Entertainment
Raunchy 80s Comedy Is A Campy Coming Of Age Sequel
By Robert Scucci
| Published
When was the last time you fired up 1982’s Grease 2? I’ll bet you have fond memories of the singing and dancing, the dudes and the dames, and the sexually charged innuendos that drip from every single number. Romance. Cool Riders. Reproduction. Doing it for your country. There are so many memorable moments in Grease 2, but it’s also a painful watch because of how hard it leans into its camp.
Having gone to high school myself at one point in my life, I don’t remember having any classmates who were approaching their 30th birthday. I don’t recall resolving differences with rival cliques by snapping my fingers and doing jazz hands. And I especially don’t remember an expensive luau themed homecoming party where someone crashes a motorcycle into a swimming pool.
On one hand, I get it. Grease 2 is supposed to be a fun 80s film about high school, set in the early 60s. Times were certainly different. Back then, it was socially acceptable to lock your girlfriend in a bomb shelter and make unwanted advances under the guise of patriotism while your buddies on the other side of the fortified door high-five each other because you’re about to score. You know, good clean fun.
It probably sounds like I’m needlessly railing on Grease 2 because I don’t know how to have fun, and that’s partially true. Despite all of my complaints, I still find it bafflingly rewatchable for reasons beyond my understanding. It really is a fun film, but the fun I have while watching it is at its expense, not because I want to be one of the dudes.
The Primary Players
Grease 2 wastes no time coming in hot and introducing us to its characters. School is back in session, and everyone attending Rydell High spent the entire summer choreographing their epic return. During this opening sequence, we meet the primary players in spectacular fashion as Stephanie Zinone (Michelle Pfeiffer) is christened the new leader of the Pink Ladies and shows us the lay of the land alongside Sharon (Maureen Teefy), Paulette (Lorna Luft), Rhonda (Alison Price), and Dolores (Pamela Segall).
Smash cut to the resident biker gang and class cutups, the T-Birds. Included in the gang are Goose (Christopher McDonald), Johnny (Adrian Zmed), Louis (Peter Frechette), and Davey (Leif Green). All of the T-Birds are portrayed by actors who are pushing 30, even though they’re meant to be high school seniors. If you were coming of age in the 80s and found yourself wondering why you didn’t need to replace your razor cartridge every three days to keep your five o’clock shadow at bay, it’s probably because Grease 2 was your only frame of reference.
Rounding out the lineup is Michael Carrington (Maxwell Caulfield), the British exchange student trying to find his place in this wacky world where a spicy song and dance number is always right around the corner. That search for belonging eventually puts him directly in front of Stephanie, his primary love interest.
Cool Riders, Charades, And Pretty Lies!
With the introductions out of the way, let’s talk about Grease 2’s primary conflict. Michael pines for Stephanie. Stephanie, the head of the Pink Ladies, only wants to borrow jackets from cool riders. Michael has a lightbulb moment and decides he can be a cool rider. He gets a motorcycle, learns how to ride it, and promptly sweeps Stephanie off her feet. The problem is that Stephanie doesn’t know this cool rider is Michael because he’s wearing a helmet and goggles, and she still has unresolved feelings for Johnny, even though she’s mostly over his womanizing and arrogant attitude.
The T-Birds, meanwhile, are too busy preparing for their talent show audition and a choreographed bowling alley brawl with rival biker gang the Cycle Lords (sigh), but they also want a piece of the Cool Rider’s mystique. This is complicated by the small detail that he’s trying to steal Johnny’s girl. Are you keeping up? Good, because it somehow gets dumber.
Louis locks Sharon in a bomb shelter and pretends a nuclear attack is imminent, hoping this manufactured moment of desperation will help him score. Everyone in sex education class makes Mr. Stuart (Tab Hunter) hot and bothered while singing about the reproductive process in graphic detail. As mentioned earlier, everyone in this universe is well rehearsed and ready to break into a blistering jam at the drop of a hat if it helps move the plot forward. Cool Rider faces off with the Cycle Lords, led by Leo “Crater Face” Balmudo (Dennis Stewart), and everyone claps. Wow.
