Crappy film

A Disappointing Continuation

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Briefly comparing to the 1978 film, which is still hugely enjoyable now, 'Grease Live' is vastly inferior in many ways but is still very much watchable on its own merits.As far as live TV productions of musicals go, 'Grease Live' is superior to the live TV productions of 'The Sound of Music' and particularly 'Peter Pan' while fell flat, but 'The Wiz' while uneven fares the best.There are many good things here. Many of the songs are great, some like "Summer Nights", "We Go Together", "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Greased Lightning" are classics. The choreography is spirited and energetic, especially at the end and in "Greased Lightning". The 1950s production values are very attractive, the dialogue is mostly witty though with the odd clunker and pacing though with the odd part where it grinds to a halt (especially "Beauty School Dropout") is sprightly.'Grease Live' also boasts some good performances. Best of the lot is surprisingly Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo, she brings sass and vulnerability to the character and successfully sheds her "Disney star" image, proving that she is much better than that. She sounds great, with her voice having come on hugely since the 'High School Musical' films with a powerhouse rendition of "There Are Worse Things I Could Do", one of the production's highlights.Julianne Hough is far superior here than she was in the awful remake of 'Footloose', she is a very charming Sandy and has a lovely tone to her voice, with a sweet "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and doesn't hold back at the end. Jordan Fisher and Carlos PenaVega (apart from getting lost a little in "Greased Lightning" steal scenes, while Ana Gasteyer is good too. Kether Donohue and Elle McLemore prove that you can be funny and camp but also be subtle, and it was great to see Didi Conn and Barry Pearl.On the other hand, this reviewer had mixed views on Aaron Tveit. He has a great voice, better than John Travolta's perhaps, as could be heard in 2012's 'Les Miserables' where his voice was one of the standout voices, and he is an energetic dancer, but he lacks the cockiness and charisma as Danny instead coming over as wooden and bland. Keke Palmer plays Marty far too broadly and is far too theatrical that it was painful to watch her, while Mario Lopez and particularly Haneefah Wood are supremely irritating. Carly Rae Jepsen's Frenchy sounds under-powered and strained, and she flounders with comic timing and never looks comfortable.Not all the songs work either. "All I Need is an Angel" and particularly "Beauty School Dropout" are incredibly out of place and completely take one out of the period with too much of a present day vibe. It was nice to hear "Freddy My Love" and "Those Magic Changes" but the former also seems oddly placed, while the title song "Grease is the Word" is so dreary and the lyrics and vocals too often inaudible in a production plagued with problems with sound and balance with a lot of dipping in and out.All in all, an uneven production and very much a mixed bag. A number of merits but some glaring flaws as well. 5/10 Bethany Cox

I was a teenager in the late 1950s and the early 1960s, so many things in the Grease movie or this stage presentation bring back good memories. Like the drive-in movie theaters on weekends ("who watches the movie?") or the student dances. Not to mention all the 1950s attire for the school kids. All very authentic. However the gangs and street racing are a bit exaggerated. Still it makes for good entertainment.Following the lead of NBC which started yearly live televised productions with "Sound of Music" then a couple of others in subsequent years, this is a live TV presentation on the studio back lot and large sound stages. Not only do they not try to hide this, the presentation both opens and closes with production numbers highlighting the use of back lot and sound stage. All in all it works very well and is very entertaining.They make good use of well-known TV and teen movie personalities and pop singers, and it helps that they are good singers. Julianne Hough is no Olivia Newton-John but she is vocally well-suited to the role of Sandy. Aaron Tveit is a more accomplished singer than Travolta was at that age and is good as Danny Zuko. My favorite is Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo, showing that she is not only a pretty face but put a lot of sass in the role and vocally is outstanding. We all know the story, Sandy and Danny meet over the summer before senior year, Danny is a real sweet person but when they meet up at the same school he starts to be the tough guy to impress his friends. The story arc is to see how they will end up together at the end.I watched it as a replay, without commercials, on Netflix streaming.

It wasn't bad, but it simply had no real reason to exist.They stuck so close to the original movie that it was a virtual frame-by-frame clone, yet the performers suffered by comparison to the original cast.(Let's face it, the leads were no John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John,)So what's the point of remaking it, if you can't do it better, or at least do something original with the concept?I appreciate the talent and enthusiasm of the dancers, and the fact that they (supposedly) pulled this off live in front of the cameras. But in the end, it was simply unnecessary.

This was Brilliant! Sure, there were minor glitches but for a LIVE performance it was amazing. Fox has certainly showed NBC how to do a live musical production.Vanessa Hudgens was a stand out as Rizzo. Up until now she has played colorless "Disney Types". As Rizzo she has shown us that she can actually act as well as sing. She was also stunning in the 1950s look.The other stand out was KeKe Palmer as Marty. This former child star has developed into an amazing adult actress. I predict great success for her.Much less successful was the casting of 32 year old Aaron Tveit and 27 year old Julianne Hough as Danny and Sandy. They were both far too old and far too "world weary" to convincingly play High School students. And, why was it necessary for the audience to be continually reminded that Sandy was from Salt Lake City? Was this some sort of odd little Mormon in joke?The biggest screw up of the evening was the token casting of Boys II Men as the "Teen Angel" character. These gentlemen have their own niche in the music industry, but they certainly cannot convincingly deliver a 1950s Rock and roll song convincingly.