! We also perform some of the songs at family gatherings..

The only aspects I liked in this film was "Cool Rider" by Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael's tact. Otherwise, Stephanie is obnoxious, the music has been watered down a bit with excessive innuendo for me, the T-Birds and Pink Ladies are less edgy than the originals in the Grease film, and this film makes me miss Stockard Channing's whimsical and cheeky expression, and I wonder why Stephanie was not fired from her job after seeing how tactless she was at dealing with the waitress that gave her food.