Baltimore loves "Grease," so Paramount has brought it here in a "sing-along" edition. At least that's the studio's story. For weeks it's been running an online promotion asking fans of the 1978 musical smash to vote for it to come to their city. With 1,414 demands to date — whoops, I just checked, make that 1,415 — Baltimore has ranked #3 in requests for the film out of 3,617 markets in the running.
"Grease" opens Friday at the Cinemark Egyptian. It's the perfect midsummer gift for hons who wanted to sashay like the Pink Ladies or be good and look great in leather like Olivia Newton-John. Or for guys who wished they could strut like the T-Birds and dance like John Travolta.
If your last experience of a community sing at a cinema was a follow-the-bouncing-ball cartoon, rest assured: this is not your daddy's — or granddaddy's — kind of sing-a-long.
In keeping with the film's happier-than-"Happy Days" view of high school life circa 1959, Paramount has designed the titles with campy flourishes worthy of a mid-century vintage gift shop.
In "Greased Lightnin'," for example, the "o" in the word "Go" has a racy hubcap in the middle. When Travolta sings "Summer love, had me a blast," the sun beams on "summer" and the word "blast" explodes.
And the doodling often goes way beyond that. No only is the hit "You're the One That I Love" festooned with hearts and lipstick kisses, but at one point, to express Travolta's desire, two streams of white dash-marks jet from his eyes straight to Newton-John's twitching derriere.
When the lyrics get a little raunchy, coy cartoons substitute for words — a cow's teat, for example, stands in for something else. And in case the crowd doesn't join in, Paramount has added some canned voices to the sound track.
But for those who know the film by heart, all this only adds to the fun. "Grease Sing-Along" brings new meaning to the words "summer camp."
Tickets are $7-$10.50. Call 443-755-8992 or go to greasemovie.com