The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The acting in this movie is really good.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Began watching it years after having first seen it in 1993. Thought to myself, I had forgotten how great it is. A little event escalates, and you have these teens on the run. What a great movie. But then, as we go along, as they enter 'the haunted mansion' the wheels come off. The movie turns into a shambles. It all turns to sheet. I like Helen Slater very much, she is one cool chick, she has the loveliest hair. One complaint in the first half, she's so clearly not motivated to kick that guy in the nuts. I mean, she is not the type. She is too nice. Okay, since I want her in the part, I'm just saying that bit should have been played differently.But when the hair goes, everything flops. The androgynous look is anathema to me. All of a sudden it looks like two men kissing. Aw shucks man, why ruin (a) the movie and (b) the young oh-so-charming actress?I am well aware that the people carrying this one's banner high, are the ones who were inspired by this 'fashion statement' but the problem here is the unattractive result of chopping off a 100% wow lead girl's hair and leaving her denuded of the primary sexual attraction that matters most to an enthralled- up-till-midway viewer.Look at the flick again, all ye who hate my entry. The whole thing becomes an undisciplined mess, except for the rousing soundtrack. Yet there in the first half, it was all lovely locks and coming up roses.I am a fan of the first half. I absolutely adored Helen. SUPERGIRL was unfortunately a forgettable movie, but this was so much better... Peter Coyote was very much the ideal choice as well. And Pat Benatar's rising anthem scores full marks. It's amazing that the great hit was used in a little-known movie. Obscure cinemas must have rocked! But like I said, then they took a wrong turn. And it would take way more than $608 to fix the actress up again.

Billie Jean (Helen Slater) lives in a Texas trailer park with her brother best friend Binx (Christian Slater). Local bully Hubie picks on them. He steals Binx's scooter and then trashes it while beating up Binx. Detective Ringwald (Peter Coyote) brushes Billie Jean off. She goes to get the money herself. Hubie's dad lures her upstairs and tries to rape her. Meanwhile Binx finds a gun in the cash register. The gun goes off accidentally and Hubie's dad is shot. Billy Jean, Binx, friends Putter (Yeardley Smith) and Ophelia (Martha Gehman) go on the run and become legends as she fights for "fair is fair". They break-in and befriends horror-fan weirdo Lloyd (Keith Gordon) who volunteers to be their hostage. He turns out to be the son of District Attorney Muldaur (Dean Stockwell).It is fun and energetic. It's not subtle. Richard Bradford is being a super villain. There is a lot of silliness going on. It has no believability. Yeardley Smith is ridiculous. But it's a fun campy 80s movie and there are stuff to like about it. Helen Slater and Peter Coyote are great at their roles. It's no surprise that they're the only two reasonable characters in the whole movie. Although Helen Slater striking that pose is hilarious. The movie tries to say something about girl empowerment with the Joan of Arc theme but the movie can't be taken seriously.

The mid to late 1980s and early 1990 were the golden age of television for me. Every Summer I would go to my dad's for three to four weeks to visit. I loved hanging out with him as much as I could. However, after he went to bed around 9:00PM every night, the TV came on and the world of cable was waiting for me to ferociously engulf anything I possibly could in the late hours of the night.This period of my life molded my healthy appetite for movies about renegade robots, slashing killers, deadly monsters, troubled teens, and any number of classic actors taking pratfalls for my own pleasure. "The Legend of Billie Jean" just happened to hit HBO and Cinemax around the particular time I was most ready for it.When "The Legend of Billie Jean" was playing every few hours during the Summer of 1986, I had just embraced skateboarding culture and discovered the world of punk rock music. Helen Slater's transformation from homegrown Texan good girl to rebel outlaw really hit home for me subconsciously. Being 13, I highly doubt I put together the fact that I mirrored what I saw on the television. I was in the middle of finding my own identity at that time.There's two ways people should judge the movie. One is as an example of pop and teen culture in 1985. I would say it should get at least an "A" for this aspect. The second way to look at the movie is to gauge whether its message still stands up today. The recurring themes throughout the movie were "Always stand up for yourself no matter what" and "Don't let people walk all over you, no matter how old you are." I believe those principles are just as important today as they were some thirty years ago."The Legend of Billie Jean" is an accurate depiction of PG-13 films made for teens in the early and mid-eighties. There are a lot of kids using bad language. Helen Slater wears some skimpy clothes to attract the "target" audience. We also get some adult situations and violence to top it all off.

Here is a movie that is very firmly set in the early 80's involving a teenager who becomes a folk hero. As a drama, it has some entertaining moments that I couldn't help get caught up in. At the same time, I found myself fast forwarding often and taking long breaks that caused me to need several days to finish the film.The movie starts out by showing Billie and her family being picked on by the rich kids. They go to far when they beat up her brother and damage his moped. Billie goes to his father to collect the repair bill, but he tries to sexually assault her. Things get out of control, and Billie's brother shoots the man in the arm. Now Billie and her friends have to go on the run. The media picks up on the story and it starts to become a local sensation. Things get even more frenzied when Billie meets up with a sympathetic rich kid who dabbles in filmmaking. He helps her make a PSA in which she appears with short hair proclaiming "Fair is fair!" and once it airs, she becomes a hero with a rock star following. People want to help her and look to her for help.It seemed a little to forced the way the crowds began to back Billie Jean. The ending was also complicated, with Billie confronting the dad and telling everyone about what he did. In the process, she causes a fire that ruins lots of property, but is apparently cleared since she isn't shown going to jail for resisting arrest, the shooting, or the vandalism. I think I would recommend skipping this one.