User reviews

Being a fan of Jerry Lee Lewis since he began rockin' way back in the 1950s, this movie is a bit of a disappointment overall. The "bad" outweighs the "good" in here, story-wise.

GOOD - The music - naturally! There is some great music in here, featuring Dennis Quaid as the entertaining rockabilly-rock-country singer who surely will go down as the one of the great entertainers of his generation. Quaid lip-syncs the songs, but that okay. They sound better with Lewis doing the singing. The movie is colorful, entertaining and fast-moving. Wynona Ryder looks really cute, too.

BAD - There is a little bit too much emphasis on Lewis' brother, Jimmy Swaggart (Alec Baldwin) and, of course, they make him look like some fanatical religious preacher. Hey, I'm not a "charismatic" follower but there was an obvious bias in here and it wasn't necessary. Also, the writers actually made Lewis look a sympathetic victim for the criticism he got marrying his 13-year-old cousin! Only in the film-making world do we see poor morals given the thumbs-up. Sorry, Jerry Lee, but marrying your 13-year-old cousin warrants a bit of criticism! I later discovered this movie was based on a book by that the same "girl," so it's no wonder it makes that relationship look "legitimate."

The ending was not appropriate, either. Most of the characters in this film were exaggerated to the degree that they all look cartoonish. This movie could have been so much better with a more objective look at Jerry Lee's life and people in it.

This is quite possibly the worst performance of Dennis Quaid's career. The rubber-faced mugging he does neither looks like Jerry Lee nor does the phony "voice" he uses during this performance. His lip-syncing is always just a half-beat behind the music. Although Dennis had the wavy hair like The Killer, it wasn't long enough in the back to look like Jerry. His acting was a farce when he'd throw back his head in an apparent attempt to look arrogant. He failed. Alec Baldwin is also not very believable as Jimmy Swaggart (I actually knew the man in my youth). The storyline was okay but it could not overcome Quaid's awful acting. Especially at the airport when they are leaving England and he tells England to kiss his ass. Dennis, why did you sink so low?

Dennis Quaid struts around like a rooster in "Great Balls of Fire," a 1989 biopic about Jerry Lee Lewis, one of the great entertainers. Discovered by Sam Phillips, the man who discovered Elvis and Johnny Cash, Lewis came up the ranks quickly and was poised to become the King of Rock 'n' Roll when Elvis went into the Army. But the scandal that broke when it was revealed he was married to his 13-year-old cousin Myra (Winona Ryder) and was in fact a bigamist - which today would be shrugged off - just about ruined his career. Soon he was prone to violence on and off stage and imbibing in alcohol.

I have always loved Jerry Lee Lewis' music, but the only thing I knew about him was that he married his cousin - so that will show you where all the publicity was focused. I had no idea that Jimmy Swaggert (played here by Alec Baldwin) was also his cousin. I was struck by the qualities he had in common with Elvis - they both were highly-charged performers with so much energy a stage couldn't hold them, both completely original, natural talents inspired by music they heard in their communities, and both were discovered by Sam Phillips. What each one was most of all was just like one of the kids that he sang to, who could pulsate, dance and let their hormones run wild with the music. Lewis remains today an electrifying performer with an unmistakable sound. His high gear "Great Balls of Fire," "Breathless," "High School Confidential," and of course, "Whole Lotta Shaking' Going' On" are unmatched.

Now, how accurate was this film? Jerry Lee himself claims he never acted the way Dennis Quaid portrayed him in his life, though others say Quaid was right on. It's a little like Scottish people hearing a Scottish burr on an actor and saying, we don't talk like that when they do. I will quibble with the depiction of Sam Phillips as a snake oil salesman who, according to this script, "lost Elvis." Phillips didn't lose Elvis - his record company was too small to promote Elvis as he needed to be promoted, and Phillips badly needed the money Elvis' contract would bring. Elvis, Vernon and Gladys Presley thought they had it good - no one dreamed Elvis could accomplish what he did - so Sam Phillips could have kept Elvis with Sun for a longer period of time, but rather than stifling Presley's career, he let him go.

Quaid does an excellent job as a thrilling performer who perhaps isn't the most likable person off stage - in fact, might be a little sleazy - and Ryder captures the teenage silliness beautifully. Baldwin doesn't get to do much but proselytize.

