Grease

[curiousgeorgie247]

Dd (almost 11) wants to watch Grease this afternoon. Any thoughts? Is it suitable?

If it's the original with JT and ONJ, I saw it at the flicks when I was seven.

11 is fine!

I watched it as a kid too. It's actually a bit ruder than I thought but it's subtle so anything like that will no doubt go over DC head. My niece watched it recently and she is 9 and she just loved the songs, found the rest of it a bit boring I think!

Yea it's the original. I can't remember how old I was when I watched it. My first thought was that it would be ok. Had a quick look on some parents film guide to refresh and loads if people said it wasn't suitable for under 13s.
Which brought me to mumsnet 😂

"Had a quick look on some parents film guide to refresh and loads if people said it wasn't suitable for under 13s. "

Ah, we must have been made of sturdier stuff back then.

I was 13 when Grease first came out. The school discouraged parents from allowing us to see it on the grounds: 1) of inappropriate sexual content; and 2) that a girl who ceases to be "herself" and offers herself sexually in order to keep the attention of a worthless boy isn't a good role model. The school was right; but we all saw it and it went straight over our innocent heads. All we were interested in was the songs and the clothes and the "romance". Longwinded way of saying that it will be fine

I was quite surprised at the reviews tbh. I think I'll go for it. It never did me any harm 😂

My DDs grew up watching it. As children most of the sexual content sailed over their heads - they just sang along and endured the 'boring bits'. As tweens and teens it was a good conversation-starter for respectful relationships and how things have changed (or not) since the 1950s. I'd say yes.

It's fine, though I did the same with DD at about 11 and some of the ruder bits did make me start a bit! Grease Lightning, for example, has lyrics about "getting loads of tit", and the "the chick'sll cream"; the song Sandra D includes being "lousy with virginity", Rizzo & Kenickie have a condom break and thus an accidental pregnancy scare... It all went over DD's head and can easily be missed, but I did do a double take a few times as I'd forgotten most of those bits!

I think I was in my late teens before I realised that Rizzo had thought she was pregnant and I'd been watching it since I was about 8. Took me until I was in my 20's to realise what a 'pussy wagon' was. Most of that film went totally over my head - I just loved the singing and dancing.

Watching it as an adult made me realise the vast majority of it went over my head as a child. I'd say 11 is fine.

I think I was about 5 when I first saw it. Seventies upbringing.

I was 11 when I saw it originally and any sexual references/ lyrics went right over my head and didn't register!

"the chick'sll cream"

I thought that was "the chicks'll scream"?

"You know that ain't no shit we'll be getting lots of tit"

Ah, now that line is definitely wrong. It was:

"You know that little shit; he'll be looking like a tit..."

I'm positive that was it...wasn't it...?!

Oh was an innocent bunch we were as children!

I’d forgotten the scene in the car with Rizzo and Kenickie talking about using an out of date condom and deciding to chance it.

It does give a bad message that it is fine to change to keep a boy. But I don’t remember getting that message from it as a kid.

the song Sandra D includes being "lousy with virginity"

Nope. It's "lousy with the gin and T". Both my DDs sang that, so it must be right.

It’s grease, she’s 11 of course she is old enough to watch!

I think it’s a really problematic film.

For all it's negative role models or messages, the character of Rizzo and her fabulous 'There are Worse Things I Could Do' song is just awesome, and really did leave an impression on me as a child. Probably my introduction to the concept of slut shaming. I do know that it contributed to my dislike of the song 36D by the Beautiful South because I recognised that the message of that song was directly contradictory to the message in Grease.

The first film I ever saw at the cinema, I was 8, all the sexual bits went right over my head too. My girls watched it about the same age and I'll never forget them singing from the song book 'look at me, I'm Sandra Dee, lousy with virgginity' (I doubled the g as they sang it with a soft g)

You would however BU to let her watch Grease 2 - its utter crap!

I watched it from five years old. It’s fine.

We did it as a school play when I was 10!

Would you pull that crab with a net?

Also watched it from five and saw the live show in the West End a few years later - most of it went over my head! I did want to sing Look at Me I’m Sandra Dee at the school talent show in Reception, took a few puffs of my Aunt’s cigarette and said “Tell me about it, Stud” to almost every boy in the playground so...it did have an influence but I was largely fine and grew up to be more of a (good) Sandy than a Rizzo. Sadly 😂.

I say go for it and be prepared to have a chat afterwards if needs be.