Let me start off by saying that I am in love with Grease. I watched it eight times a week when I was younger, and I still try and watch it at least once every few months.
Let me also say this: NOTHING will ever replace the original Grease. It's just not possible. So when they announced the new Grease: Live!, I was automatically skeptical. Could this really be anything like the original, or would they butcher it like so many remakes do?
Now that Grease: Live! has aired, I'm going to give my honest opinion on the casting of five of the main characters. I'm going to break it down into three grading categories: look, performance, and overall. Let's get started.
Aaron Tveit: Danny Zuko
Look: A-
Obviously, Aaron Tveit could never be John Travolta. That being said, he does look similar to John Travolta minus the iconic black hair. I don't think his likeness was the BEST of the whole cast, but it definitely wasn't the worst either.
Performance: B-
His singing voice was great, but he was missing the "Danny Zuko" accent in his voice. Other than that, his acting was good. Had he been just a little more convincing, I definitely would have given him an A.
Overall: B-
Overall, Aaron Tveit made a pretty good Danny. He was a good singer, an okay dancer, but really suffered in the area of chemistry with Sandy.
Julianne Hough: Sandy
Look: A+
Bow down to the drop dead gorgeous woman that is Julianne Hough. Not only is she beautiful, she looks so much like Olivia Newton-John that it's almost scary. When she stepped out into the gym in her black spandex outfit, I was almost convinced it was the real movie. She was by far the cast member that looked most like the original cast.
Performance: A+
I knew from Dancing with the Stars that Julianne could dance, but WHERE DID THAT SINGING VOICE COME FROM?! I was blown away by her voice, and Grease: Live! definitely made me realize how talented and well-rounded Hough is. She was great portraying the innocence of "Sandra Dee" from Salt Lake City. She was really convincing!
Overall: A+
Honestly, Julianne Hough was the high point of the entire special for me. She really embodied who Olivia Newton-John made Sandy become, but she was able to put her own spin on it to make it new and fresh. I loved Julianne Hough before Grease: Live!, but I'm an even bigger fan now.
Vanessa Hudgens: Rizzo
Look: A-
I think Vanessa Hudgens looks as much like Stockard Channing as anyone can. The only reason she didn't get an A+ was because her voice wasn't as gruff and scratchy as Channing's was.
Performance: A+
What little she lacked in looks, she definitely made up in performance. Hudgens shed her "Gabriella sweetness" and traded it in for a much more "bad girl" role with Rizzo. She was very convincing in all aspects of her acting, and can we just give her 10x more kudos for continuing on with her performance HOURS after her dad passed away from cancer? Yeah, she's totally kick butt.
Overall: A+
Overall, Vanessa Hudgens made a really good Betty Rizzo. I have to admit I was pretty skeptical when I first heard that she was going to be playing the role, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I like pleasant surprises.
Carlos Penavega: Kenickie Murdoch
Look: C+
...my C+ is being generous. Carlos Penavega looks NOTHING like Jeff Conaway. He doesn't have the same color hair. He doesn't have the same look at all.
Performance: B+
I was also really skeptical about Carlos Penavega playing Kenickie. Penavega found his way to fame through Big Time Rush, so I didn't know how well he would play a more serious role. That being said, he surprised me, and he ended up being one of my favorite characters. His singing voice is amazing (we already knew that), and I really enjoyed his part in this special.
Overall: B+
Even though Penavega looked least like his original character, he did do really well with the role. His acting and his singing made up for what he lacked in look.
Carly Rae Jepsen: Frenchy
Look: A-
Understanding the way genetics works and that no one can look just like another person unless they're identical twins, I think Carly Rae Jepsen looks very similar to Didi Conn. They have the same narrow nose, pointed chin, and big doe-like eyes.
Performance: A+
This really surprised me. When I thought of Carly Rae Jepsen, all I could think about was "Call Me Maybe," and I expected her performance to be an utter disaster. However, she did so well. She was able to capture Frenchy's blonde innocence in an extremely convincing way. And I mean we all already knew she could sing.
Overall: A
Frenchy was one of my favorite characters in the original movie, and I wasn't disappointed with "New Frenchy." She was enough like the original that even a die hard fan like myself was satisfied, and that's hard to achieve.
As a whole production, Grease: Live! was honestly so much better than I expected it to be. I really thought it was going to be a bunch of wannabes running around trying to recreate something that could never be recreated. And in this case, I am so glad I was wrong. Like I said in the beginning, nothing could ever replace the original Grease, but I'm glad they decided to make Grease: Live!. I really enjoyed the new spin on an old movie.
