RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Great Balls of Fire
Great Balls of Fire

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Great Balls of Fire (1989)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
65 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:23

Fresh:15

Rotten:8

Average Rating:6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Film biography of rock 'n' roll hellraiser Jerry Lee Lewis, concentrating on the years 1956 to 1959, when Lewis rose to stardom. It was also during this period that Lewis married his third wife... Film biography of rock 'n' roll hellraiser Jerry Lee Lewis, concentrating on the years 1956 to 1959, when Lewis rose to stardom. It was also during this period that Lewis married his third wife Myra, who not only was his second cousin, but only 13 years of age at the time. This action nearly killed Lewis's career, and the uproar and controversy created by the wedding while they were in England forced Lewis to cancel his tour. Other aspects of Lewis's life are examined, including: his relationship with his brother, evangelist Jimmy Swaggart; his competition with Elvis Presley; and how his "devil music" was inspired by what he saw and heard at black dance halls. The score contains many of Lewis's songs, among them "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", "Real Wild Child", and a rather fiery rendition of the title tune. [More]

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, Lisa Blount

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, Lisa Blount, Lisa Jane Persky

Director: Jim McBride

Director: Jim McBride

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jun 4, 2002

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Great Balls of Fire

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Fire is a fascinating, often terribly compelling failure. Much like Lewis's life, I suppose.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
08/26/09
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Underrated Dennis Quad performance as rocker Jerry Lee Lewis.

comment Comment
03/19/09
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
11/18/05
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

Quaid is surprisingly good and has plenty of fun in this musical biopic.

comment Comment
11/15/05
James Plath
James Plath
DVDTown.com

Average biopic.

comment Comment
09/21/05
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

No review available.

comment Comment
08/04/05
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
06/19/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Dennis Quaid actually manages to make Jerry Lee Lewis likeable.

comment Comment
06/17/05
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

Vastly entertaining biopic.

comment Comment
04/08/05
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/30/04
Caryn James
Caryn James
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/05/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Quaid nails it. Just nails it.

comment Comment
04/15/04
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/08/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
11/04/03
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

Ryder and Quaid seem to be in two different movies, but Baldwin is brilliant.

comment Comment
06/26/03
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

An outrageous bio-pic with Quaid over the top as Jerry Lee Lewis

comment Comment
06/20/03
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

No review available.

comment Comment
06/20/03
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/20/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Great Balls of Fire

December 29, 2006: Kasdan, Apatow & John C. Reilly to Introduce "Dewey Cox"
How many musician-centric biopics do you have to sit through before you start clamoring for a nice juicy parody of the sub-genre? Well, one's on it's way, courtesy of director... More...

December 08, 2006: The Weekly Ketchup: "Spider-Man 3" Teasers, "Pirates 3" Pics And Rumors, "Transformers" Images, And More!
In this week's Ketchup, we just can't get enough of those tidbits from the upcoming third installments of "Spider-Man" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Avatar

Avatar

Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes video!

Box Office

Box Office

New Moon #1, breaks TDK records

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

Ninja Assassin

Ninja Assassin

Learn to train like a ninja in this clip!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
2
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
9
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
106
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
162
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
53
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
40
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Angels & Demons, Funny People, and Superman
13
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
5
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
5
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
18
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Great Balls of Fire at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Star Trek DVD Exclusive
Star Trek DVD Exclusive External Link

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Unsexiest Men Alive
Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.