critics consensus

Great Balls of Fire romanticizes the more disturbing elements of Jerry Lee Lewis' controversial life story, but Dennis Quaid's crackerjack performance and a soundtrack stuffed with classic songs gives this flawed biopic some smolder. Read critic reviews

Rent/buy from $2.99

Rent/buy

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

Great Balls of Fire! Photos

View All Photos (10)

Movie Info

Upstart rock 'n' roll singer Jerry Lee Lewis (Dennis Quaid) has just cut a record at Sun Studio. Jerry's cousin, pastor Jimmy Swaggart (Alec Baldwin), tries to steer him away from a depraved life in the music business, but Jerry was born to play the so-called "devil's music." With rock 'n' roll king Elvis Presley busy with military service, Jerry sees his chance to claim the throne of popular music. But, his unabashed love of his 13-year-old cousin, Myra (Winona Ryder), may ruin his chances.

Rating:

PG-13
Genre:

biography, drama, music
Original Language:

English
Director:

Jim McBride
Producer:

Adam Fields
Release Date (Streaming):

Aug 28, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA):

$13.4M
Runtime:

1h 48m
Sound Mix:

Surround

Cast & Crew

Dennis Quaid
Jerry Lee Lewis

Winona Ryder
Myra Gale Brown

John Doe
J.W. Brown

Stephen Tobolowsky
Jud Phillips

Trey Wilson
Sam Phillips

Alec Baldwin
Jimmy Swaggart

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Great Balls of Fire!

All Critics (24) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (9)

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

June 26, 2003 | Rating: 3/5

Nell Minow
Movie Mom
Great Balls of Fire gives us a Jerry Lee Lewis who has been sanitized, popularized and lobotomized. Even then, the story ends in 1959 - before most of the events for which "The Killer" became notorious.

January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Quote not available.

June 30, 1989 | Rating: 1/4

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

August 26, 2009 | Rating: C | Full Review…

Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com
Underrated Dennis Quad performance as rocker Jerry Lee Lewis.

March 19, 2009 | Rating: 4/5

Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com
Quote not available.

November 18, 2005 | Rating: 3/5

Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World
Quaid is surprisingly good and has plenty of fun in this musical biopic.

November 15, 2005 | Rating: 4/5

James Plath
Movie Metropolis
Average biopic.

September 21, 2005 | Rating: 3/5

Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum
Quote not available.

August 4, 2005 | Rating: 2/5

Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)
Quote not available.

June 19, 2005 | Rating: 3/5

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Dennis Quaid actually manages to make Jerry Lee Lewis likeable.

June 17, 2005 | Rating: 4/5

Kevin Carr
7M Pictures
Vastly entertaining biopic.

April 8, 2005 | Rating: 4/5

Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

View All Critic Reviews (24)

Audience Reviews for Great Balls of Fire!

Oct 13, 2010

Dennis Quaid plays the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis who scandalized the world when he married his 13-year-old cousin Myra (Winona Ryder) and news of his marriage leaked out. The movie is based on how his life (and his wife's life) changed when his music was banned from most radio stations and he was hardly allowed to perform on Television, simply because of the marriage. Energetic performance from Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis makes the movie worth while watching. Alec Baldwin also turns in a good performance as Jerry Lee's cousin, preacher Jimmy Swaggart and young Wynonna Ryder give a convincing performance as his child-bride Myra.

Deb S Super Reviewer
Sep 06, 2010

I loved this biography movie, and I don't usually like biopics that much. The actors are fantastic, and it's full of all the great songs from Lewis. I highly recommend this movie to both fans of the actors and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Aj V Super Reviewer
Sep 09, 2009

The one star is olny for the music real "great balls on fire" and forWinona Ryder

Arianeta L Super Reviewer
Jul 06, 2009

OK, but unlike biopics where the actor "tranforms" into the character (Coal Miner's Daughter, Ray), Dennis Quaid didn't BEGIN to convince me that he the "Killer" Jerry Lee Lewis. Yeah, he had the moves and the energy, but the passion for the music was fake. Quaid didn't 'feel" it like Jerry Lee. Oh and his central Lousiana accent sucked balls. And Quaid is from right down the road in Texas. He should know better.

Cindy I Super Reviewer