Grease2 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

One of my favorite things in the world is a musical gone wrong. I don't know, there's just something particularly funny about watching a musical number go down in flames -- and the more awkward the better. Well, at least I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, because Over at Den of Geek they have compiled a list of the Top 10 Worst Musical Moments in Movies. Now, they didn't just limit themselves to straight musicals, but the results are a trip down memory lane for me and a nightmare for most people. Taking the number one spot was a pretty obscure moment starring Hollywood Legend Mae West and Timothy Dalton (the much-maligned Bond) in the 1978 musical, Sextette. There are plenty of cringe-worthy moments in this film, but the highlight is Geek's selection: Dalton and West singing (and I use the term loosely) Love Will Keep Us Together. There's really nothing more to say, mainly because I seem to have lost the power of comprehension after watching that clip.

So who else managed to make the list? Well, we've got Vanilla Ice in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, Pierce Brosnan ruining ABBA songs in Mamma Mia, Neil Diamond in black face for The Jazz Singer, and my personal favorite -- a clip from Rhinestone starring Sylvester Stallone as a NYC cabbie turned country singer. But, after looking at Geek's list, I noticed a few omissions (at least in my opinion) so I decided to do a little listing of my own.

After the jump: my top 5 worst moments in Musical history...

After a killer week, an on-going screening of the dramas and torments of the North and South miniseries, and thoughts of pacifist guntoters, I needed a break. No, scratch that -- I needed a "Cool Rider."

While many girls squee'd over Olivia Newton John and Grease, I always thought Grease 2 was so much cooler. (Age brought a better appreciation for the original, but nostalgia never dies! ... especially when the Pink Lady leader got an awesome reversible jacket to quell that terrible pink!) And for years, I was convinced I was the only one in love with 2 until a little film called My Date with Drew. Oh yes, there were die-hard Grease 2 fans out there, and they included Ms. Barrymore herself. Filmmaker Brian Herzlinger loved it so much he divided the world into two categories -- those who loved the sequel, and those who didn't.

The thing that really got my heart, aside from the appreciation of Ladyhawk Michelle Pfieffer and a crush on Maxwell Caulfield, was this scene. Perhaps it tapped into young girls' flirtations with darkness (say, Twilight). Perhaps it tapped into my yearning to escape suburbia. Whatever the case, there was no lady cooler than Stephanie Zinone and her desire for a Cool Rider.

TRIVIA:

Annette Funicello was originally set to play Ms. Mason, not Connie Stevens.

Unsurprisingly, this was a project on-the-go. The script wasn't completed when filming began, and director Pat Birch had to wing it.

This week, we see the big-screen release of High School Musical 3: Senior Year. While Zac Efron and the other cuties have certainly got a strangle hold on young girls everywhere, HSM has some pretty big high school musical shoes to compete against -- Grease.

Personally, I think it's no contest. Way-too old actors versus cherubic youngins? Grease is the word. (The very, very dirty word.) Besides, Sandy's stilettos can kick the crap out of the Wildcats, although neither team looks particularly slick in their spanky sport uniforms.

I would've thought that new kids and Disney marketing would be enough to trounce the old and loved classic, or create a distinct generational divide, but seeing things like this suggests that there is something to give us hope in the world. But maybe I'm a crazy old broad. Watch the video, reminisce, and weigh in below! (And please feel free to add Grease 2 to the mix as well, if you prefer Cool Riders.)

Additionally, if you're just a HSM nut and can't wait till this weekend to rock out with the latest songs on the big screen, feel free to grab this brand new widget Disney sent us and go to town. The High School Musical 3 soundtrack hit stores today.

Let's start off with a little bit of trivia: Did you know that High School Musical and its sequels have had the working titles Grease 3, Grease 4, and Grease 5? That would make it seem as though Zac Efron and his super-cute co-stars were some new generation possibly bred from the loins of Sandy and Danny. Not quite. It's got the whole differing social group angle, and how friends can get in the way of love, but it's definitely not that dirty, classic family movie we all know.

As a tot, I liked Grease, but I loved Grease 2 -- this is probably because Maxwell Caulfield was much easier on the eyes than John Travolta. But after watching the original a few times and devouring the second much more often, there was a long hiatus until a close cousin of mine got a little older and Grease got re-released in theaters. I took her to see it, and my jaw sagged through the entire film. How dirty! How could I not have realized this? I looked over at her; she was smiling, happy, and oblivious, so obviously the "don't-see-the-raunchiness" spell was working all these years later. It skillfully rides that fine line between raunch and respectability.

So, in the sea of a new musicals, equipped with myriads of fangirls, I give you my generation's High School Musicals: Grease and Grease 2.

Sometimes news is better than anything our twisted minds could ever cook up. Not only has moviemaker rationale completely left the universe, but Michelle Pfeiffer's sanity has gone with it, if a recent article from News.com.au is to be believed. She says that she has been approached about an upcoming remake of the epically dirty, kid-friendly classic, Grease, and I quote: "It's a great idea and I hear they would like to get Jessica Simpson for the role of Sandy, she would be good." Oh, God. Where do I start?! This might just be a sign that the apocalypse is coming.

Okay. Let me start with the hideous part of this news: Simpson would be good? Simpson is being looked at for SANDY? Now, no matter how much I am not into her as an actress, and how wary I am of musical remakes (my response to Footloose exemplifies that), who in their right mind would cast someone who can't even get her features released? And in a starring role of a remake of a beloved musical? Has no one heard about Blonde Ambition? This seriously can't be true. If they wanted to remake Grease 2, and put Rob Schneider in the role Johnny Nogerelli, I could see it -- Zmed, Schneider... I can dig it in a goofy sort of way. But man, I'd love to hear what Olivia Newton-John says about all of this.

Now onto Pfeiffer. She says that she wants to play Principal McGee: "She is fun and has some great put-down lines. I think I would like the part now that I have been asked." However, cut into my cheese-loving heart, she detests her role in Grease 2: "I hated that film with a vengeance and could not believe how bad it was. At the time I was young and didn't know any better... I hear it's a cult movie now." Yeah, Michelle, it is. It's even one of the reasons Brian Herzlinger loves Drew Barrymore. Anyway, why rant about one and then want to be in a remake of the other? But even that doesn't matter as much as how and why she'd think Simpson would be good in this.

I must stop ranting about this now, as I could go on for pages and no one wants that. But let's have some fun first. We've got Simpson as Sandy, so what other terrible casting choices could they make to really make this potential remake even more laughable?

[via Cinema Blend]