Grease, 1978
As the summer comes to an end and the school year gets back into full swing for some, Dion Baia and J. Blake at Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers decided upon the perfect film (in their eyes) that encapsulates the angst of ending that summer love, entering maybe your senior year and wanting to impress all your friends, while dealing with the stress of the famed TV program National Bandstand coming to your high school to record a dance contest. So this week, the boys are warming up their vocal chords and their patented dance moves as they tackle the musical comedy classic Grease, from 1978.
After going off on a brief adventure to recap their recent excursion to the Star Trek Missions Convention in Manhattan that celebrated the 50th anniversay of the beloved original series and franchise and chat about the celebrities and special events they encountered there, Blake and Dion finally dive into this beloved 1978 musical essential. The fellas analyze the 1970’s fascination and nostalgia for the 1950’s (much like we see today for the 1980’s or 90’s), and draw parallels from their own lives of actually sharing that same mutual affinity for the post-war 50’s era because (much like other SNMS listeners of the same age) the boys grew up watching the reruns of that iconic decade, along with the 1970s entertainment also in rerun, that was sentimental for that era; with TV shows like Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley, and feature films like American Graffitti, The Last Picture Show, and this week’s pick, Grease. And as they always like to do, the lads discuss the context of the era this film was made within, circa 1977-78, to see what was happening in the world and to emphasize how incredible it was for a modestly-budgeted film to come out of nowhere and shoot to the top of the charts and have such staying-power that, not only is this film and it’s songs still commonplace in our modern psyche, but the movie still holds the record of being the top-grossing movie musical of all time. But if you actually stop and examine key elements of the plot as well as some of the song lyrics and even some of the dance moves within the film, is it really a tad ‘dirtier‘ and ‘raunchier‘ than at first glance? Was the first idea really to make an animated film with a suicide at the end?! Was an adult porn star actually cast in a major supporting role? Were the creators of the original stage play actually barred at one time from set? What’s going on with the blurring of all the Coca-Cola signs in the diner? And literally ripped from the headlines, what is the conspiracy theory that everyone is up in arms about–what may be really be going on with Sandy’s character?! Well, the guys attempt to cover all the basics while keeping their dance cards filled, on this all new exciting and entertaining edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
EXTRAS:
Concerning the Star Trek Missions 50th Anniversary Convention, here’s sneaked pictures of Dion meeting Peter Weller, HERE and HERE!
And for those interested, here’s William Shatner at the Star Trek Missions 50th Anniversary Convention, signing autographs HERE, and lo and behold, the Shat‘s John Hancock, HERE.
Take a look at these original Deleted scenes!
And Check out J. Blake’s 2014 Blues album, When You Coming Home?
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believe it or not you know him. The retired NYPD Homicide Detective and film icon has acted in and produced dozens of films, and has worked on some of New York City’s most famous cases. His book, 
The boys start off with another quick installment of ‘what-has-Blake-brought-back-from-his-parent’s-house-to-surprise-Dion-with? ‘ game and briefly dip into the genre of 3D, after which they get into talking about memories of summer vacations (the backseat activities that used to occupy kid’s time while getting there), summer comedies we associate with them, and then the genius of John Candy and Carl Reiner. Dion and Blake trace back the many careers the comedian, actor, writer, producer and director Carl Reiner has had through the decades. They even go as far back to Reiner and his other contemporaries main influence, Vaudeville, and give a CliffsNotes’ overview, and the comedy genre’s evolution through the subsequent broadcast mediums. They also visit the backstory — the real life incidents that became the main inspiration for this screenplay, and how each small event contained within this story setup a beautiful and hilarious onscreen crescendo. So aside from the obvious John Candy association, how does Summer Rental actually share a meaningful connection with SNMS last episode’s film, Ghostbusters? How interchangeable would one say this plot is, within not only an 80’s summer comedy, but also an early 60’s, beach, bikini/surfer flick? How great is Richard Crenna and Rip Torn in this film, and full stop? And we again have another Alan Silvestri score to talk about..! Well grab your cooler, sunscreen and swimsuits, because we’re all piling into our family station wagons and minivans, and heading to the crowded beach, in another all new summer edition episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
started re-airing the original series that paired Dion Baia with his cohort in crime, J. Blake in a string of podcasts called the Side-Cast. Originally airing on their sister site 
Gods“, SFX master, Dick Smith. They discuss his many groundbreaking achievements in cinema and touch upon the highlights of his extensive resume, bringing to light some films audiences may forget Smith was apart of. The boys then get to the gem of the cast (in their minds) and relay their personal, exciting and hilarious story of the time they spent an evening with the master himself, 15 years ago, at an event they organized!
