On G List of Movie Reviews

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Great Balls of Fire! (1989)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 3/06, 6/16

GrBalls
3/06: Featuring an electrifying performance by Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire! is a sensationally fun movie that has the same vibe as Grease.

I can't say enough about Dennis Quaid. He's over the top but in a brilliant way like never before. Thus, he got robbed of an Oscar nomination. The music performances with him lip-syncing Jerry Lee Lewis' songs are inspiring and rousing, making me want to get into the action. There's one scene that's among the best ever when Dennis Quaid sets the piano on fire as the audience is going nuts.

Movies about music such as La Bamba, Hustle & Flow, That Thing You Do!, The Doors, and CB4 tend to take the Horatio Alger route which is the primary reason why many of them have been successful, making it easy for the audience to root for the lead character. Looking back, Great Balls of Fire! is probably the best of the bunch because it's lot of fun and hip.

Winona Ryder gives a rare performance that I can say she's a good actress. Alec Baldwin gives his best as Jimmy Swaggart who's a real life cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis. He'll be embroiled in sex scandals during the late 80's and early 90's, resulting in an infamous but hilariously funny tearful "I have sinned" apology. Although the characters are wacky most of the time, there's a nice touch of seriousness when things start falling apart for Jerry Lee Lewis.

All in all, thanks to Dennis Quaid's spontaneous performance, Great Balls of Fire! is a fun rock 'n' roll picture about Jerry Lee Lewis.

6/16: My favorite Dennis Quaid performance is when he played Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire!, a fun, catchy rock 'n' roll picture about the Killer himself.

An exhilarating scene is when Jerry Lee Lewis set the piano on fire. The film is surprisingly true to the story of the meteoric rise and fall of Jerry Lee Lewis' career although he'll have a successful resurgence. Becoming a member of the very first class inducted for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, Jerry Lee Lewis is still alive and kicking at the age of 80 years old, having outlived all of his peers except for Chuck Berry.

All in all, it's always enjoyable to see Dennis Quaid amping it up in Great Balls of Fire!