Review; Great Balls of Fire!

#90 - Great Balls of Fire!


Great Balls of Fire! is the story of Jerry Lee Lewis and his rise to fame once teaming with Sun Records. It is also the story of his relationship with his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Gale Brown. This is not a biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, so many of the facts are exaggerated, but overall, this is a look into the life of Jerry Lee and Myra.

This film started my obsession with Dennis Quaid. He is just so absolutely gorgeous as Jerry Lee Lewis. Granted he has crazy eyes and adopts an odd limping walk as this character, but he is still fantastically perfect with that blonde hair. I didn't know Jerry Lee Lewis as a person, and I haven't even watched any videos of how Jerry Lee Lewis really was in real life, but Dennis Quaid does a great job of making me believe he is the rock and roll legend. After watching this film as a child, I started listening to Jerry Lee's music and became infatuated with the song "Great Balls of Fire!" So, Quaid obviously played the part quite well if I started liking an insane, incestuous, pedophile. I mean, really, Winona Ryder and Dennis Quaid are so adorable together in this film, that I actually root for their relationship to work! How crazy is that?! Myra was 13 years old when Jerry Lee married her. How am I okay with that? I am not. Now Winona Ryder was 18 and Dennis Quaid was 35 when this film was made...that is not really any better, but maybe I feel okay with it because at least Winona was legal when playing the part. I don't know. All I do know is that I love Dennis Quaid in this movie.

Is the movie a great movie? No, absolutely not. It is not historically accurate at all, and many of the cast members overact their roles. There are several continuity errors that are noticeable - such as costume pieces being different colors in the same scene or someone wearing a jacket in one shot, but not in the next - and sometimes Dennis Quaid is not lip-syncing perfectly with Jerry Lee's recorded track...then there's the guy who is only useful in films that have Elvis Presley in them...because he's an awful actor, but he looks and sounds just like the King of Rock and Roll. Check out his IMDb, and you will notice that he hasn't worked in years. But is it a fun film to watch? Yep. That's why I watch it EVERY TIME IT IS ON. I can't help it. It sucks me in, and I find myself glued to the television for the hour and 48 minutes that the film runs. Again, I'm pretty sure that is 100% because of Dennis Quaid.

I mean, look at this clip from the movie...he's fantastic.

Overall, I give Great Balls of Fire! 3 out of 5 stars. Like I said, it's not great by any means, but I still have this weird love for it.