Great Balls of Fire! (1989)

The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him... See full summary »

Director:

Jim McBride

Writers:

Myra Lewis (book), Murray Silver Jr. (book),

Stars:

Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, John Doe

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Quaid	...	Jerry Lee Lewis
Winona Ryder	...	Myra Gale Brown
John Doe	...	J.W. Brown
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Jud Phillips
Trey Wilson	...	Sam Phillips
Alec Baldwin	...	Jimmy Swaggart
Steve Allen	...	Himself
Lisa Blount	...	Lois Brown
Joshua Sheffield	...	Rusty Brown
Mojo Nixon	...	James Van Eaton
Jimmie Vaughan	...	Roland Janes
David Ferguson	...	Jack Clement
Robert Lesser	...	Alan Freed
Lisa Jane Persky	...	Babe
Paula Person	...	Sam's Secratary

Storyline

The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.

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Plot Keywords:

1950s | rock star | 13 year old | child bride | bible belt | 

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Taglines:

The true story of a legend.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Great Balls of Fire

Filming Locations:

Marion, Arkansas, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$13,741,060 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mike Medavoy, head of Orion Pictures and former agent of Terrence Malick, had hired Malick to write the script. Malick's script was turned down for being "too dark", since it focused more on the tragic aspects of Jerry Lee Lewis' life than what was wanted.

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Goofs

When Jerry plays at the burning piano, he stops playing clearly before the piano-sound is gone. It keeps on a few more seconds, then it stops too.

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Quotes

Jerry Lee: Follow that, Killer!

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Connections

References The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Throwing Rice at the Girl That I Love"
Written by Eddy Arnold, Edward G. Nelson (as Edward Nelson) and Steve Nelson
Performed by Jerry Lee Lewis

User Reviews

Immensely Entertaining & The Music Is Great

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