Drew McWeeny, HitFix.com

"There are many things I love about Grease. I love the film's energy. I love the movie-star charisma of John Travolta in the lead. I love the 'am I doing this right?' hesitancy of much of Olivia Newton-John's performance....

"Without Newton-John, though, it wouldn't work. I honestly think much of my romantic life was set in motion when I first saw and imprinted on "Grease," because Olivia Newton-John remains a sort of perfect ideal pretty cheerleader type, the ideal that I've always compared women to in some sense. For all film fans, there are those early sexual icons who set the standards for us, and every generation has their own. What I think works best about Newton-John in the film, aside from the fact that she's so fresh-scrubbed pretty, is the way she's Travolta's onscreen opposite in terms of how comfortable they are. She was not a professional actor, and was hired for her pop idol status, and she's game for every single song. In the acting moments, though, her awkward discomfort ends up working perfectly for the role she's playing, and if anything, it makes her even more endearing.

"There are a lot of performances here that make the movie special. Stockard Channing probably got the loudest reactions all night long, and I can't blame the audience for that. Rizzo is pure sarcastic majesty, and she plays the sweaty dirty girl with ridiculous confidence...."

Drew McWeeny, HitFix.com, June 17, 2010