The most interesting thing about "Great Balls of Fire" is its relevance today. Rock 'n' Roll was perceived as the way to complete degradation for teenagers and the performers were servants of the devil. Rap music is viewed the same way today. With rock 'n' roll, the road to degradation was a sexual one - swinging those hips and getting all charged up could only mean trouble. Today, with rap, it's the message of violence against women and attitudes towards them, the use of violence and foul language. In between, we had the schools ruling that no one could have a Beatles haircut. Maybe someday it will occur to somebody that many things can destroy a generation - war and drugs being two - but music doesn't seem to be one of them.

Great Balls Of Fire is the title song of the greatest hit by legendary rock and roller Jerry Lee Lewis who couldn't quite handle the sudden fame and wealth thrust into his hands. It serves as a singularly appropriate title for a film about his life.

Jerry Lee is played by Dennis Quaid and the role is quite a stretch for him. I'm used to seeing an older and more mature Quaid in films like Swimmer and The Express. Still he does do very well capturing the essence of Lewis as I remember him as a lad.

The key to understanding Jerry Lee Lewis is in remembering that what he did in marrying those child brides was quite normal behavior from where he came from. Young girls in the more rural sections of the south frequently got married at 13 to 15 and the success rate wasn't any better or worse than in the more sophisticated parts of the country. I do well remember the scandalous stories back in the late Fifties that put a halt to Lewis's meteoric career.

Lewis came back and of course never got quite the same success, but music trends change in any event. He's still doing well on the nostalgic circuit, playing more for the love of it than the need for money. Playing that honky tonk piano and singing meant more to him than the trappings of success.

Winona Ryder got a big break in her career playing Lewis's notorious child bride Myra. Interestingly enough at the same time Lewis's stories were in the news, Errol Flynn at 48 escorting young adolescent Beverly Aadland was also making headlines. And Flynn was still married to Patrice Wymore.

Great Balls Of Fire is a good film, but really without an ending because Jerry Lee is still making music. May he continue to make it.

to understand this film. I'd be watching Bandstand and I would hear my Dad getting out of the car. If Jerry Lee, or Little Richard for that matter, were playing I turn it off so I did not have to hear my Father rant about the music.

Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee looks like he was dragged out of an audition for Amadeus, with that pompadour on his head; and his acting is over the top, but Jerry Lee was the same person as a performer. Oddly, in my recollection, the only song in the film that is permitted to be sung to completion is "Lucky Old Sun" which Jerry Lee belts at this home as his world is caving in about him.

It's not the movie I have to have in a collection, but if it is on cable when I am surfing, I will stop and watch every time.

Well, I liked this movie a lot more when I saw it the first time some years ago. It is good to go back and see some of Winona Ryder's work as a child actress. She really was good here. Dennis Quaid played Jerry Lee Lewis waaaay over the top. Quaid is a good actor, so I know that this was intentional. I wasn't around in the Fifties, and so missed all of the events portrayed here. Anyway, it's a pretty decent flick, and, of course, the music rocks.

Well, I first saw this movie some time ago but, I don't think I was able to appreciate it until I became an adult. I'll admit, there were some situations that I think could have been illustrated better but, the film was in fact watchable.

Dennis Quaid was a believable Jerry Lee, though some have insisted that his character was bizarre...Any grown man who doesn't see the shadiness in have a sexual relationship with a girl who still played with dolls is by all definitions, bizarre. No matter what era this was.

I expected more out of the ending. The music was good. Winona Ryder's youthful face was convincing as a thirteen year old.

An energetic and colourful, if somewhat sanitised bio-pic of controversial 50's rocker, Jerry Lee Lewis. With few exceptions it seems, the lives of the first wave of rock 'n' roll greats took some mighty unusual twists and turns, but outside of the tragic death of Buddy Holly in early 1959, Jerry Lee's meteoric rise and fall probably contains more grist for a movie than any of them.

Director McBride gives us a full-on take on Lewis' spectacular emergence and brief time when he appeared to be the number one challenger to the King Of Rock 'n' Roll title held by ex-Sun records label-mate, one Elvis Aaron Presley, but in truth, Lewis, whose first two hits are as good as anything Elvis himself mustered in his golden era in the 50's, was probably not good looking enough and certainly was too rebellious and unstable to really carry his fans with him thereafter, although a shrewd, no-nonsense manager like The King's much-criticised Colonel Tom Parker, might have helped.

The film itself is highly stylised and is so apocryphal in its treatment of events that I had to make a decision to stop wincing at every convolution in the story-line - worst example, Elvis, Army satchel on his shoulder, dropping by Sun Studios to tell Jerry that he can have it all, i.e. his position as the King - and enjoy it as much as any other Hollywood bowdlerisation you can name. And did Jerry Lee ever really set fire to his piano over a disagreement with Chuck Berry...?

