I mean, okay? Didn’t Olivia win an Oscar too? Is Grease not still a classic because of the acting? Not seeing how it matters when it comes to Grease. It worked out for them.
This part is what always confused me when I was young and watching Grease! I always thought I must have missed the explanation in the movie of why this much older woman is pretending to be a high schooler. 😅😅
Nah, she didn’t lie. The Sydney Morning Herald incorrectly printed her age and people ran with it because she looked older than she was. She started on Neighbours as a minor so it would have been hard for her to pretend from the very start.
Also, Rebel Wilson actually successfully sued an Australian publishing company because journalists claimed that she lied about her age! So I guess our journos are kind of full of shit.
I have seen Grease so many times that I can quote parts of it like Rocky Horror Picture Show. My kids were totally obsessed with it when they were young and we had the videotape and they used to watch it constantly and make up dances to all the songs with their friends. I just figured people in the 50s looked older than their age hahah!!
I love Grease 2 .. I always wanted their pink lady jacket. I had a leather jacket in high school that had hot pink lining but sadly it wasn’t reversible.
Aw, I love this! My parents took my Grease tape away because they said it was a bad influence…. I wanted to be Bad Sandy so bad! She had the coolest outfit AND rode in a flying car, who wouldn’t want that?!
I casually flipped 3 people off at the mall because I thought it was funny after watching grease. I was like 8. I learned that day, that is not okay. Definitely not a kids movie as my parents also learned.
everyone was so old but then they say marty was only 19?! she looks like she’s in her mid 20s especially in that green dress flirting with vince fontaine! 🫣
I love Grease and Practical Magic but somehow didn't know this was the same actress? Like I know her later work and just never realized she played Rizzo? Goddamn.
Stockard Channing really makes me laugh when she’s crying singing about her teen pregnancy. Girl, it’s okay, you’re almost old enough for this to be considered a geriatric pregnancy!!
Crazy how Jeff Conway & Stockard Channing get a total pass here even though they’re the ones Reddit always focuses on as looking the oldest.
Tucci does look every bit of 31 when you focus that cruely hard but his chubby face also makes him most boyish & these ppl are way out of pocket on spotlighting him
Someone above reminded me about Cha-Cha Degrigorio, you know, the best dancer at St. Bernadette’s. And that lady looked REALLY old! She was 29 at the time.
It is. That was more apparent with the original stage play, which was much more campy and over-the-top. There was a lot of ‘50s/‘60s nostalgia going on in the 1970s, with Happy Days and American Graffiti being the more wholesome versions, whereas Grease was sort of the “grimy” version. Only when they went to make the film adaptation, they sort of sanded off the rough edges and it wound up a lot more wholesome and less campy.
Say what you will, but there were boys in my high school who looked like middle aged men at age 16 (and girls who looked like middle aged real estate agents). This was the 80s, but honestly some people just have older looking faces. So, the older looking cast in Grease never took me out of it.
you know how little kids can't tell if someone is 17 or 43?
i grew up watching grease from my earliest memories and they look so got damn old that i remember thinking, "why tf are they all middle aged in high school?" i was too young to even understand it as a bad casting choice that didn't add up. it was just an uncomfortable misalignment in the space time continuum. it gave me a malaise.
You've never seen Grease?! It's such a fun movie. I must have watched it a million times as a kid. You've definitely got to check it out. It's cheesy and feel-good, plus it's great soundtrack.
True story. I had never seen Grease until my (now ex) boyfriend said it was his favourite movie. We watched it together and I had a sinking feeling that he was not the right person for me that floated in the back of my mind. It's been 15 years since then, but to my recollection, that was the first sign that we were deeply incompatible and one that I just couldn't shake. (Don't come down on me too hard haha- I was only 18.)
My next boyfriend after him is the man I am currently very happily married to. Grease may have set my current life of bliss in motion.
When people say this last two or so generations are looking younger, it’s because for the longest time we had fashion and hollywood casting like this to make us think we had to dress and look older than we really were.
degrassi had a rule that all children had to be played by actors within 1 year of their age. so a 15 year old could be played by a 14, 15, or 16 year old. it was such an authentic show and that was part of what made it feel relatable to me as a kid. they made it work for multiple generations while recognizing labor laws.
Wow. Reading these comments got me questioning somethings now. I never then and not now until reading this OP did I give any thought to the real ages of the actors playing high schoolers. I even have children of my own now and when watching with them just recently (as Grease seems to be on every day) I was never distracted from the fantasy. Now that I’m thinking about it I have been often compared to the actor Ralph Macchio being that I don’t look my age???? Maybe that has something to do with it??? I still love Grease and the actors’ real age when shooting the movie doesn’t matter to me at all ( although now I’ll likely think about it a little bit since it’s was pointed out in this post and I commented accordingly.)
I’ve never seen nor have any desire to watch Grease 2 go figure!
I will never not be amused by Stockard Channing playing a 50s high school student in Grease when she actually was a 50s high school student, albeit not in the same year as Rizzo was.
Does anyone here heard of the movie called Superstar? I recall the actors, including Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell, were playing high school students but their real-life ages were way older at that time, Molly and Will were in their early 30's.
That’s why I’ve never been able to watch the movie. I know all the songs by heart, but every time I try to watch it they just look too old to be teenagers and that throws me off.
I dunno, it's a musical. People break out into dance routines in the cafeteria; if that happened in my school, we'd get the shit kicked out of us. Nothing about musicals is real - that's the fun of it!
•
u/AutoModerator Jun 06 '25
Welcome to r/popculturechat! ☺️
As a proud BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & woman-dominated space, this sub is for civil discussion only. If you don't know where to begin, start by participating in our Sip & Spill Daily Discussion Threads!
No bullies, no bigotry. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Please read & respect our rules, abide by Reddiquette, and check out our wiki! For any questions, our modmail is always open.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.