My DGD saw it recently with a friend (I had forgotten some of the language, and the "parked car" scene), and I think it's too strong for pre-teens! Who else agrees with me (or not?) Thanks!
Grease was my and my girlfriend's favorite movie as a preteen. We were more focused on matching the dance moves and the music than the scandal of Rizzo getting pregnant. I think that part was mostly lost on us. I think grease is about as benign as they come compared to the stuff I see on MTV, for example.
We recently watched it with my kids (grown) & we were surprised at all the sexual remarks. I hadn't remembered all that, just the singing and dancing. Definitely bears some considerations by parents. I agree there is far worse stuff on TV.
I watched it as a preteen and didnt really notice all the risky stuff...like everyone else I was more interested in singing along and dancing. lol Im sure I didnt "get" any of the sexual remarks or whatnot!
While I agree that there's worse stuff on TV, that doesn't mean we have to let our kids wallow in it.
When our kids were still at home we tried to help them focus on wholesome things. There are plenty of movies without sexual themes and coarse language that appeal to preteens. Kids grow up fast enough as it is, why rush them by exposing them to movies, TV shows and things with themes geared to older audiences?
I was 12 when the movie came out in the theater (in 1978), and my parents let me go see it (I think it was rated PG at the time) with my best friend (and no parents).
The subject matter is pretty adult (the teen pregnancy of the Rizzo character, the tramping-up of the Sandy character, the "hickie from Kenickie" and the autoshop scene)... but even at 12, these issues were already starting to crop up in real life (in 7th grade - so also around that age 12, there was a girl that had gotten pregnant in our clase - and several of the 7th graders had pregnant older sisters in high school).
I do not remember being shocked at all by the movie - but alot of the stuff in the movie, especially in the songs, went right over my head. However, I loved the movie so much that I used my allowance money to buy the album (even though I had a cassette player already, I bought it in vinyl). I believe that the album liner included the lyrics - and only then did I realize that some of the lyrics were embarassingly explicit (but not any more than than the words the boys in my class were already trying out when the teacher wasn't around).
Still, I never played "Greased Lightening," when my parents could overhear. It was the only record I ever remember owning, that I feared would be taken away because my parents might object to the lyrics.
I went to a sing-along version of Grease a couple months ago at the Alabama Theatre. (Too much fun, BTW.) It was the first time I understood some of the words to the songs! They were over my head when I was 12, and even in high school, for that matter!
i never thought about it but i guess there are a few things that are a bit mature. i'd definitely say 13-14 years old for that one, depending on your kid. it's so hard to tell it's such an individual thing too. my cousin for instance watched horror movies as young as like 8, where as i didn't start watching them til high school. i think if i were a parent i'd be more concerned about violence/rape then language or sex. also a good opportunity to talk to your kid about teen pregnancy.
I remember watching Grease as a pre-teen and all of the sexual references were lost on me. It wasn't until later when I had been exposed a little bit more to the world that I realized some of the lyrics/scenes were provocative.
It came out when, 1982? They didn't have the PG13 rating until about 1985, so quite a few films came out pre-1985 with the PG that were fairly violent or had strong language, although not the f-word or the sh-word (check out the IMDb boards for Ice Castles, which is now thought of as a family film but some of the posters are shocked by several lines of dialogue, of the taking-of-the-Lord's-name-in-vain sort)
I think it depends on the child and their maturity level. I don't think that children should be completely sheltered, but at the same time I think they need guidance from parents when watching things that are more adult.
I didn't see Grease until High School, but I remember watching Dirty Dancing at the age of 12 and I think the themes in that movie are more adult then they are in Grease. I don't remember the themes going over my head completely, but my parents were always very open about things like that with me (and their stance on these topics.) Also, like Kaplods, I had a classmate in the 7th grade who was pregnant, so it's true that these types of things are going to come up in real life.
Of course, I also remember seeing Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when I was 7 (in the theater.) I think that was more inappropriate then watching Dirty Dancing at 12. I'm not a fan of violence still.
The original Grease (the original stage version of the musical) debuted in 1972 - I believe. Like the musical Hair, Grease (but much lighter), it was written for a mature, adult audience.
The first movie adaptation (with Olivia Newton John and John Travolta) was released Summer of 1978. was somewhat lightened up (from what I understand) to play to a more mixed audience (but adults were still the main target audience).
Grease II was released in 1982, and was watered-down even further, obviously aimed at a much younger audience (and if memory serves, a very disappointing sequel).
I saw Grease when I was young, probably like 7 or 8. I saw Dirty Dancing when I was even younger. But my mom sent me to the other room during the sex scenes, lol. I don't even think I understood all the sexual lingo during the movies when I was that young. I just watched for the dancing.
12 Year Olds Watching "Grease" ...
