Happy XANADU !

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THE GOOD TIMES KEEP ON ROLLIN’

Herald Sun
9 Aug 2018

Watching Grease in 2018 is like bumping into an old friend it is simply great to catch up with again.

You immediately forgive all the obvious flaws — the tacky acting, the silly songs, the delirious dancing. Instead, you find yourself willing Grease to keep on doing whatever it was that made you like it so much in the first place.

Everywhere you look, a perfectly chosen cast are extending an open invitation to switch off your mind and simply have a good time.

At the forefront of the action is John Travolta at his absolute peak — a snakehipped 23-year-old forever straddling a Thunderbird convertible while he cuts the air with his pointed finger.

There’s Jeff Conaway, giving Travolta all the lipcurling back-up he needs. Although she looks old enough to be the mother of most of her co-stars, Stockard Channing gives off a tarnished shine as the “easy” teenager of the bunch.

Former ’50s icons such as Frankie Avalon, Ed “Cookie” Byrnes and Eve Arden also provide their fair share of magic in their handful of scenes.

Then there’s Australia’s own Olivia Newton-John as the goody-two-shoes heroine of the story, somehow breaking out of her kewpie doll cocoon to become a leather-clad babe of a butterfly to die for.

There can be no argument that Grease is one of those timeless classics that is brilliant despite itself.

Sprinkled with that indescribable sparkle that defies good taste and conventional logic, it is the ultimate embodiment of the phrase “it’s hip to be square”.

Don’t bother trying to put an exact finger on why it somehow became one of the most beloved flicks of all time.

Grease has been the word for 40 years now, and it remains as fresh and deliciously escapist as the first time you ever clapped eyes on it.

Grease: 40th Anniversary Season screens in general release for a limited time from next Thursday, August 16