Rydell High Forever

I love musical theatre.  I always have, and I always will.  I even love bad musical theatre... and bad movie musicals.  I can't seem to turn away when they happen to be on television.  I am helpless.

My love affair with musicals began in high school.  I was in a few plays at Pennsauken High School, including How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Annie Get Your Gun, and Once Upon A Mattress.  I fell in love with musicals during those years, and always connect that love back to my alma mater.  Maybe that's also why I love musicals like Grease, Grease 2, Footloose, and Hairspray - they take me back to high school, and the beginning of my love affair with this art form.


Oh, Grease 2.  I just found it on television - and of course, I'm watching it.  Part of me feels so happy that it's on, and part of me feels slightly dirty and as confused as I always am about my love for this terrible film.  I mean, honestly - did we need a second film about the kids at Rydell High?  Is it a tour-de-force of magical, meaningful lyrics?  Phenomenal performances of powerhouse singers?  Skilled, elegant method actors assuming roles they were meant to play?  No, no, no and heck no.  So why do I LOVE to watch this movie?  

Let's start with the obvious: there are few characters in film that look completely hot in both argyle sweaters and silver biker leathers, but Michael Carrington (Maxwell Caulfield) is one of them.  Combine that with the smarts and the accent, and I'm tuning in for every single airing of this movie.  Poor Michael, so distantly, misguidedly in love with Stephanie Zinnoni.  He takes the long road and tries to win her love on the back of a bike.  He writes papers for other students (so smart, but so illegal) to earn the money for his chopper.  He doesn't buy one already built - he builds his own (guys with tools and mechanical knowledge?  Hot.).  He's equal parts stand up guy and rebellious outsider.  Do I need another reason to watch this movie?

I love the fact that every actor in the show is about 30 years old, playing a high schooler.  I love that they sing about bowling as a metaphor for sex.  I love to hate Cool Rider and Prowlin'.  I adore the Reproduction song and want to teach my 15 year old kiddo about sex by making him watch that sequence.  I love that Frenchie is back in high school for absolutely no reason.  I love all the foolishness.


I also think I'm a sucker for any story about someone who wants something, and goes through a heck of a lot to get it.  There are lots of books and films out there with this very theme that I have loved... and I think it applies to even bad movie musicals.  


I think my feelings about Grease 2 are very similar to my feelings for this diet.  It's wonderful and it's horrible.  It's going great, but I want to be done drinking shakes.  Like Michael Carrington, I find myself wanting something that's just a bit out of my reach - to lose 49 more pounds - and I'm reinventing myself in order to achieve that goal.  Sometimes I break out into song when nobody's expecting it, but I did that even before the diet.  For those around me, sometimes watching me drink shakes instead of eating is painful... just like watching two non-teenagers sing about "doing it for their country" in a bomb shelter.  Yes, my diet is strangely like Grease 2, and I'm not afraid to admit it.

Perhaps the most startling similarity between New Directions and Rydell High Redux is the finale.  At the ridiculously elaborate senior luau, the closing song addresses the students' concern about finishing high school and losing tough with one another.  I think every high schooler thought about this when their time came... some of us sad to lose our friends, some of us eager to get away from our hometowns.  The song reassures the class of 1961 with lyrics that affirm "we'll be together - always together - like birds of a feather, forever and ever."  This is absolutely my weight loss battle anthem.  Even when the shakes are done, and I'm into maintenance mode at my goal weight, I'll always be thinking about food, nutrition, and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  I won't ever really graduate from this high school of dieting... we'll always be together.  I've come to accept that in these past 4 months.  Now, I just need to get to graduation day.