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.

What more could a viewer want? Great sounding music from the original Jerry Lee Lewis, pretty girls, handsome guys and cars. OH THE CARS! So many incredible cars from the fifty's in pristine condition. I watched it a second time just to hear the music and see the cars.This movie does a good job of portraying Jerry Lee and his life. Some may think it a bit overacted but Jerry Lee was an up front, over the type kind of guy in almost everything he did. It was his passion for the music. Like he wrote, "you're driving me crazy." And maybe he seemed a bit crazy to average folks but hey, he had soul and it wouldn't let him sit still. He had to move, to play it out and sing it as well. Some reviewers felt the scenes depicting his alcoholism and on stage outbursts were detrimental to the movie. In reality, artists with the passion of Jerry Lee have a burning drive within that pushes them to emotions the average person can usually control. Artists who have the pride and passion of Jerry find it most difficult to deal with setbacks because they are driven to excel. That is what makes them artists. Whether they be musicians, painters, sculptors, architects, etc. They are constantly pursuing ways to express what they think and feel. And sometimes they are crushed when others don't appreciate their efforts. They have above average skill at what they do and yet they are emotionally more fragile than the average John or Jane Doe. I rated 8of10 (which is high for me) because it takes a Lawrence of Arabia or a Gone With the Wind to get a 10 from me. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes the early rock and roll era music or someone who wants a bit of insight as to what it was like to be around back then.I found my version at Netflix....

Despite all the great music, I was very disappointed with this film for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a very rough interpretation of real events, and in places extremely so. Certain key characters are portrayed incorrectly - notably Jack Clement and Sam Phillips - but most importantly it is the persona of Jerry Lee himself that is of concern. I certainly don't blame Dennis Quaid for this; his performance is suitably crazed and his on-stage antics are at times reminiscent of The Killer in his prime. But Quaid was clearly instructed to play the role more as a comic turn than as the troubled and conflicted man that Lewis was at the time. In fact, the whole film is positioned as some sort of over-the-top comedy, and some of the lowest points of Lewis's life are treated with, at best, a kind of dark slapstick.There are also some more minor details which I personally disagreed with. In some ways, getting Lewis himself to re-record many of his classic hits was a good idea and added more immediacy to the 'live' performances than the old and familiar recordings would have done. However, in parts of the film where actual records of his songs were playing, I believe the originals should have been used to add authenticity. This raises the wider point of the fact that Dennis Quaid lip-syncs at all. Ever since Gary Busey, Don Stroud and Charles Martin Smith performed every song completely live in The Buddy Holly Story, anything less has been (rightly or wrongly) seen as some sort of cop-out in rock biopics. Lip-syncing has been used with minor success in films such as Ray, but there is an argument that says you should allow whichever actor you have entrusted to play a rock legend the opportunity to undertake the most important aspect of the character - the musical performance.Another issue with the film is one of its main themes - the relationship between Jerry Lee and Myra, which is handled rather clunkily. The resolution between Lewis and Myra's father is sudden and unexplained, and the relationship somehow goes from being completely taboo to accepted and even normal in a very short time.I'm not surprised that this film was disliked by the Killer himself. It makes light of extremely serious chapters in his life and misrepresents certain people who were dear to him. In my view, it is never a good idea to take a real story and tailor it for your own preference in the hope of entertaining people. Usually, the real story - and in this case, the real man - is much more interesting.