Set four years before the classic musical rom-com, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies follows the origins of the titular girl gang in the midst of a controversial student council president election. In its attempt to recapture the magic of Grease, it fails on almost all fronts.
The issue at the centre of the series’ lacklustre output is the music, stemming from the fact that they can’t really use the songs from the original film. Every episode features multiple brand new songs performed by various members of the cast, adding up to about 25 songs across the season. Unfortunately, there’s a maximum of five songs that are at least decent, a couple of which are actually good, and the rest range from being completely flat to just straight up bad. What’s worse than the poor quality of the songs is that they just don’t fit with the established Grease vibe. Rather than playing off the sound and general vibe of the original film, the songs feel more like they belong in Glee or High School Musical. They’re way too modern for the subject matter and setting, and they almost all completely fail to recapture the upbeat vibes of Grease‘s biggest hits. When music is your series’ most prominent element and none of the songs are worth a second listen (let alone a first) there’s almost no way to recover.
However, I will give credit where credit is due. They may not be able to use the OG songs due to their irrelevance to this story, but they do weave some clever notes into the score. A few times throughout the season, the series drops some familiar notes hoping to play off the nostalgia factor, and it works… albeit briefly. As a fan of the original film, having seen it many times, this series plays off nostalgia a little bit. Through dropping references to characters, callbacks to iconic scenes, visiting locations and even the return of an iconic dance, it successfully lets you know this is the same world. Unfortunately, they shouldn’t need to use these references to tell us this is the same world – it should be evident through the tone, but it isn’t.
As much as I do like the lead character, Jane, and the performance by Marisa Davila, the central narrative is hardly engaging or enjoyable. There are some arcs that are fun, silly and mildly engaging, most of which directly involve Jane or some combination of the Pink Ladies and T-Birds. Almost any scene about or involving both Jane and Richie (Johnathan Nieves) is a highlight. Their connection over the course of the season is one of the more interesting ones, it’s just a shame it has to fight for the spotlight against so many other subpar subplots. Many of the arcs are way too forced, cheesy and cringey, making it a bore to watch. Yes, the OG Grease has its cheesy moments, but this takes it to another level… and it doesn’t seem like it’s being self-aware either. Sometimes it goes from overly silly hijinks to a heartfelt scene and back again, and it’s almost always a jarring transition that doesn’t work. Also, it doesn’t help that most of the characters aren’t that interesting or likeable – making it hard to care about their journeys.
The main thing, or one of the main things, that I believe is holding the narrative back is that the series is so focused on pushing agendas and hitting inclusivity quotas that it forgets to write a good story in the first place. So many of the episodes are blatantly written around topics like female empowerment, racism, sexism and more, and that’s fine as long as it fits organically within the story. Unfortunately, most of the time it’s painfully forced and detracts from whatever story they’re trying to tell. The agendas that it’s forcing on the audience should be represented seamlessly within the story, not be the actual story. Female empowerment should be a message delivered through an episode’s core arc, not presented like a beginner’s guide to women’s rights. The issue of racism should be represented through the actions of characters, not something driving the story. The fact that this series has a very mixed cast of ethnicities should speak for itself, without needing to be pointed out in every waking moment.
Again, it’s obvious that Rise of the Pink Ladies is and should always be a female-centric story. By all means, have an inclusive cast and touch on some important themes, but when your show’s entire identity becomes “which social issue will we highlight this week?”, it becomes insufferable to sit through.
In terms of the performances, Marisa Davila is strong and likeable in the lead role. There’s this charming nature about the way she plays Jane that makes it easy to root for her. Her chemistry with some of the other cast, specifically Johnathan Nieves, is one of the very few saving graces, doing its best to elevate most of their scenes. It’s not amazing, but it’s actually something good among the pile of mediocre fluff. Even Cheyenne Isabel Wells (Olivia) and Tricia Fukuhara (Nancy) bring bouts of charisma to their roles where necessary. Unfortunately, while I liked the performances above, the writing of their characters holds them back significantly. So many character decisions are horribly forced and frustratingly dumb, making it not as enjoyable to follow them as it should be. Of the rest of the cast, no one shines – it’s a cringe-fest and everyone does an okay job, but it’s nothing to write home about.
In the end, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies fails in reviving the fun vibe, upbeat tone and cheesy drama of Grease. Aside from an updated rendition of ‘Grease is the Word‘ and a couple of other decent new songs, the music is a far cry from the quality of the original film. The story is slow, largely void of fun and at times just straight-up boring, making it hard to remain invested in the characters and their journeys. It’s dragged down by dull subplots and the forced pushing of a whole list of agendas that’s so in-your-face that it’s painful to sit through. There’s some silver linings like the nostalgia factor, but nothing strong enough to make this a good time.
4.4/10
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