MovieChat Forums > Great Balls of Fire! (1989) Discussion > Worst overacting ever.

Worst overacting ever.

posted 18 years ago by kbjornsen
31 replies | jump to latest

For me, the "performance" of Quaid here makes this film totally UNWATCHABLE. A bad film to begin with, his extremely annoying cartoon-like overplaying/overacting gets on my nerves. What were they thinking? Maybe they wanted to make the film with their own idea of "a funny twist"? To appeal to people who only knew Lewis had a hit or two, had a scandalous love affair? And appeal to people who really couldn't care less what they were watching? A really bad idea to begin with. This godawful junk just turned out ridiculous and Quaid is there all the time, showing every viewer how NOT to act.

[–] chevy-girl-1 18 years ago

Well, I think Dennis Quaid did an excellent job. Matter of fact, Jerry Lee Lewis himself was on the sidelines while they were filming, giving Quaid pointers about how to act more like him, telling him how to move and the attitude to have.

[–] jejozi 12 years ago

If Jerry Lee was on the sidelines coaching Quaid, why is it said that he hated the movie?

This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.

[–] GretLocks 10 years ago

This: "Lewis has openly stated that he hates the film and the book it was based on. Lewis did, however, praise Quaid's portrayal of him in the film, saying "he really pulled it off"."

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Balls_of_Fire!_(film)

Maybe JLL just decided he'd help coach even though he didn't like the book/story.

[–] Ithilfaen 8 years ago

This: "Lewis has openly stated that he hates the film and the book it was based on. Lewis did, however, praise Quaid's portrayal of him in the film, saying "he really pulled it off"."

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Balls_of_Fire!_(film)

lol are you seriously quoting wikipedia as a reputable trustworthy source of information about anything? Are you new to the internet?

It's a half quote pulled from an AMC page without reference or source for the quote. Please.

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[–] fategirl80 10 years ago

I agree Dennis Quaid did an excellent job

[–] mmoore24 18 years ago

he wasn't overacting... thats how Jerry Lee Lewis was. I think Quaid nailed it. Lewis was an over-the top *beep* (but i love him) and was stuck up and thought very highly of himself. in the movie he refers to himself in third person a lot. he thought he was hot *beep* and Quaid was perfect in the part. In fact, i thought it was strange casting at first, because it just doesnt seem to be a Quaid role, but i was seriously impressed. he was magnificent

[–] phauge 18 years ago

Quaid was pure genius is this movie. When I saw Jerry Lee Lewis in Walk the Line I could only think about Quaid and how that actor needed to study this film a little harder.

[–] kbjornsen 17 years ago

I still state that it's horribly overacted. He acts like Bugs Bunny, and it's not funny. The only good thing about the movie was the soundtrack.

[–] akathatoneguy 17 years ago

I guess you missed the point. It's not "overacting" if the person you're acting LIKE actually IS that way! Was he supposed to give a subtle portrayal of an extremely in-your-face, flamboyant person?

[–] moreno15 17 years ago

yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[–] bitemarked 17 years ago

I completely agree. Quaid got Lewis' mannerisms completely down. That was what made Lewis such a crazed sensation - he was so insane. He was just way too off the wall, and Quaid captures that perfectly.

I just got my copy of this DVD in the mail, and I can't wait to watch it. And I agree with phauge - as much as I love Walk the Line (I ordered it at the same time I did Great Balls of Fire!) I think the actor playing Lewis was really just trying to copy Quaid's impersonation, and didn't do nearly as well.

[–] dreba 17 years ago

Cartoonish was the word that came to my mind as well. The scene where Myra goes on a spending spree in the furniture store, where she is sprawled on the floor of the kitchen after trying to cook, when she and Jerry do that synchronized head-swoop towards each other are just a few of the scenes that come to mind. I'm sure Jerry Lee is an over-the-top personality, but that could have been shown without some of the scenery-chewing actions that the principals demonstrate.

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[–] beowulfhammer 17 years ago

If it was good enough for Jerry Lee Lewis, it should be good enough for the fans.

[–] jejozi 12 years ago

JLL hated this movie.

This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.

[–] moreno15 17 years ago

i saw a video saying that jerry lee lewis himself said he thought nobody could have done better than him

[–] xlunacyx 17 years ago

I think it was an excellent performance. What you are forgetting is that Jerry Lee Lewis was a very over -the-top kind of guy. Dennis Quaid was one of the best things about this movie.

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[–] Vanessa17 17 years ago

I agree. I didn't like his acting either. I thought he looked kind of dumb throughout the movie. That was my only problem with the movie.

