{"id":39242,"date":"2023-03-30T03:01:52","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T07:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=39242"},"modified":"2023-03-30T08:54:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T12:54:30","slug":"grease-rise-of-the-pink-ladies-carries-the-torch-of-the-classic-movie-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/03\/30\/grease-rise-of-the-pink-ladies-carries-the-torch-of-the-classic-movie-well\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGrease: Rise of the Pink Ladies\u201d Carries the Torch of the Classic Movie Well"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Like it or not, \u201cGrease<\/a>\u201d is now a universe, and it has its own extended timeline that begins with \u201cRise of the Pink Ladies\u201d and ends with \u201cGrease 2<\/a>.\u201d That\u2019s not particularly bad thing, especially if you loved \u201cGrease\u201d as much as I do–even though I\u2019ll never budge on \u201cGrease 2.\u201d I still consider that movie to be immensely awful. As for \u201cRise of the Pink Ladies,\u201d it\u2019s a very good prequel series. It\u2019s flawed, sure, but at the end of the day, it might achieve its goal of bringing in a new generation of fans. The majority of \u201cGrease\u201d was spent mainly following around the T Birds and focusing on their struggles with rival gangs. Although the Pink Ladies are there a lot of the time, there isn\u2019t real emphases on their whole group dynamic.<\/p>\n

\u201cRise of the Pink Ladies\u201d ventures to explore the origins of the female gang and why their members take the name so seriously.<\/p>\n

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The ten episodes limited musical series takes place four years before the original \u201cGrease” before we met Danny and Sandy. In 1954, before rock \u2018n\u2019 roll ruled, before the T-Birds were the coolest in the school, four fed-up, female outcasts dare to have fun on their own terms, sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cRise of the Pink Ladies\u201d isn\u2019t a serious or dramatic exploration of the universe, even though you can consider it a teen soap opera. The tone is tongue in cheek and a la the original \u201cGrease,\u201d much of it is comedic in tone and considerably light hearted. The writers and producers base a lot of their framework of this story on the movie adaptation of \u201cGrease\u201d and not so much on the original stage musical. That\u2019s made wholly apparent on the appearance of familiar locales from the movie, as well as some winks here and there. The series even opens with a lavish new version of the \u201cGrease\u201d theme song.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The choreography (by Jamal Sims) and music (Justin Tranter) are pretty fantastic at times, even though there are clunky musical numbers here and there. They have to fill ten episodes with music and dance numbers, so I don\u2019t totally begrudge the writers, sadly though, there isn\u2019t a single \u201cSummer Nights\u201d or \u201cHopelessly Devoted\u201d to be found. In either case I found the first five episodes to be a breeze to sit through, and that\u2019s thanks to the great cast. Marisa Davila as Jane is primarily the center of the show, a former geeky student who rises to popularity after students discover she\u2019s dating the high school jock. Cheyenne Isabel Wells as Olivia fills the Rizzo role, portraying a Latina student who is given a bad reputation after an incident.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also Ari Notartomaso, who is the highlight of the series, playing a tomboy anxious to become a T-Bird. The fourth of the group, Nancy, played by Tricia Fukuhara is the least developed of the characters. She barely gets any real focus despite the writers placing a lot of significance on her molding of the Pink Ladies. It\u2019s a shame she doesn\u2019t have a ton of sub-plots or real dramatic weight. \u201cRise of the Pink Ladies\u201d can feel confused at times, and packs in a ton of sub-plots in five episodes. I barely had a lot of time to catch up with the foursome, and they introduce a new character in the third episode, who adds to the mess. No disrespect to Shanel Bailey.<\/p>\n

As a huge fan of \u201cGrease\u201d (it\u2019s a childhood favorite), I approached \u201cRise of the Pink Ladies\u201d with as open a mind and as much optimism as possible. After five episodes I was entertained in spite of its flaws, and I hope it takes off. I\u2019m ready to finish off the first season and see where the entire saga of the Pink Ladies is headed.<\/p>\n

Premieres Thursday, April 6th<\/u> exclusively on Paramount Plus. New episodes will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays.<\/strong><\/p>\n