Anyway, the depiction of the era is great, with T-birds cruising up and down the streets and the down-home feel of the legendary Sun Studios brought to life. The narrative tries to play up Lewis' contrasting relationship with his since disgraced evangelical Bible-punching cousin Jimmy Swaggert, but there's more of interest in the Killer's liaison with his thirteen year-old wife Myra. The film holds back a little on this sensitive subject, but in the end doesn't shirk it completely (impossible not to, really) and certainly gets across Lewis' self-destructive "kiss my ass" outlook, particularly during his ill-fated visit to England.

Dennis Quaid gives the challenging role of maverick Lewis his all and even if he can't quite put across the undoubtedly darker side of Jerry Lee, his vitality (and spot-on lip-synching!), particularly in the musical numbers, makes up for this. The movie-stealer though is unquestionably Wynonna Ryder as his child-bride Myra, not yet a woman but still drawn to this wild man with a mixture of child-like wonder, innocence and curiosity.

There's good support too with none of the acting jarring with the evocation of the period and even if the whole sometimes looks like a slightly heavied-up re-run of "Happy Days" with its choreographed dancing routines and occasional tricksy devices like for example the telephone wire split-screen device during a telephone conversation, all paying due homage to the era.

As stated, this day-glo approach doesn't always serve Lewis' sometimes darker story too well but on the whole, Lewis deserved this affectionate tribute and no-one will question the greatness of his early music, which more even than this very entertaining movie, will be what we remember him by.

While 'Great Balls of Fire!' may not be an exactly accurate depiction of Jerry Lee Lewis (aka "The Killer") or the characters, and people would have preferred a more serious approach considering how dark parts of Lewis' life was rather than the more energetic and "campier" one, to me it was a fun romp and very entertaining.

'Great Balls of Fire!' won't be a favourite of mine any time soon, it's not a masterpiece and there are better music biopics around. Am not ashamed however to admit to enjoying the film, though it is completely understandable why some may not like it. It does focus rather too much on Swaggart and while Alec Baldwin is a fine actor he is a little too silly and exaggerated in the role.

While it is understandable as to why it was not, there could have been more of the darker aspects of Lewis' life. The lip-synching is also sloppy, very obvious and often behind the music.

It is a good-looking film with a good authenticity of the period. A highlight of 'Great Balls of Fire!' is the soundtrack, which is unquestionably brilliant.

Scripting has energy and wit, while the story is a lot of fun mostly and never feels dull.

Dennis Quaid's performance seems to have divided viewers, am of the opinion that he did a good and on-the-edge job and that the exaggerated approach didn't stray too far from Lewis' actual persona. Winona Ryder in a relatively early role gives it a lot of sweetness without being cloying. Trey Wilson similarly fares well.

Overall, good if not brilliant. 7/10 Bethany Cox

An excellent job by director Jim McBride of putting Myra Lewis's book about the life of legendary rock and roll star Jerry Lee Lewis (her husband) on film.

Dennis Quaid gives an over the top performance (sometimes a bit too over the top; but, then again, this is Jerry Lee Lewis) as Lewis, arrogant and child-like, trying to deal with sudden fame, having to deal with the consequences of having married his thirteen year old cousin (Myra, who authored the book). Quaid was truly excellent in this role. Yes, the lip-synching was perhaps a bit too obvious at times, but for the sake of hearing some great music performed by the real Jerry Lee Lewis, that was an irritant I could easily put up with. The relationship between Lewis and Myra (Winona Ryder) is developed sensitively and tastefully by McBride. Humour is added by exploring the complex love-hate relationship between Lewis and his cousin, the evangelist Jimmy Swaggart (Alec Baldwin). There is also great irony, given what ultimately happened to Swaggart, as we listen to him lecturing Lewis about the dangers of taking the "gold-paved streets of rock and roll."

I really enjoyed this movie. Perhaps it was guilty of portraying everyone in it as a bit of a caricature, but it still seemed to offer an entirely believable story of Lewis's life. Well worth the watching.

9/10

As a child in rural Louisiana, Jerry Lee Lewis is entranced by black music. In 1956 Memphis, Jerry (Dennis Quaid) moves in with his cousin Rusty Brown's family including his daughter Myra Gale Brown (Winona Ryder). Sam Phillips of Sun Records, who signed Elvis, signs Jerry. His cousin Jimmy Swaggart (Alec Baldwin) tries to get him to serve God. He marries 13-year-old Myra after already married twice. It becomes a scandal during a 1958 British tour.

