While the 1978 film really didn't need of be remade it was interesting to see what choices for casting would be made. As with the original film it is the supporting character roles that make the movie more fun for me because it is expected that a live event is going to have the hotter young stars of today in the main roles.
But just as Eve Arden, Sid Caeser, Dody Goodman, and Alice Ghostly provided humor among the drama of 1950s high school life, it is Ana Gasteyer, Wendell Pierce, Haneefah Wood (where did she come from? I don't remember seeing her in anything before.), and Eve Plumb who, as Principal McGee, Coach Calhoun, school secretary Blanche, and auto shop instructor Mrs. Murdock, steal the show in their own way.
As with any movie there were some good things and some bad things. Let's take a look at the lists for Grease: Live!
Worst:
1. Aaron Tveit as Danny: Talented singer, wonderful dancer, and way too old to play Danny Zuko. For the most part I had no problem with Tveit as Danny, but when his frown lines formed he looked way older than the 18 he was supposed to be playing. I know it's not something Tveit can help but it was kind of weird to see him age before my eyes.
2. Mario Lopez as host of the event and Vince Fontaine. One or the other would have been enough. I'm of the opinion that the live event didn't need a host and Lopez was better utilized as the narcissistic Fontaine.
Best:
1. Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo. I had turned away from my computer for a minute when Hudgens began singing "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee," and I thought for a second or two that my ears were deceiving me. It was like she was channeling Stockard Channing. And then she knocked "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" out of the ballpark too!
2. Moving "Hopelessly Devoted to You" to a better place in the musical. I always wondered why the song was sung so early in the movie. No matter how magical the summer was for Danny and Sandy, it never made sense for Sandy to be so devoted so soon. Placing the song after Sandy has left Danny at the drive-in was a better fit, and Julianne Hough made me believe the depth of Sandy's devotion to Sandy.
3. Haneefah Wood as Blanche. Like Dody Goodman before her, Wood didn't have to use words to convey what Blanche needed to say. A look was enough.
4. "Those Magic Changes" sung by Doody (Jordan Sparks). I remember Sparks from Teen Beach Movie a few years ago. I expect he will become a bigger star in the future. He is definitely a talent to watch.
5. Keke Palmer. I've loved her since seeing her in Akeelah and the Bee. Need I say more?
6. Cameos from Grease vets Didi Conn and Barry Pearl. It's always nice when some of the cast of a beloved version of a project makes an appearance in the new one. I'm surprised that Conn, who has fantastic comedy timing, isn't seen on TV more often these days.
7. Eve Plumb as Mrs. Murdock. I saved the best for last. Everyone jokes about "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" as if Marcia and, by extension, Maureen McCormick were the only Brady girl worth dreaming about -- I had a thing for Cindy (Susan Olsen) when The Brady Bunch originally aired -- but Eve Plumb proved once again why she is the most versatile actress of the Brady girls. She looked like she was having fun, tackling the role of Mrs. Murdock who in very little time tells the T-Birds that she is an ex-con who also spent time in a convent and made me believe both were possible.
All in all, I enjoyed watching Grease: Live! and I wonder what other Broadway shows are on tap for live TV. I know I've got a couple I'd love to see if they could pull the original Broadway casts together for the events. Sutton Foster in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Kristin Chenoweth in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, perhaps?
Hey, I can dream, can't I?
No comments:
Post a Comment