Set in 1961 Grease 2 picks up four years after where the first movie left off . it sees newcomer Michael Carrington, just recently arrived at Rydell as an exchange student from England falling for the beautiful Stephanie Zinone. However she show's no interest in him romantically as being the leader of the Pink Ladies, rules dictate that she and her friends can only date gang members of the T-Birds. Undeterred Michael formulates a plan to win her affections much to the ire of T-Bird leader Johnny Nogrelli.Given the the phenomenal commercial success and it's cult status it would have seemed inevitable that a sequel would be on the cards. Allan Carr, who was co-producer had made a deal with Paramount Pictures to be paid $5 million to produce a sequel within three years of it's predecessors theatrical release, and he delivered on that promise. Bringing in professional dance choreographer Patricia Birch, who had worked on the original's choreography to direct, she undoubtedly had a lot to live up to given it's reputation. An almost entirely new team of actors were cast, and the overall result although not completely utterly awful, still to this day leaves something to be desired.To it's credit the majority of the songs are of a catchy and dare I go so far as say being memorable with some energetic, well choreographed dance routines. It's certainly not boring and you get the distinct feeling that there is at least some attempt to do right by the fans by doing justice to what came before. However, the major flaw is with it's uneven script which relies a bit too much on toilet humour, some of which at the time wouldn't have been enough to justify it's PG certificate. That said there are some genuinely funny and inspired moments where I found myself laughing a bit more than I should have been. There are attempts as well to be larger than life, too larger than life in fact as are most of it's characters. The only members of the cast who seem at all restrained are it's two leads although Maxwell Caulfield with his smoldering goods looks which would no doubt have sent female cinema goers pulses racing is a poor substitute for John Travolta. He just lacks Travolta's charisma, and there's definitely something lacking in terms of chemistry between he and co-star Michelle Pfieffer, who incidentally comes off significantly better. Actually her's is one of the best performances of the movie with her portrayal of the gutsy Stephanie. Her high octane performance of the super fueled Cool Rider puts the Power in Girl Power long before the term had been invented, and you can see the early signs that she had what it took to be a star. Besides the lack of spark between them the plot involving Michael adopting a mysterious, masked biker alter ego in an attempt to woo the girl that he adores undermines the validity of any feelings that Stephanie has for him. Her "love" for him comes across as mere infatuation which is purely superficial. This is the girl who after all sang that she wants a Cool Rider with a motorcycle, "No ordinary boy is gonna do. I want a rider that's cool". It doesn't make her look good and she comes off as a immature young woman with a shallow schoolgirl crush. The flipping of the each side of the high school cliques that two lead protagonists come from, an obvious attempt to put a new spin on what made the first movie successful does little to alter the fact that this is still a retread over the same story, with an unconvincing main plot development thrown in. The overall quality of the acting from the new kids is decidedly patchy, with Adrian Zmed amusingly cocky without becoming overly obnoxious. Any reservations about them there may be, he manages to be likeable although indications may point to the contrary early on. Lorna Luft as the blonde bimbo Paulette pouts and overdoes the breathy voice in an attempt to channel Marilyn Monroe, but it merely grates although she does come in to her own more in later scene when she dials it down. And while it is great to see the returning cast members make an appearance, with the glorious Eve Arden reprising her role as school principal, Miss McGee, it's pretty unforgivable to see Didi Conn as frenchy largely wasted with little screen time she is given and with a contrived explanation as to her presence. In the end Grease 2 is something of an admirable failure which misses more than it hits but when it does hit it does with considerable impact. The kitch cheesiness of it however has meant that it has gained something of a minor cult status, perhaps by those who find it so bad to be good (although it's not even bad enough by my personal estimations to gain such dubious an honour) or those with lower expectations than others. It has made it's mark and whether you choose to embrace it or not, if you go for the former then I suppose it doesn't matter why it is if you can find something to enjoy.

Loved this movie.. My whole family watched Grease 1 and 2 when we were growing up. Can't believe the backlash on Grease 2. It's hilarious and we loved it and know all the words to songs. We still watch it till this very day!! We also perform some of the songs at family gatherings..

For value in this I have to look to Michelle Pfeiffer and no further. To me that is enough to be able to experience this story as very acceptable.There are plenty of aspects of the story that are okay, glamorous even, but without my central focus being on Pfeiffer I would have to brush them off.There are plenty of aspects of the story that I experience as weak, best avoided. I need to fast forward in such as the classroom song Reproduction. Except that some really like that song. Personal taste? In comparison, Blue Crush 2 and Mean Girls 2 are more difficult for me. They lack the simple hook that Pfeiffer gives for appreciating this story, though Mean Girls 2 looks to have had an unusually good script that does not survive the direction of the acting.

It's two years after the original Grease. It's Back to School Again. Stephanie Zinone (Michelle Pfeiffer) leads The Pink Ladies but she can't stay with the immature Johnny Nogerelli (Adrian Zmed), leader of the T-Birds. Sandy's British cousin Michael Carrington (Maxwell Caulfield) has come to Rydell High. He is joined by Frenchy who returns to finish chemistry so that she can start her own cosmetics company. Michael falls for Stephanie but she's looking for a Cool Rider. Michael starts doing assignments for money and fixes up an old motorcycle. When the rival Cycle Lords confront the T-Birds, Michael comes to the rescue hidden under a helmet and Stephanie falls for the mystery rider.This is a campy return to Rydell High. There are a couple of good songs and some bad ones. I like Cool Rider for the chorus. This is much more like a high school musical production. Michelle Pfeiffer is one of the sexiest woman in movie history but there is something very campy about her doing song and dance. She's way too cool to do this. Meanwhile, Maxwell Caulfield is way too much of a pretty boy. He's literally drawing hearts in his notebook. They made him too sappy. I don't mind the story but the British guy could have been James Bond. The story is mostly functional. Michelle and Maxwell are pretty people but there isn't enough heat. This is basically bad but some of it is fun bad.