leeper@mtgzx.att.com (Mark R. Leeper) (07/15/89)
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1989 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: A much fictionalized and glossed-over
account of the first year of Jerry lee Lewis's musical
popularity and his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin. The
film will be most remembered for Winona Ryder's performance.
Rating: 0.
Rock and roll biographies are popular, of course, since THE BUDDY HOLLY
STORY. GREAT BALLS OF FIRE! promised to be a little different. First of
all, this was going to be one rock biography that did not end in a snowy
plane crash. In fact, it turned out to be quite different, but being
different did not make it better. This is a film of uneven style, ranging
from occasional drama to musical comedy in the style of BYE, BYE, BIRDIE--
complete with production numbers. The characters are flat and thin, and the
relationship to truth or even credibility is tangential at best. Dennis
Quaid's wild high-energy mannerisms break new ground in his acting, but
surprisingly, newcomer Winona Ryder as his 13-year-old cousin and eventual
bride is more than a match for him in attracting audience attention. It may
well be that Ryder is remembered for this film more than Quaid.
The film is a *very* light treatment of Lewis's first year of popularity.
A bigamist and a troublemaker, Lewis comes to live and make music with his
uncle. His vision is to take the wild Black music he heard as a child and
infuse it into rock and roll. He is attracted to his young teenage cousin
who idolizes him and one thing leads to another. At the same time, his
first recorded song is a stupendous success. We have all the standard
cliched scenes, of course. We have the suffering rock and roll star playing
someone else's idea of good music and failing, then playing his own style
and being really popular. We have the unruly audience that is tamed by
hearing the hero's music. One touch that is unusual is Lewis's conflict
with his famous evangelist cousin, Jimmy Swaggart. But there is no
substance to the conflict besides Lewis first paying lip service to
Swaggart's pontifications, then finally openly defying them.
But really jarring are the segues into musical production numbers, such
as a whole high school suddenly dancing to his music and doing cartwheels
(what is a 13-year-old doing in high school?). Quaid supposedly wanted to
sing all the songs but apparently while he can flip his hair like Lewis, he
cannot do a passable imitation of Lewis's voice. Lewis re-recorded his
songs for the soundtrack.
Far more than LA BAMBA or THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY, this is a quickly
forgettable summer film. I give it a flat 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
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