12 “Grease” Mistakes That Made Us Want to Travel Back in Time Just to Fix Them
Grease marked a before and after in musicals. Although it was released in 1978, it still enthralls viewers with its colorful dances and karaoke-worthy songs. Still, no film is without its flaws. Some may be more noticeable, but almost every film production has those mistakes that often go unnoticed.
At Bright Side, we love finding little mistakes in movies, and we decided to take a look at Grease to compile a list of unexpected blunders.
1. Sudden changes of location
One of the first mistakes can be seen at the film’s beginning when Sandy and Danny live out their youthful summer love. While they are on the beach, one shot shows Danny hugging Sandy on the left side. However, in the next shot, Danny is on the right side.
2. Glasses that appear and disappear
Another mistake occurs during the song “Summer Nights.” There, when Rizzo is lying on one of the school benches, she starts to put on her sunglasses. However, she doesn’t have them on as she pushes the girls away. In the next shot, her glasses return to her face.
3. The red thread
A few minutes later, when Sandy is with the cheerleading squad, a long red thread can be seen in the lettering of her uniform. However, in the next scene, the thread magically disappears.
4. The room that cleans itself
Another small continuity error occurs during the girls’ sleepover. At the beginning, when they talk, we see that the bed’s headboard is messy and full of things. However, seconds later, it is empty, except for a fan.
5. Mattresses that come and go
The guys in the story do their own musical solo in “Grease Lightning.” In one scene, Danny circles around the car, and we see that there is nothing but wheels. However, only an observant eye can notice that, in the next shot, two white mattresses are lying on the floor. Probably to help the dancers with their jumps.
6. Incomplete school uniform
We can see a small but noticeable mistake when Danny tries out for the basketball team. There, his uniform says Rydell High School, the name of his school. But the other students’ uniforms just say Rydell, even though they are part of the team.
7. The film crew appears in the background
Another mistake we found in the film happens an hour after the movie’s beginning, during the school dance contest. There we can see the film crew sitting on the bleachers. We could think that, perhaps, they are extras participating in the scene. However, the costumes and equipment are not in tune with the Grease era.
8. The cowboy
During the dance contest, another mistake is easy to spot. One of the main decorations in the school gymnasium is a large cowboy who, at one point, breaks down and fills the floor with white paper. However, in the previous shots, the cowboy has no papers on his arms or head.
9. Danny’s sudden change of shoes
One of the most remembered scenes of Grease is Danny and Sandy’s dance number during the dance contest. In the beginning, we can notice that Danny wears formal shoes with heels. But if we pay attention, he wears flat black sneakers in the most complicated parts.
10. Color-changing pins
In the middle of the film, just before Rizzo plays her solo, she’s talking with Sandy. If we look closely, we see that Sandy’s barrette is pink. But in a different shot, it changes to white.
11. Danny’s jacket with the wrong years
To win Sandy’s love, Danny decides to join his school’s track team. Therefore, at the end-of-year carnival, he wears a white jacket with two distinctive red lines on his arm. These lines indicate the number of years the student has been on the team, so Danny should have only one red line.
12. Dirt magically disappears from clothes.
Finally, it’s time for the iconic song “You’re the One That I Want.” When Danny falls to the ground and then gets up, we see that his black t-shirt is dirty. In addition, Sandy places his dirty shoe on him as well. However, a couple of shots later, his t-shirt is spotless again.
What movie have you watched so many times that you even know the dialogues by heart?