How Is This A Thing?
Grease 2 is an absolute punisher if I’ve ever seen one, yet I probably watch it once a year for a good laugh. Everything about this movie is inherently ridiculous, and it becomes even more absurd if you look up the actors’ birthdates. These are people born in the 1950s, starring in a 1982 production, portraying teenagers in 1961. None of it makes sense, and I don’t think I’d have it any other way.
What really sells Grease 2 as a guilty pleasure is how committed everyone is to the premise. It doesn’t matter that the only reason Stephanie likes Michael is because he has a cool bike. The cool bike is the friends we make along the way, and once she catches on to Michael’s alter ego, she can ride on his handlebars guilt-free while Johnny eats dust for being such a handsy little tomcat.
Your mileage may vary on Grease 2, but if you want to see what $11 million worth of sexual innuendo and hip choreography looks like, you can stream the film for free on Pluto as of this writing.
Entertainment
400K MagSafe power banks recalled after fatal fire, the 10th power bank recall in a year
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Casely reannounced a power bank recall this April after a fire linked to the device fatally injured a user. This is the tenth power bank recall in the United States in the last 12 months, and Anker recalled 1.5 million power banks in 2025.
The recall affects an estimated 429,200 Casely 5,000-mAh MagSafe Power Pods (Model E33A), which were originally recalled in 2025. The MagSafe power banks need to be completely replaced.
Back of Casely power banks.
Credit: CPSC
Affected customers should stop using the portable power banks immediately. They can also contact Casely to receive a free replacement.
“The recalled lithium-ion battery in the power banks can overheat and ignite, posing risk of serious injury or death from fire and burn hazards to consumers,” the CPSC stated on its recall website.
Mashable Light Speed
The Brooklyn-based company is reannouncing the recall after receiving 51 reports of the lithium-ion battery overheating, expanding, and/or catching fire while charging smartphones, “resulting in six minor burn injuries.”
However, in the past year, the CPSC says 28 more reports have been made, including explosions that caused a serious accident on an airplane and one death.
In August 2024, a 75-year-old woman from New Jersey, was charging her cell phone with the power bank on her lap when it caught on fire and exploded. The victim suffered second and third degree burns and later passed away from complications from her injuries. In February 2026, a 47-year-old woman was charging her cell phone with the power bank on an airplane when it caught on fire and exploded, resulting in the victim suffering first degree burns.
How to check your Casely Power Pod
Worried you may own one of the 429,000 recalled power banks? It’s easy to check if your device is included in the recall.
On the back of the device, look for the device’s model number, as show in a picture provided by the CPSC. If the model number reads “E33A,” then stop using the device immediately.
Look for the model number.
Credit: CPSC
More information on requesting a replacement power bank is available on the CPSC and Casely recall websites.
Entertainment
The new Dyson Supersonic Travel is the cheapest Supersonic yet
Table of Contents
Nearly three years ago, I asked if the (then) $429 Dyson Supersonic was still worth the price of entry.
These days, with the Supersonic line having expanded, the standard model having increased in price to $449.99, and the most expensive version of the hair dryer topping out at $549.99, it’s a question that feels even more apt.
The good news? If you’re not super into the idea of spending about $500 for a hair dryer, Dyson just announced the Dyson Supersonic Travel, a $299.99 model of its famous hair tool. In addition to its lower price point, it comes with more travel-friendly proportions and features.
As someone who’s personally tested Supersonics (and their many dupes), I took a closer look at the latest Dyson beauty launch to gather everything you need to know.
The design differences of the Dyson Supersonic Travel
In short, the Supersonic Travel is the standard Supersonic but smaller. According to Dyson, that comes out to exactly 32 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than the OG Supersonic. In other words, it’s 0.7 pounds to the standard Supersonic’s 1.8 pounds, and 8.7 inches tall to the larger model’s 10 inches.
