Such a frustrating disappointment

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Dennis Quaid was magnificent as Jerry Lee Lewis. He had everything spot on -Lewis' mannerisms, walk, energy, voice, etc. What a performance! I truly believe he should have won an award. Winona Ryder and Alec Baldwin were also excellent. Ryder was so young and so expressive. Baldwin nailed it as the preacher although I hardly recognized him. It was so much fun hearing Lewis' songs again. A must see movie for those who love singer bio pictures.

About the time Myra Gale Brown would have been worrying about the hydrogen bomb destroying mankind, I was in parochial school doing duck and cover drills for the same reason. So even while Jerry Lee Lewis was becoming the Wild Man of Rock and Roll, I don't recall what a stir he was causing with his 'savage animal rhythms' back in 1957. What I do know is that it's impossible to sit still with a whole lotta shaking going on, and the rock and roll world is a lot better off for Jerry Lee having made his contribution.With that said, the film comes across as somewhat disappointing. Maybe it's Dennis Quaid's pouty and exaggerated portrayal, or maybe it's the severely restricted view one gets of virtually a single year in the life of the rock star. Perhaps a treatment in the style of "The Buddy Holly Story" or "La Bamba" might have fleshed out the singer a little better, instead of subjecting us to the one dimensional character that appears here from open to close. Some reviewers on this board insist that this was Jerry Lee right from the get-go, but I find it hard to believe that his life wasn't more nuanced than the picture we get here. Not only that, but if comparisons were going to be drawn along side Elvis and Chuck Berry, then maybe we could have seen some interaction between Jerry and his contemporaries instead of the flip brush off he gave them in the story. Jerry and Berry jamming would have been a whole lot more fun to watch.But if you dig Jerry Lee's style of manic raunch and roll, you won't hear any better than what's on display in "Great Balls of Fire". Jerry Lee himself provides the vocal power to Quaid's ferocious delivery, the only part of his over the top performance that rings true throughout the film.

Great Balls of Fire! (1989)**** (out of 4) Terrific bio-pic follows Jerry Lee Lewis (Dennis Quaid) as he quickly rises up the charts and appears to be about to take over the king of rock 'n roll from Elvis but the media and fans turn on him when they discover that he's married to his 13-year-old cousin (Winona Ryder). For the life of me I'll never understand some of the negative reviews this film gets. Yes, Lewis had a pretty hard life full of violence, drugs, alcohol and various other items that really don't get shown here but the point of this movie wasn't to be a dark and disturbing movie about abuse but instead it was a movie about the glories of rock 'n roll and on that level the movie is a grand slam with great music and great performances. There's no denying that it appears the spirit of Lewis got into Quaid because he delivers a remarkable performance and it's a real shame that he didn't even get an Oscar-nomination. It's very hard for any actor to try and play a personality like Lewis but Quaid has no trouble and in my opinion delivers one of the best performances by an actor playing a real-life person. The spirit, fire and energy he brings to the film is just remarkable and each time I view the film the performance impresses me even more. He gets a strong supporting cast to work with him with Ryder also turning in a great performance as she really captures the spirit of a 13-year-old who gets caught up with his older cousin and his lifestyle. Stephen Tobolowsky and Trey Wilson are terrific as the Phillips brothers and we get Alec Baldwin in nice form playing Lewis' cousin Jimmy Swaggart. The movie features Lewis doing his own singing and piano playing and it's just so energetic that you'll have no problem shaking your leg and wanting to get up and dance. The soundtrack features all his classic tunes and they sound remarkably well and pack one terrific punch. Again, there were several very dark years in the career of Lewis but this film really doesn't look at them and I don't have a problem with it. Most music bios are full of the dark stuff so it's rather refreshing to see something that has fun with the subject matter. Yes, a dark film could have been made about the alcohol. Yes, a dark film could have made about the marriage. This film could have done a lot of things but what it does is deliver entertainment and an energy that is hard to top.

Jerry Lee Lewis (Dennis Quaid) is a wild young man... who certainly loves to sing, playing hard on his piano and rock & roll music. Jerry Lee wants to change the ways of Rock & Roll by playing on his piano, which most people thinks it's wouldn't work. Since Jerry Lee is ambitious and he knows the music is changing. When he recorded an demo record for a music producer Sam Phillips (Trey Wilson). Which Mr. Phillips loves as soon as he heard it. Mr. Phillips wants to make Jerry Lee is a big music star and maybe even bigger than Elvis Presley. When Jerry Lee's career hits sky high and the future looks bright for him until Jerry Lee falls in love with his underage second cousin Myra (Winona Ryder). Which Jerry Lee later married her but when the public finds out that his underage bride. He finds himself fighting for his career if not always for the better.Directed by Jim McBride (Breathless, The Big Easy) made an enjoyable brash and very board feature that has an memorable lead turn by Quaid in one of his best roles. "Great Balls of Fire" was probably the first film that doesn't take the usual Biography feature seriously. McBride's film keeps everything moving and it never slows down, even the flaws starts to show up. There's strong supporting performances by Ryder, J.W. Brown as Jerry Lee's cousin and Alec Baldwin as Jerry Lee's evangelical cousin.DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer (Also in Pan & Scan) and an terrific Dolby Surround 2.0 Sound (It would have been great if the sound was remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1). DVD's only special feature to this fascinating film is the original theatrical trailer. "Great Balls of Fire" was an box office disappointment, when it was release in the summer of 1989. Which it is a shame that the audiences were not interesting in this movie until it becomes an major cult classic on video. The music in this feature are excellent and even "Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story" pays some loving tribute to this movie. "Great Balls of Fire" is a one of a kind film that certainly lived on for nearly 20 years. Don't miss it. Based upon the book by Myra Lewis and Murray Silver, Jr. (****/*****).