GREASE LIVE REVIEWED
“Grease Live” will be remembered as the first live TV production that brought stage energy to this novelty. Shot in front of a live studio audience, there seemed to be a conscious effort to appeal to the broadest base possible. They brought back musical numbers, introduced a wide demographic appeal and found a way to work pop stars of today into the mix. The end result is a schizo mix that starts amazing, but peters out hard after the first hour.
What went wrong? Well, what was wrong was what was assumed that was needed to be right. Cross-demo appeal doesn’t exactly resonate when doing a period piece. Sorry, guys…but it’s still the 1950s. The inclusion of stage numbers cut from the 1978 film were welcome. However, the dynamic of the groups matched with the desire to appeal to every single group created something that rang hollow.
The central relationships of Sandy, Danny and not Stockard Channing works very well. But, that’s because there was a need to keep what worked across all iterations. Everything else reeks of stinker tinkering to make something fresh or new. Carly Rae Jepsen trying to introduce modern flair to Frenchie has the staying power of Stacie Q appearing on The Facts of Life. Everything else can be left to the debates of the Tumblr crowd. That being said, I’d love to see what FOX does next.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Featurettes
A/V QUALITY STATS
- 1.78:1 standard definition transfer
- Dolby Digital 2.0 surround
