Great Balls of Fire! (1989) on Netflix
PG-1319891h 48mBiographyDramaMusic
Jerry Lee Lewis plays piano as rock and roll takes off, a skilled performer with little discipline. He falls for Myra Gale Brown, daughter of his cousin and bass player J.W. Brown.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb6.3/1018,705 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes65%
Trailer
Plot summary
From 1956 to 1958, Jerry Lee Lewis builds a career at the piano rather than the guitar. He is an alcoholic. He sneaks into the Chocolate Bar with his cousin Jimmy Lee to watch the dancers, and hears a piano style he soon learns. Living with his cousin J.W. Brown, he meets J.W.'s daughter Myra Gale Brown, and the two fall for each other. Jerry Lee's double first cousin Jimmy Swaggart is a struggling Pentecostal preacher whose calling keeps him in conflict with Jerry Lee's wild rock and roll career. Hits such as Crazy Arms, Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On and Great Balls of Fire carry him to the top of the charts.
Cast
- Kelli Clevengeras Dancer (uncredited)
- Joshua Sheffieldas Rusty Brown
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Great Balls of Fire! (1989)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Lewis openly stated that he hated the film and the book it was based on, though he did praise Quaid's portrayal of him, saying "he really pulled it off".
- Co-writer Murray Silver, who helped write the memoir the film was based on, publicly called the finished movie "phoney" for straying from real events.
- It turned out to be the final film role of actor Trey Wilson, who died shortly before the movie's release.
