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good back-story, and good acting

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

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

one reviewer here said Quaid "channeled" Jerry Lee...problem is, Jerry, still very much with us, thankfully, in 1989, was busy nursing a fifth of Bourbon at his club in Memphis > especially since JLL insisted on recording the soundtrack himself, no Quaid in imitation, there is no need for any mystical transference.having said all that...this film is okay for the young, or those who just want to enjoy the music and get an "idea" of his career, say from 1956 to 1966.Quaid's portrayal is (teenage) letter thin, Lee Lewis a real wild child who goes on impulse 24-7. no deep thinker...not the genius who found a way to reconcile musically, gospel and pop. he marries his 13 year old 2nd cousin because... he can. any thought about how a 23 year old can actually be *in love* with someone so young? no...he's just rockin' up a storm! I did enjoy the portrayals of Sun Record Owner and Music Visionary Sam Phillips' Brother Judd and Jerry Lee's cousin Jimmy (Reverend Jimmy Swaggart). production numbers look like MTV rejects.

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.

This comic book like biopic about singer Jerry Lee Lewis (Dennis Quaid) rise to fame and subsequent fall from grace after his marriage with his 13 years old cousin Myra (a very young and very good Winona Ryder) was discovered, is probably not terribly true to life, but it is still very entertaining. Quaid happily hams it up in an over the top performance that has to do more with caricature than with acting. Alec Baldwin adds to the fun in his cameo as Jerry Lee's cousin, preacher Jimmy Swaggart. There is a nifty, idealized pop reconstruction of small town America in the 1950s. And the music, of course, is great. Best scene: staid English journalists raising a scandal when the singer and his teen wife arrive.