Helene and Don Hoffman ham it up in costume for the advanced screening of Grease Sing-a-Long at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, Wednesday July 21, 2010.Tim Fraser
Don't pretend you don't know those words. Even people who haven't seen Grease, and they are rare, probably know most of the hits.
Here's a test: Grease lightning is burning up the …? (That's right, the quarter mile.) Summer lovin', had me a …? (Exactly, a blast.) You're probably humming the song right now.
Which is good news, because Greased Lightning has struck again.
Seizing on the popularity of jukebox musicals, the studio behind Grease has released a special sing-a-long version of the 1978 film. It's been hitting such cities as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Seattle since July 8 - and, thanks to a contest that promised to bring the movie to the Canadian city that received the most votes from fans, it also screened for two nights in Toronto last week.
The crowd at a screening on Wednesday night was a mixed bag. There were grey-haired seniors, groups of young girls, and packs of middle-aged women reliving the glory of those oh, oh, summer nights.
One couple, Don and Helene Hoffman, were cute enough to melt the hearts of the roughest, toughest Scorpion. They had gone to see the original movie on a date when it first hit theatres. All these years later, they were back to sing along. He was wearing jeans and a grey T-shirt. She was wearing a pink neck scarf. Frenchie would have been proud.
Plenty of other people had decided to play dress-up. One woman who looked to be in her early 40s was wearing a varsity jacket with "Pink Ladies" emblazoned on the back. Another, in her 20s, was wearing a cherry-print prom dress and a pearl necklace. Another was dudded up in a bright pink jacket and fifties-inspired cat-eye glasses.
While I'm not in the least a sing-a-along person, we live in a song-and-dance pop-culture universe these days. With the success of Glee and High School Musical - not to mention all those Idols - it's no wonder Paramount has dusted off its leather jacket, rolled up the hem of its jeans, slicked back its hair and once again trotted out Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. The sing-a-long version of Grease comes with the tagline: "The original high-school musical is back!"
Take that, Zac Efron.
When the first bars of Summer Nights began to play, everyone in the theatre started clapping and singing the words, which appeared at the bottom of the screen. Pink cartoon hearts floated up through the air onscreen as Danny and Sandra made eyes at each another on the beach.
During Greased Lightning, a lot of people starting pumping their fists high in the air. But I wondered if any of them, like me, raised an eyebrow at some of the lyrics. However wholesome you might remember the movie to be, some of those lines are surprisingly raunchy. I'd tell you what the chicks'll do for Greased Lightning, but I can't, because this is a family newspaper.
Not that I minded. In fact, listening to a roomful of people sing the naughty parts was probably my favourite part of the whole night. It was either that or the sight of Travolta in red short shorts hiked up to his belly button as he tried to impress Sandy by becoming a jock.
Still, not all the songs proved to be hits with the crowd. There was a strong chorus of people singing Beauty School Dropout, but the room went pretty much quiet during the song Travolta sings at the drive-in after Sandy rebuffs his attempt at a hot make-out session. Fair enough, I guess. I mean, do you have fond memories of that drive-in song? Can you even name that drive-in song?
But when the hits came on, most people were swaying and singing without a hint of irony or self-consciousness. These were fans. They had given their hearts to the movie and the music and the words up there on the screen. Usually displays like this freak me out, but the enthusiasm was adorable. It was like one big Rydell High pep rally.
And when Newton-John showed up near the end of the movie as leather-pants-wearing bad Sandy, the crowd cheered the way Star Wars nerds would if they were handed a light sabre. All fandom, when it comes right down to it, is the same.
They had chills; they were multiplyin'. I know, because that's what they were all singing. Rizzo would have rolled her eyes, but who cares. There, in the theatre, giving off the vibe of being at one big slumber party, they were looooooooosing control.