Change Your Image
Shadowman1
Reviews
Grease 2 (1982)
Nice story spoilt by bad production values.
If you look past the terrible production values of this movie, what you actually find is a fairly decent and engaging little story about a guy trying to woo a girl who seems unattainable, and I have to say that contrary to popular belief, Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer both give very good performances.
There are some aspects to this film that are a little odd, in that we are led to believe that Michael is a nerd in the movie, yet is bigger, better built and more handsome than any one of the T-Birds. Indeed, it is they who appear to be the 'nerds' as unlike the 1st movie, the T-Birds in Grease 2 really have no credibility and are scared whenever Balmudo's gang show up.
Plus, there is some very cynical re-casting of some of the old faces from Grease, such as the Mr. Spears character and Coach Calhoun, etc, but they really have no role in the movie and you feel they are only there to lend some weight and collect a pay check.
However, that said, Maxwell Caulfield really is excellent in the role of Michael, making his character believable and sympathetic, although despite the fact that he is the leading actor of the movie, he has curiously few scenes and it leads one to suspect that quite a few of his scenes hit the cutting room floor.
I really found his scenes with Michelle Pfeiffer endearing, particularly at the burger-joint and during his 'Charades' song. What a talent he was and should really have gone on to become a major film star. What a waste, but at least we have his sincere performance in this movie to enjoy.
Wonderful Life (1964)
How could they get it so badly wrong?
OK - The Young Ones was a pleasant enough little movie, with some great songs to hide the pacing problems and weaknesses in the plot. Summer Holiday was a towering success on every level and remains to this day an absolute joy to watch, so just how, only 1 year after that wonderful film, did the same production team manage to make a film so utterly uninteresting and unenjoyable? I mean, I really wanted to like this movie but after several viewings I had to give in and admit that it really is an absolute disaster!
Their first mistake of course was not keeping the same actors from Summer Holiday who all seemed to gel together so well and contribute to the enormous charm of that movie. And bringing the Richard O Sullivan character back from The Young Ones was surely a big mistake. The absence of Teddy Green in Wonderful Life is really felt, big time. I kept hoping he, Jeremy Bulloch and the others from Summer Holiday would appear and turn this monstrosity around, but sadly no. All we have is almost 2 hours of O Sullivan and Hayes irritating the heck out of us and a plot that just drifts with no direction whatsoever.
And this time the songs aren't strong enough to cover up the cracks in the plot. True, there are a few exceptions, notably The Shadows' "Theme for Young Lovers", "On The Beach" and "A Matter of Moments" but they aren't enough to disguise the fact that this is really a terribly disappointing film.