Now the subject of a UK-based reality TV show, as talent scouts look for stars to play the leads in a new stage production, "Grease" is probably the definitive high-school movie musical. It's energy and light-heartedness has endeared it to generation after generation of fans.<br /><br />Danny (John Travolta) is an LA high-school student who has a brief summer affair with Sandy (Olivia Newton-John), a beautiful Australian girl. When the summer's over, Danny returns to school at Rydell High and the company of his gang The T-Birds and their girlfriends the Pink Ladies. When Sandy unexpectedly turns up at his school, it leads to a complicated, comic romantic journey...<br /><br />The movie should not work: the plot is flimsy and clichéd, nearly everyone is a walking stereotype and the cast of high-school students are played by twenty/thirty somethings. They should all look stupid up there, but they don't.<br /><br />There are three main reasons for this: first off is the catchy and outrageously memorable music: "Summer Nights", "You're the One that I Want" and "Greased Lightning", to name but three, every song in the film has enough snap to get you singing and dancing. The use of stereotypes in the movie actually works: I don't think I know another movie with so many distinctive and memorable characters: from the romantic leads Danny and Sandy, and minor characters like brainless jock Chisholm and hyperactive supernerd Eugene, each one makes its mark.<br /><br />In today's world, with online communities like Friends Reunited and Bebo connecting people with their old schoolmates, the use of adults to play teenagers might actually strike a chord. The lighthearted and affectionate friendships in the T-Birds and Pink Lady Gangs, are played with a lot of humour and honesty, and will almost certainly bring out nostalgic feelings in the older members of its audience.<br /><br />This is why, for many people, "Grease" is still the word.