Friday, November 1, 2013

It's the way it's the motion

Boo is addicted to the movie Grease. It started out innocently enough. We were tired of listening to Disney Christmas Specials.  Then we realized she was fast forwarding to just the music parts.

David had the bright idea of Grease. We liked the music and we would be expanding her tastes. We did not take into account that Abby would be watching the movie or that we would have to explain a hickey from Kinicki.

Earlier this week Boo kept repeating the scene that featured Beauty School Dropout. After she shouted HOOKER I started listening to the lyrics. Yes, mom of the year probably should have done this BEFORE downloading the movie. In my defense, I recalled my mother taking me at age 7 to see the movie in the theater. I even remember that we went while on vacation on Cape Cod. How bad could it be?

For those unfamiliar with the movie, and God bless you, Frenchie wishes for a guardian angel to tell her what to do. Instead of getting the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella she ends up with the least supportive angel ever created: Frankie Avalon.

Here are some of his pearls of wisdom:

Most mixed-up non-delinquent on the block. (Um, I think he means that as a compliment)

Why keep your feeble hopes alive? (Yup, way to motivate)

If you go for your diploma, you can join a steno pool. (Okay, he is giving career advice.)

You think you are such a looker. No customer would go to you unless she was a hooker. (Boo's favorite line)

(Wait it gets better)

You're not cut out to hold a job. (Hey wait a second Frankie you said I could join the steno pool!)

His only advice that is still applicable to today's teens:
 
Wipe off that angel face and go back to high school!



Now friends, before I go boring you with the double entendres (and hey not so subtle references to a kitty cat wagon) of Grease Lightening help a mother out! I need a new movie for the girl. Based on Boo's viewing habits, I believe these are the requirements:
  1.  It has to be more music than dialogue.
  2. It has to be live-action, not animated.
  3. The music should be more upbeat than sad. She will watch Hopelessly Devoted (much to my mother's dismay--she ruined Grandma's favorite song) but loves We go Together.

David's one request: something with a lot of pre-90's music. He doesn't believe there has been a true music since Journey, REO Speedwagon or the Who. Don't get him started on boy bands.

Lastly,
It has to be something that won't make me teach Abby sex-ed. That's why she will take health class. Okay, not a Boo requirement but help a mother out.

My request is much more imperative than David's in case you were wondering.


9 comments:

  1. My friend had the same realization about Grease when her kids were watching it on the van's system on a road trip. My friend could only hear the words, and about keeled over.

    How about Sound of Music? Sure, there's fear of the Nazis, but no sex.

    That's all I've got this morning. Sorry.

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  2. One of our best friend's daughter is 14 years old now, but when she was about 3 or 4 loved Grease. She actually thought John Travolta's name was "Grease". She saw him in another movie around that time and kept calling him "Grease". It really was too funny. But seriously, I know Grease has a lot of double meanings, but if it makes her happy then I say let her still see it once in awhile. And trying to think of another classic musical that may be appropriate and all that comes to mind is Disney one's like "The Parent Trap" (the Hayley Mills one from the 1960s). That movie truly was one of my favorites as a kid and was definitely a bit less racy at times I suppose.

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  3. My nieces loved the music to "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". I know I saw a version with Donny Osmond that wasn't bad. The only racy scene is Joseph trying to put off Pontifer's wife and at least he is trying to put her off!!

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  4. How about Teen Beach Movie? It's the latest Disney musical for TV, so it's clean. It's a spoof on Grease/West Side Story and the music has a sixties vibe.

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  5. My kids love Hairspray(the most recent version with John Travolta)!

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  6. Love Grease!
    What about Annie? I second the original parent trap too! And sound of music!
    My all time fav was a Girls Just Want to have fun, I wish I could dance!

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  7. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or my 8 year old's favorite The Beatles Yellow Submarine!

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  8. how did you explain about a hickey, i may need to know for furture ref. i grew up on disney, summer magic is one of my all time faves. and i was a dirty dancing / footloose fan, but those wouldn't be age appropriate! and i'm guessing high school musical is out, too?

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  9. Isn't it funny how things that seemed were ok for us when we were kids make us cringe when our own kids see it? And lyrics! Lucas pays way more attention to the lyrics of songs then I thought he would (and I only listen to the radio when we're driving) but he's always asking "what does that meant?" And movies! I remember the first time I watched one of the Charlie Brown specials after I had kids ... Kayla was maybe 3 or 4. I didn't remember how cruel they were to him, or how often they use the word 'stupid.' While that's not a 'bad' word per se, it's just not something we throw casually around in every day conversation and I don't want my kids to start using right now. They've seen it before, but this year they really honed in on that word. They kept turning to me while watching the Halloween one, "Mom, they said stupid! Mom, he said stupid again!"
    Oh, and there was an almost oops with the Halloween one. When Charlie Brown and Linus are talking and CB is asking him when is he going to stop believing in the Great Pumpkin and Linus says "when you stop believing in a guy dressed in red w/a beard handing out gifts" (Or however he describes Santa). Well Lucas turned to me and said, "But that's real! Right, Mom?" Ummm...
    Anyway, I was thinking Hairspray, as someone else mentioned, but I honestly don't remember all the content of the movie or the lyrics to the song. Good luck trying to find something!

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