Grease is the word…or so I thought! I sat down to watch it with my kids and wholly sh…shoo-bop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom!
I remember seeing this as a 6 year old and being mesmerised by the songs, dance scenes and Sandy…oh Sandy (aka *Olivia Newton John)
*My first serious crush if you don’t count Drew Barrymore in E.T.
BUT Fast Forward to present day, I had forgotten all the sexual innuendos and how inappropriate the content could be for young kids.
I had my 6 year old daughter asking:
Why did Sandy have to change to be with Danny?
It was at that point I realised I should have probably swapped out the movie right after ‘Summer Lovin’ oh sh………….Sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na yippity dip de doom!
Spoiler alert: Sandy dresses like a “bad” girl and takes up smoking - a reversal of the usual “bad makes good” story.
But as any GOOD DAD would do, I covered my film faux pas by masking it with a deliberate life lesson moment. So I proceeded to tell both my 6yo and 12 yo the following:
1. That it’s not o.k for boys to view girls as sex objects. And that if Danny’s ‘chills were multiplyin’ then he should have kept his jacket on.
2. Teasing someone because they’re still a virgin, or for any reason is not OK (This did however lead into a broader discussion on what virginity was - I looked to my wife for some help - she was not forthcoming but instead smiled as I dug myself deeper)
3. Finally, We DO NOT need to conform to fit in at school or to get someone’s attention.
And then I quickly ushered them to bed to avoid any further questions.
Shortly after this I started to make a list of 10 inappropriate films I saw as a kid, that I won’t be showing mine until they are over 15 or in some cases ever:
1. Poltergeist
2. Children of The Corn
3. The Exorcist
4. Terminator
5. Salems Lot
6. Mad Max
7. Flash dance
8. Friday the 13th
9. Jaws 1 and 2
10. Risky Business