Great Balls of Fire!

Great Balls of Fire! (1989) is a music biopic directed by Jim McBride — watch online on iFILM. Dennis Quaid plays Jerry Lee Lewis, the Louisiana piano man who kicked and hammered his way to the top of the rock-and-roll charts at the same moment Elvis was selling out arenas.

The film centers on Lewis's late-1950s peak: the raw ambition, the stage wildness, and the marriage to his thirteen-year-old cousin Myra (Winona Ryder) that triggered an industry backlash and nearly ended his career overnight. Alec Baldwin shows up as televangelist cousin Jimmy Swaggart. Quaid handled a portion of the piano parts himself.

The movie doesn't try to settle what Lewis was as a human being — it goes loud and slightly unhinged, which suits the material. If you're curious what rock and roll felt like before it got polished, this is a reasonable place to look. Stream Great Balls of Fire! (1989) online on iFILM.