Re-watching movies over and over again as audiences get older and more rational causes them to second guess things they may have missed during the original viewing. Even the classic John Travolta movie Grease, arguably one of the most influential musicals of all time, is no exception, as there are even moments that still have fans scratching their heads to this day.
From Sandy's questionable relationship behavior to fully grown adults playing high-schoolers, there are a few things that still, even after multiple viewings, don't make sense about Grease.
Why Did Sandy Go Back To America?
When Danny and Sandy are reunited after their long summer romance, Danny asks Sandy why she is there and what happened as last he heard she was going back to Australia. However when asked why, her answer is "We had a change of plans!"
This would probably raise a lot of questions in any rational person's mind. Perhaps she is running from the authorities. Was she ever going to contact Danny when she got there if he never found out?
How Do Danny and Sandy Know Nothing About Each Other After Summer?
Similarly, how do the two know so little about each other despite having spent presumably a whole summer together? Danny never mentioned what school he went to or even what state he lived in. Surely the first thing she would do would be to let Danny know in some way that she was coming to America?
Understandably, these points would cause for a lot more exposition which might have taken away from other important story elements but it does lead fans to wonder what they spent the whole summer talking about.
How Sandy Became A Cheerleader
Everyone knows Sandy isn't like the other girls at Rydell High, especially the Pink Ladies, at the start of the movie anyway. When at the school football game, fans can see the Rydell High cheerleaders where Sandy is amongst them attempting to do the routine.
Sandy tries to cartwheel but fails miserably, begging the question of how she was allowed to be a cheerleader in the first place? Perhaps they felt bad for her or perhaps she was having an off day.
Why Does Danny Take Sandy To The Diner To Hide?
There are a fair few social spots that the Rydell High students go to blow off steam. After viewers have established that Danny doesn't want to be seen in public with Sandy he, for some reason, decides to take her to the exact diner where all the students from Rydell High congregate.
An interesting choice considering. Why not go to a smaller, less popular diner a few streets away?
Rizzo's Ice Cream Bathroom Trip
Down at the Burger Diner, Rizzo, one of Sandy's friends and lead of The Pink Ladies, is seen walking out of the bathroom holding and tasting an ice cream cone. Perhaps viewers didn't notice this first time around but when they do, it raises so many questions.
Did someone hold the ice cream cone while she was in there? Where are they? Is that even her cone?
Why Did Frenchie Not Hide Her Pink Hair With A Wig?
Fans saw earlier in the movie Frenchie's extensive wig collection at her house. During the film, Frenchie accidentally dyes her hair pink after self-admittedly having "a little trouble in tinting class."
Frenchie clearly tries to hide her hair by using a thin scarf wrapped around it. Why not use one of her wigs. If she was okay with displaying her pink hair then why cover it at all? But if she is going to cover it and try to be as inconspicuous as possible, a wig might have done the job slightly better.
How Does Danny Know Nothing About Basketball?
When Danny goes to play Basketball with the Rydell High team safe to say, it looks like he has never seen the sport before. As soon as he gets the ball and the coach blows the whistle, Danny holds the ball and starts going to punch the other players who immediately back away.
Basketball has been around since the late 1800s. How does an 18-year-old guy not know to even dribble the ball?
Why Do Adults Play High Schoolers?
This question is in the same wheelhouse of logic that asks why the kids in Bugsy Malone had such deep singing voices and why they were essentially acting as adult characters. Interestingly Danny and Sandy were almost played by different actors.
In modern films such as Marvel and Sony's latest run at the Spider-Man franchise, Tom Holland is older than Peter Parker is. But even in that example, the actor is at least close to the age of his character, in some cases such as Michael Tucci, he looks certainly older than a teenager and was in fact 31 when Grease was filmed, and he isn't the only one with a large age gap with his character.
Sandy's Inability To Commit
Throughout the movie, some of Sandy seems to have trouble making up her mind. First, she spends the summer with Danny, then doesn't even tell him that she's traveling to his state. Then gets with the high school footballer not long after being reunited with Danny.
Then, while she is supposedly with the footballer, Danny falls during hurdles, and Sandy leaves the footballer to rush to Danny's help. It seems like Sandy has a little bit of commitment trouble herself.
Why Does The Car Fly?
The question that's probably been on everybody's minds since the film was released. In the end after one of the movie's best songs, why does the car fly? What does it add to the story? Does it symbolize Danny and Sandy rising above their old issues or flying off into their version of Heaven?
It's a fantastic car, but the flying felt slightly random. The film could have gotten the exact same point across by having the actors drive into the sunset, maybe even adding a shot set slightly in the future.