In a recent interview, Grease starlet Olivia Newton-John defends the 1978 classic against claims of sexism and a lack of diversity. The film, which earned Newton-John a Golden Globe nomination, celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2018. Grease is based off a 1971 stage musical set in the ‘50s that details the trials of romance between two young lovers, dramatizing America’s emerging teen culture at the time. It catapulted its leading couple, Newton-John and John Travolta (who already had successful careers), into ultra stardom.
Grease and its music became a touchstone of popular culture and at the time of its release, it was the highest grossing musical film of all time until it was dethroned in 1993 by a re-release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Last year, Grease was added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry of movies deserving of preservation for their contribution to American culture. A sequel, Grease 2, was released in 1982 but few of the original cast members returned. The film also inspired the televised performance Grease: Live, which was well received by critics and viewers. However, the inspiration doesn’t stop there. Both an upcoming prequel film, Summer Lovin’, and a Paramount+ spinoff series, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, are in the works.
Since the original film is set in the ‘50s and is now over 40 years old, it's ripe for criticism through the lens of a modern-day more progressive society. In a recent interview on Sarah Grynberg's podcast A Life of Greatness, Newtown-John defended Grease against criticisms of sexism and diversity issues, supporting the musical’s overall goal to be, simply, a fun movie.
In this particular instance, I think it's kind of silly because the movie was made in the '70s about the '50s. It was a stage play, it's a musical, it's fun. It's a fun movie musical and not [meant] to be taken so seriously. I think everyone's taking everything so seriously. We need to relax a little bit and just enjoy things for what they are. I didn't see it like that at all. I think it's just a fun movie that entertains people. That's all.
Newton-John has remained good friends with Travolta, who also remembers their time fondly and is actually recreating his Grease memories with his daughter for an upcoming Super Bowl advertisement. The success of Grease bolstered Newton-John’s already successful music career to new heights. Following the movie, she went on to release her most successful studio album Physical in 1981, which went double platinum. Additionally, Newton-John teamed up with Travolta again in 2012 to release a Christmas album and has been a dedicated activist for health awareness and other humanitarian causes. More recently, she has appeared in works such as Sharknado 5: Global Swarming and has made guest appearances on reality shows like Dancing with the Stars and RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Post the era of popular social movements such as Me Too and Black Lives Matter, many classic films have come under fire for not aging well in the progression department. Swaths of American classics, upon a more contemporary re-watch, handle sexism and race poorly among many other issues such as mental health and LGBT rights. Dialogue about these issues and Hollywood’s role in them is important, but has left many actors and actresses to answer for decades-old movies and television shows. While Newton-John defends Grease, the question of whether audiences should be seriously or harshly critiquing older films with the knowledge of today is one that will continue to be debated.
Source: A Life of Greatness