Mashable Trend Report
This model also comes with one attachment, the styling concentrator, a la the now-discontinued Dyson Supersonic Origin (which ran for $399.99). For comparison, the $449.99 Supersonic comes with three attachments: a styling concentrator, diffuser, and wide-tooth comb. For all five attachments, you’ll have to shell out $549.99.
The Supersonic Travel is compatible with all original and Supersonic Nural attachments.
Credit: Dyson
The same attachments can be used between the Travel, original, and Supersonic Nural dryers. This means opting for the Travel could technically save you some money — individual attachments range from $19.99 to $44.99. If you only use a styling concentrator and diffuser, for instance, the total cost of a Travel dryer with the extra attachment purchase would come out to $344.98, making it still over $100 cheaper than the three-attachment original Supersonic.
The Supersonic Travel is more versatile in some ways, and less so in others
Functionality-wise, the Supersonic Travel is a slightly different product from the other Supersonics in the line. It has anywhere from 1,000 to 1,220 watts of power and an airflow speed of 11.6 liters per second, compared to the 1,600 watts and 13.3 liters per second of the standard Supersonic. In other words, the bigger dryer is slightly more powerful, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect longer dry times.
The standard Supersonic and Supersonic Nural also feature four heats and three air speeds, where the Supersonic Travel features three heats and two air speeds.
The best noise-cancelling headphones for flying: 8 picks to improve your travel experience
That said, the Supersonic Travel has universal voltage compatibility, so it can be used from 100 to 240 volts, whereas the other Supersonics are locked into 120 volt compatibility.
In terms of its portability, it’s also worth noting the Supersonic Travel weighs the same as the Supersonic r, a professional grade hair dryer (priced as such at $549.99) that’s become more popular due in part to being lightweight and easy to maneuver.
Where to buy the Dyson Supersonic Travel
The Dyson Supersonic Travel is available for $299.99 at Dyson’s website, Amazon, and Best Buy. If you buy at the former, you will receive a complimentary $59.99 travel bag along with the hair dryer.
Entertainment
The gorgeous yet budget-friendly Samsung QN70F Neo QLED TV is the cheapest its ever been
SAVE $300: As of April 21, you can get the Samsung 55-inch QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV for only $597.99 instead of $897.99 at Amazon. That’s 33% in savings and the lowest price on record.
$597.99
at Amazon
$897.99
Save $300
We’re in peak sports season, y’all. Besides the action of the Stanley Cup playoffs and NBA playoffs, there’s a fresh MLB season taking shape. If your TV is looking dull or lagging, it’s a prime time to upgrade — especially since you can find some epic deals on 2025 models.
As of April 21, the Samsung 55-inch QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV is on sale at Amazon for only $597.99. That’s 33% or $300 off its current list price, as well as its lowest price to date.
As Mashable’s TV expert Leah Stodart explains, “Neo QLED is really just Samsung’s proprietary term for QLED paired with Mini LED.” So, the QN70F features a panel of quantum dots over a bunch of tiny LED bulbs instead of a basic LED panel. The result? A stunning display with impressive color accuracy, deep blacks, and spectacular contrast. All the little details will look good no matter the lighting conditions in your room.
This TV uses an NQ4 AI Gen2 processor to upscale content and enhance the quality of anything you’re watching. So even those old episodes of Friends will look more impressive on the QN70F. And thanks to a 144Hz variable refresh rate, gaming and sports will look noticeably smoother and less laggy than your old set.
Mashable Deals
If an upgrade is in order, but you don’t want to spend a ton of money, the Samsung QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV is an excellent value at full price. At $300 off, it’s a steal.
400K MagSafe power banks recalled after fatal fire, the 10th power bank recall in a year
The new Dyson Supersonic Travel is the cheapest Supersonic yet
