Pizza Slut

I was eating dinner this evening with my family at my local Pizza Hut when I had sort of an epiphany about the movie Grease of all things.


My mother was commenting on how the look and feel of Pizza Hut has not changed since the late 70s early 80s.


"The seat cushions, the plastic plants, the recipe of the pizza itself hasn’t changed at all really. God, even the music is the same," she said pointing to the ceiling to indicate that Babe by Styx was in fact playing above our heads as we chewed crust.


"This song is terrible," I replied, dribbling crumbs on my new Nirvana baby tee.


"Yeah, but it's like going back in time," she said staring off somewhere past me, "I find it oddly comforting."


Following suit, the familiar beginning notes of Grease's You're the One that I Want started to play and though I didn't have chills or anything, I started singing along when BAM it hit me-- the epiphany.


First I have to preface the epiphany by explaining my original stance on the movie Grease.
As a little girl, I loved it. I ate that shit up. I sang Hopelessly Devoted to my baby pool and hoped to someday acquire the kind of edge that made Rizzo so irresistible (I never did).


However, the movement known as Girl Power took a strong hold on me at a young age (maybe Geri's mini leather dresses and red hair stood in for Rizzo's edge?) and I quickly became alarmed with the end sequence of the film.


Sandy's sweet nature was traded for red lipstick and black satin pants. Worst of all, this bitch picked up smoking to impress the guy. What kind of message was Sandy sending to young girls like myself? Change yourself for a man? For John Travolta?


While I still loved the film, I made a point of addressing this issue with every person I have viewed it with since. The core message of the film’s end is a bad one. You shouldn’t have to smoke to get a boyfriend.


So I am singing along at Pizza Hut and for the first time in my 22 years of existence, a thought occurs to me. Until I was singing this evening, mentally cataloging the scenes from the film with the lyrics, I never once took notice to this crucial point: Danny changes too.


How could I have missed this? Of all the times I have seen the movie or even just this specific scene, how could I have missed it? His friends even laugh at his awkward Rydell High sweater right before “Tell me about it, Stud.”


And even though Danny loses the Mr. Rogers getup about two seconds after seeing Sandy’s slutty make-over, it’s the thought that counts.


To clarify: I don’t think that anyone should have to smoke or wear ugly sweaters to find love. Yet, the gesture shows effort. It means a lot to visibly see someone trying for you.