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[–] PanicPop 17 years ago

I think that Dennis Quaid did a fantastic job- my only complaint is that some parts of the movie (for eg the shopping spree) were very stylised and it did come across as being cartoonish.

[–] debunks-2 17 years ago

There is no doubt about it: Lisa Jane Persky's cameo appearance was the best part of this movie.

[–] laura-myles 17 years ago

wow, i'm so surprised by this thread!

i though Quaid was just amazing in this role, he captured Lewis perfectly. In my opinion he MADE the movie. It was already a brilliant film, but he made it amazing!

[–] bostonfilmfan 17 years ago

Even if Quaid did "nail Lewis perfectly", the problem with his acting in this film still remains: if a person who doesn't know a thing about Lewis thinks that the actor is overacting, then he is. There should've been an additional LAYER to his performance that would let a viewer know that it's Lewis's overacting, and not Quaid's. That layer was absent, unfortunately. It's probably the director's fault more than the actor's though.

[–] ljcostello_22 16 years ago

I agree that the characterization of JLL makes this movie nearly unwatchable. Perhaps Quaid was spot-on in his performance but that doesn't make the cartoonish character any more bearable.

Actually the whole movie reeked of cheeeez.
The story deserved a much, much better interpretation. Just saying...

[–] thepoet26 16 years ago

The thing is- Jerry Lee Lewis truly was an animated, overzealous, and somewhat obnoxious personality. He was arrogant and boastful and completely unrepentent about any mistakes he may have made alone the way. I can see why people not familiar with Jerry Lee would think that Quaid was overacting but those who know enough about Jerry will think Quaid nailed it.

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[–] James1701-A 15 years ago

as usual another underated performance by Quaid.

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[–] MystMoonstruck 14 years ago

I fully agree! I grew up in the Fifties/Sixties with the music, and my aunt was THE Jerry Lee Lewis fan, so we heard all about him and listened to his music a lot. I think she even went to several concerts. This is dead-on perfect! They say Lewis doesn't really like this movie; perhaps because it's TOO dead on for him. I recall seeing JLL's performances and interviews with him on TV in those early days; he WAS a bit cartoonish/overboard at times, but so are other colorful characters from that period. Check out Little Richard! If he was portrayed in a bioflick, people at IMDb probably would be saying, "That was cartoonish and unreal" although it would be Little Richard exactly.

Dennis Quaid is one of my favorite actors, and he DID nail this performance!

Actually, I liked the stylized approach to it, capturing that bigger-than-life quality as well as the spirit of the Fifties, with music permeating everything. As for those attacking Winona's portrayal of a girl in her early teens: She is absolutely perfect, with the hopping, squealing and big eyes! Girls were so much more innocent then, and maybe we did act more little-girlish at the time. I know we were very different from what I've seen in the past several decades, sad to say. Winona did a wonderful job capturing the energy of the time.

I watched it again this evening, thanks to the amazing EPIX movie channel that has been added to our cable lineup. (Bless them!) Even my mother, who isn't fond of rewatching films, sat down to watch it again, so that's saying a lot in its favor. I've lost count of how many times I've watched it, but I plan to view it many times in the future.

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[–] truheart_1 14 years ago

I also think Quad overdid it. I'm not saying Jerry Lee wasn't wild, but the way he was portrayed in this movie made him look like a cartoon character. In fact, Quads horrible country accent reminded my of Goofy from the Micky Mouse cartons. Nobody acts that way 24 hours a day and Jerry never seemed like a real human being in this movie. There is a clip on youtube where Jerry is being interviewed that is more human than anything in this entire movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--OLOyQmyVw . The Jerry Lee of this movie was not the real Jerry Lee.

[–] Prismark10 13 years ago

I really did not think Quaid overacted, Lee Lewis was like that in his early wild days.

Its that man again!!

[–] Huskie_Jon 8 years ago

Nobody acts that way 24 hours a day and Jerry never seemed like a real human being in this movie.

I agree. There is something known as a stage personality.

For example, when Elvis was walking around his home in Graceland, he would not strike a pose every ten or so steps, like he would on stage. Michael Jackson would not be moonwalking from one room to another in his Neverland ranch.

Quaid may have done a good rendition of Lewis on stage, but he portrayed him as the exact same character off stage.
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[–] Rena_Mahone 10 years ago

He was just perfect - The overplaying/overacting you talk about is required by the role; it's how Jerry Lee Lewis performances were.

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] slimone (7996) 7 years ago

I loved this movie! Dennis Quaid was amazing, so was Winona Rider, in fact the entire cast was great! I remember Jerry Lee Lewis and Quaid was exactly right.