Grease is a musical romance, set in the 1950s. Starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, the film follows the story of a pair of teenagers who fall in love despite their differences.
Classification Issues
- Language
- The film contains scenes of supernatural threat, including sequences in which characters are attacked by demons.
- Sex
- A group of girls taunt their friend for being a 'virgin'. There are some jokes about a woman's large breasts. There is an undetailed allusion to masturbation when a woman asks a young man if he is going to ‘flog the log’. A couple talk about contraception as they kiss on the back seat of a car. It is later implied that they had unprotected sex when the woman thinks she might be pregnant.
- Additional issues
- Various teen characters are seen smoking cigarettes.
Cinema classification
Grease came to the BBFC for classification in June 1978.
The language used in the film was at the very top end of what was acceptable at the advisory A category, which admitted children but with parents cautioned that the film may be unsuitable for young children. One Examiner report notes, “since the film is visually extremely discreet, it's unlikely that many will concern themselves about the occasional sexiness of the dialogue.”
Another report highlights dialogue including “frigging A” and “what do you think this is, a gang bang?” as potentially questionable at the A category, but the overall light touch of the film in its handling of teenage romance, as well as the musical context which would likely appeal to youngsters, ultimately kept the film in the A category.
Public feedback
Upon its cinema release, the film did generate some public feedback. A mother wrote to the BBFC complaining that she’d “found the dialogue banal and crude and totally unsuitable for children, especially the scene involving contraception.” The BBFC responded with a letter explaining the decision to pass the film at A, arguing that the reference to contraception would not widely be understood by young people in the UK and therefore not significant enough to raise the film to the AA category.
Video classification
When the film was submitted on video in 1987, some of the high school dialogue was again mentioned by Examiners, but thought to be acceptable at the PG rating, the modern equivalent of the A.
Today Grease remains at PG, with content advice noting mild bad language and sex references.
