Great Balls of Fire (1989) Orion/Drama-Musical RT: 108 minutes Rated PG-13 (thematic material, some sexual content, language, brief violence, drug use) Director: Jim McBride Screenplay: Jack Baran and Jim McBride Music: Jerry Lee Lewis Cinematography: Alfonso Beato Release date: June 30, 1989 (US) Cast: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, John Doe, Lisa Blount, Stephen Tobolowski, Trey Wilson, Steve Allen, Mojo Nixon, Jimmie Vaughan, David R. Ferguson, Michael St. Gerard, Lisa Jane Persky, Peter Cook. Box Office: $13.7M (US)
Rating: **
Something has always bothered me about the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it….. until now. The short answer is that it’s badly misconceived from start to finish. As a film critic, I can’t just leave it at that; my profession demands that I elaborate on such a statement. Okay, here goes.
Anybody who’s heard of Jerry Lee Lewis knows he’s an extraordinary musician. His hits include “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”, “Breathless” and the titular song. He’s considered a pioneer of rockabilly and rock & roll’s first “wild man”. Wild is a perfect description of his piano playing style. When he pounds those 88 keys, it’s like he’s possessed or something. He doesn’t just sit there and play. He jumps and hops around, dances and gyrates. He plays with his hands, feet and behind. He plays from behind and perched on top of the instrument. Just watching him is exhausting. What many don’t realize, however, is that his personal story is dark. By all accounts, he wasn’t a nice man. His life is one marked by alcohol and substance abuse, violence, multiple marriages and one huge scandal that nearly destroyed his career.
Great Balls of Fire centers on Jerry Lee’s (Quaid, The Big Easy) meteoric rise to fame and success with a string of hit songs. It also deals with his relationship with the girl who would become his third wife, Myra Gale Brown (Ryder, Heathers). From that description, you might think I’m talking about a normal romantic relationship. That is so NOT the case for several reasons. Myra was Jerry Lee’s 13YO cousin. He was living with her family when they became involved. He was still married to his second wife when he took Myra across state lines to marry her. So we have incest, pedophilia, bigamy and kidnapping. How did he NOT wind up in prison? The man is a felon and a pervert yet the movie would have us sympathize with him when the story gets out and all his fans turn against him. I don’t know about you, but I can’t accept “but we love each other” as an excuse.
Tonally, Great Balls of Fire is way off. What should be a dark biopic along the lines of The Rose has become a sanitized and lobotomized tale of a misunderstood rock star. Attempts at any real drama fall flat in the hands of director Jim McBride (The Big Easy). Take the scene where a drunken Jerry Lee has a terrible argument with his wife. It reaches a dramatic crescendo when the terrified girl tells him she’s pregnant with their child. He breaks down and cries on her lap. This should be one of the movie’s biggest moments, but it’s negated by the rest of the movie marked by a weird performance from Quaid. When not on stage playing the piano, Jerry Lee is depicted as a simpleton and a clown. It’s such a cartoonish portrayal, Jerry Lee becomes less of a real person. It also goes against the real life persona I’ve heard about from more than one source.
Other things about Great Balls of Fire bother me, but none as much as how Myra’s parents (Doe and Blount) deal with the situation. First of all, how could they not know something hinky was going on between Jerry Lee and their daughter under their own roof? When they finally find out the kids (well, one kid and one grown man with a kid mentality) are married, they’re understandably angry and hurt. Dad shows up at the recording studio waving a gun around. They order the newlyweds out of their house. Before you can say “awkward Thanksgiving dinner”, all is forgiven when Jerry Lee moves his in-laws into the big new house he bought for Myra. Just what does that say about her parents? It says that they’re leeches only too happy to sponge off their famous cousin as long as the money keeps coming in. Once he becomes a pariah, they walk away. Of course, this is handled in the same perfunctory manner everything else in Great Balls of Fire is. Take the relationship between Jerry Lee and his evangelist cousin Jimmy Swaggart (Baldwin, Working Girl) who often preaches about the evils of the “Devil’s music”. He disapproves of Jerry Lee’s lifestyle, warning him that his spiritual life is in jeopardy. This conflict should be an important part of Great Balls of Fire but barely qualifies as a subplot given what little exploration it gets.
To its credit, Great Balls of Fire comes to life when the music starts. An amazing transformation takes place on the part of Quaid. As on-stage Jerry Lee Lewis, he nails it. He channels the singer’s energy, enthusiasm and love of music. A performance of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” in a roughneck bar perfectly captures the sexual aspect of rock & roll. When “High School Confidential” comes on, the kids at Myra’s school break into dance like it’s a teen musical from the 50s. Scenes like this capture the essence of the musical genre. It’s fun and energetic. However, once the music stops, so does the movie (in a manner of speaking).
There are a few decent performances in Great Balls of Fire. The late Trey Wilson (in his final role) is great as record producer Sam Phillips who can’t get over his colossal blunder in losing Elvis Presley to another label. It’s a mistake he doesn’t intend to repeat. Ryder is also quite good as Myra, a girl still young enough to bring her dollhouse with her when she moves out. She effortlessly conveys the idea that Myra doesn’t fully understand or appreciate the seriousness of her situation. Unfortunately, the good points become moot as Great Balls of Fire flounders its way to an ending that feels tacked on and detached from reality. It shows Jerry Lee and Myra in church listening to a fire-and-brimstone sermon by Cousin Jimmy. He invites people to step forward and be saved. Myra finds herself caught in a literal tug-of-war between good (Jimmy) and evil (Jerry Lee). Words escape me when it comes to this.
Maybe someday another filmmaker will take a crack at telling Jerry Lee’s story. My only advice to this person is to do it right. Don’t be afraid to delve into the darker aspects of the man’s story. It’s okay to celebrate his musical genius but not at the expense of downplaying less desirable details. This is the greatest sin committed by Great Balls of Fire, a disappointment made worse when you factor in Quaid and McBride’s earlier collaboration, the terrific police corruption drama The Big Easy. The chemistry between Quaid and Ellen Barkin in the 1987 movie is HOT! There’s an unavoidable ick factor with Quaid and Ryder. It’s yet another reason not to bother with Great Balls of Fire, a biopic that’s lukewarm at best and even that is being generous.