This is a fun light rock-and-roll movie with a great manic performance by Dennis Quaid. The drama is backloaded with the scandal well into the second half. This has great music. A more dramatic story could be done concentrating not on his music but on his personal life and marriages. This is nevertheless a fun rock biopic and a memorable performance.

I haven't seen this film in years, but the awful "taste" of Quaid's performance still lingers on my tongue. Some have commented on how Quaid has Jerry Lee Lewis "to a tee" but the fact is he only appears to have the most extreme stage Jerry in mind. Nobody acts that way all the time, and the performance comes off as hopelessly clownish, reducing Lewis to a buffoonish caricature. The nuances of a man's life are lost in the rubble of sheer over-acting.

The author of the book this is based on (Nick Tosches) is a good writer, who has written several fine musical bios (I particularly liked "Dino" on Dean Martin); in the books Tosches gives us a full human being, both separate from and involved in the "biz." Quaid's acting seems to imply that Jerry never acted like a human being. If people were like this, no one would bother to hang around them. As cartoons go, it is mildly amusing, but otherwise it is one of the most egregious, film-destroying performances I have had the "honor" of viewing. Terrible...

I am usually too lazy to put in my review comments. But when I read some of the negative comments about this movie, I ad to make a stand. I came across this movie accidentally and I'm glad I did. I think it is one of the unsung great films on music and musicians. Based on the true life of Jerry Lee Lewis, the somewhat eccentric rock and roll genius from the 50s this movie has got soul. Most of the movies about artists end up portraying them as somewhat crazy, egomaniacs, always on the edge of a break down. But this movie has a very warm and light hearted take on Jerry's life. Throughout his ups and down his character comes out as a likable one whom you want to fall in love with. There's not a moment in the film where you would feel sad or annoyed by Jerry. And for this the kudos go to both Dennis Quaid and the director. For the reviewers who have labeled Dennis's portrayal as over the top, you guys don't have a clue who and what Jerry was. Dennis has nailed the spirited and buoyant soul that Jerry Lee Lewis was. I think the people who didn't like this film wanted to see a more serious and toned down film. But this is a film about rock and roll, and there's no better way to make it then it has been donw here. I give it a 9 out of 10. Go watch this immensely entertaining film!

Just like a Twinky. Momentarily yummy but with no real substance. The acting was good, but not good enough to keep interest. Winona Ryder was pretty good as Myra, but she did slip into "what am I doing here?" mode sometimes. But, it's good though.

As a Jerry Lee fan since 1964, this movie, when it finally came out, was something of a disappointment. Dennis Quaid's over-acting turned Jerry Lee into a two-dimensional cartoon character.

There is enough material in Jerry Lee's life for a dozen films, so it was disappointing this movie stopped short soon after his disastrous tour to England in 1958, when news of his marriage to his 13-year old cousin Myra leaked out. This was nothing unusual in the Deep South at the time - practically everyone married young. The scene where Elvis is in bed with the young Priscilla (aged not more than 14) was meant to allude to that fact, but was probably too subtle for some people to grasp.

The film has good and bad things going for it. The best thing is the fantastic soundtrack, which Jerry recorded especially for the film. It is amazing that a man then in his 50s could better some of his original hits, and still sound like a 21 year old! Jerry is STILL rocking in 2005 at 70, and has a new CD out soon with other legends duetting with him, called The Pilgrim.

The film should have at least have covered up to the early 1970s, when Jerry was one of the hottest stars in Country Music. He climbed back into the charts in 1968 with Another Place Another Time and a non-stop string of hits followed into the 1980s. Controversy has stalked Jerry Lee all his life, but all we get in this movie is a cartoon depiction of about 2 years of his life.

There should definitely be a remake or a sequel, but to do the subject justice a 20-part TV series would be needed at least. Just look at the material - all his hits from 1957 thru to the 1980s, the tragedies (deaths of two sons, two wives, his elder brother, his parents), the scandals (cousin Jimmy Swaggart's fall from grace, Jerry accidentally shooting his bass player in the chest, run-ins with the law and the IRS, etc.).

But the other thing in the movie's favor is it won Jerry a whole new younger generation of fans. Only trouble is, some people see Dennis Quaid and think that is the real Jerry Lee. It's not - look at the DVDs/videos of Jerry Lee Lewis on Shindig! in the mid-1960s if you want to see the real thing.

But I still like the movie, because it's all we've got at the moment as a biopic of the greatest musician of the 20th and 21st centuries.

