If there’s one costume that Michelle Pfeiffer will always be identified with from her career – it has to be Catwoman‘s leather catsuit that she wore in the Batman movies, and it was surely not a comfortable thing to wear or easy to get in or out of. However, Pfeiffer was forced to wear an even more uncomfortable costume in one of her earliest film roles – in the cult classic Grease 2.
Pfeiffer spends most of the film is tight jeans, sweaters and occasionally her iconic Pink Ladies jacket – although she distances herself from the Ladies the further the film goes on. In one scene, she wears a red bowling shirt and in another we see her working at a garage in overalls. But Stephanie Zinone’s most memorable outfit comes towards the end of the musical sequel, where she plays Winter in the number ‘Girl for All Seasons.’
In the elaborate number, with frankly insane production values for a High School talent show, everyone gets to wear an outrageous costume. Lorna Luft’s Paulette is in a skimpy white corset to represent Summer, while Pfeiffer is forced to wear…an entire Christmas tree.
In a recent oral history of Grease 2 in Entertainment Weekly, Michelle Pfeiffer reflected on the bananas costume; “I thought, ‘How am I going to wear this thing?’ It was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever seen, but hilarious. I don’t think I appreciated it at the time, how genius it was. But it was terribly uncomfortable to wear, as you can imagine just by looking at it. It was very stiff and poke-y and I couldn’t sit down or really do much of anything. Still, I wish I’d kept it.”
Grease 2 was not a success when it was first released, and was considered a joke for years afterwards. However, many people with discerning tastes now consider it the superior Grease movie. Its reputation has grown, and there are now many rep screenings and love shown for it on social media.
If you’re a fan of Grease 2, check out our guide to the best 80s movies.