You might be a redneck if you go to family reunions looking for a date. Jerry Lee Lewis (Dennis Quaid) scandalized the world when he hooked up with the 13-year-old daughter (Winona Ryder) of his cousin.

That story and the musical genius of Jerry Lee pretty much sums up this film. Oh, yes, there is the conflict with his other cousin Jimmy Swaggart (Alec Baldwin).

Quaid follows up what I consider his best role as Det. Remy McSwain in The Big Easy with a rocking, rollicking role as The Killer. Like The Big Easy, the music is an essential and most enjoyable part of the film. Winona Ryder, who will go one to play many excellent roles, was recognized for her performance in this picture as a young newcomer.

You can't help but be in a toe-tapping'mood when the credits role.

No one can deny that "Great Balls of Fire!" has some great music. Dennis Quaid really gets into the role of Jerry Lee Lewis, and the movie really transports you back to the '50s. If the movie has any problem, it's the stress on his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Myra (Winona Ryder). As for Ryder herself, she looks a little too old to play a 13-year-old; I've heard that in footage of them, Myra looks like a little girl.

So, Jerry Lee Lewis leaves a lot to be desired. But still, it's a pretty fine movie. I will say that Alec Baldwin comes across as a little silly as Jerry's cousin Jimmy Swaggart; he rants against (what else?) "devil's music". But overall, I liked the movie. Also starring B-movie connoisseur Joe Bob Briggs in a small role.

Jerry Lee Lewis married his cousin and Jimmy Swaggart got caught with a prostitute. There must be some sort of pathology in that family.

This movie easily falls into the category of laughable, if not beyond that to actually insulting. I mean in what alternate universe did the filmmakers and studios think that this film would play? From beginning to end we bombarded with Quaids overacting and ridiculous facial expressions, laying on the "im a loose cannon" act a little thick. Another picking point I had with the movie was the lack of a realistic story of events that would make you grow to connect to a character. I mean in one scene where Lewis is playing in a bar before making it big there is this over the top, just completely absurd bar fight that every citizen in town is apparently a part of. Then Lewis begins to play his rendition of "A whole lot of shaking'" and everyone immediately forgets their differences and begins dancing wildly as if its the most normal thing in the world. These kind of scenes, of which there are numerous, coupled with the lack of depth in any of the characters led me to actual laughter. So all in all this film is not worth viewing for anyone not interested in mocking a filmmaker and his actors decisions for an hour and a half.

I didn't expect this to be as good as it was! Such a brilliant biopic and the actors played the characters wonderfully! Just as you might imagine them! Imagine if he hasn't have married his cousin or kept it a secret on his first trip to the UK ... he could have been huge. Jerry's music will last though, you can bet your bottom dollar. A definite must watch if you're into the music, time period or even if you're not.

Movie biography of the iconic keyboardist Jerry Lee Lewis (Dennis Quaid) who astonished the music scene to playing piano instead guitar, one of the kings of the rockabilly, your sound came from the Blues of the black people as shown in the movie at Louisiana and spans since the early period when he got his first record in 1954 "Crazy Arms" at Sun, soon with "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" follow he was crowned by his smash hit "Great Balls of Fire" that reach at number one top hit.

Then came up "Breathless" a true Lewis's trademark song, sadly he falling in love by a teenager girl Myra Gale Brown (Winona Ryder) with mere thirteen years old, actually his cousin, slaughtered by British press during his first tour at Island, then when the news reach at America his kingdom collapsed, also in a small role of Alec Baldwin as his preacher cousin, always saying that he sings the Devil's songs, Dennis Quaid made a remarkable as the Killer on piano, a vigorous performance mainly on live acting, he is outgoing as the own Jerry who participated of the movie as advisor, with a marvelous soundtrack this movie really rocks!!!

Resume:

First watch: 1992 / How many: 4 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.5.

It's hard to believe that this film at the time had Jerry Lee's blessing. (Although he later said he hated it.) He helped Quaid to learn his "pumping" piano style and Jerry Lee did the real singing much like Ray Charles did for "Ray". Quaid's performance is the worst of his career. He's nothing like Jerry Lee. Also Ryder looks too old to be his 13 y/o cousin. I think she was maybe 17 at the time.

Now Waylon Payne in "Walk the Line" doing his own singing on "Lewis Boogie" coupled with his wonderful rant in the car about how they're all going to hell... That captured more of the real Jerry Lee Lewis spirit then this whole film. They should get Payne and do a new Jerry Lee movie.