Director: Matthew Robbins
Writers: Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner
Starring:
Helen Slater as Billie Jean Davy
Christian Slater as Binx Davy
Richard Bradford as Mr. Pyatt
Peter Coyote as Lt. Ringwald
Keith Gordon as Lloyd Muldaur
Martha Gehman as Ophelia
Yeardley Smith as Putter
Opening Thoughts: This is a film I have passed many times on the video rental shelf and in stores to buy. I never had the interest to watch the film because honestly the cover never interest me. Well when you love films this is one of those ones your relatives send you in a set with other films. About my only experiences I remember with Helen Slater was watching Supergirl in the theaters at the age of 5 and a few years later Michael J Fox got the hots for her in The Secret of my Success. That said looking at the box the film does say PG-13 that just came out at that time and maybe trying to push the limits for an MTV Video watching generation. Pretty much the new trend from that era was throw a bunch of pop songs in the movie and make the film one giant music video. So hopefully if I don't like the film at least the music will get me through it.
Plot: Billie Jean Davy is a fun, free spirited, and extremely attractive girl the boys just can't keep their eyes off of. Hubie Pyatt, a spoiled jock with a muscle car, is one of those boys who decides the time has come to get into Billie Jean's pants and make her his girl. Billie knows how to putsmart him and does her best to keep Hubie at bay. The problem for Billie is her younger brother Binx. Binx is a hot headed individual who decides to take it upon himself to protect Billie one day at the beach.
With every action there is always a reaction, Binx's actions get him jump and his MotoScooter stolen by Hubie's gang. Billie tells Binx to stay calm and let her fix the situation. Billie speaks with Lt. Ringwald of the police and he tells her not to worry about the situation these things are harmless pranks that tend to blow over and the person will give you back the scooter no harm no foul.
Ringwald's optimism doesn't pan out when Binx recovers his scooter damaged beyond belief. Billie pays for the repairs and approaches Hubie's father Mr. Pyatt at his shop to pay for the damages around $600. The thing is Mr. Pyatt is willing to give Billie the money, but only if she repays him with sexual favors.
Billie tries to escape the situation, but Billie is trapped until her Binx enters the store. In complete confusion, Binx shoots Mr. Pyatt and Billie escapes. Binx And Billie along with their friends Orphelia and Putter flee the town in Orphelia's family station wagon to avoid being captured by the police.
Billie becomes the leader of the group as they try to out maneuver the police, FBI, and Mr. Pyatt. The longer their escape goes the more the group becomes folklore larger than life. Thus the legend of Billie Jean is born that all teenagers want to ve.
The question is can these kids avoid being captured? Who will they cross paths with on the run? Does thing end well for this group or will they meet the same fate as Bonnie and Clyde?
Review: The Legend of Billie Jean has a lot going for the film before even watching. A phenomenal cast across the board that would make you stop. A soundtrack featuring the DiVinyls, Billy Idol, and Pat Benatar. A story that in concept grabs you and makes you want to the film. I certainly enjoyed watching the film, but with all that going for the film there was something just off putting about this film at times.
Most of the offputting things about Billie Jean simply comes down to poor writing or lack of common sense from the writers and director of the film not from performances. To simply put it, there are bang your head against the wall moments in this film not one, but multiple times throught out the film. Sure I have gimmies in just about everything I watch, but the gimmies in the film stretch my patience.
1. Lt. Ringwald is written as a moron in this film. What police officer is not going to take a report and investigate the theft of a vehicle especially if witnessed? Honestly this film shouldn't have even gotten to the point of the kids being on the run from the law.
2. Mr. Pyatt's actions he make him a good villain, but man how does not end up in jail when both the police and the FBI knowingly watch him interfere with their investigation and multiple attempts in trying to capture the kids.
Quite honestly these are unforgivable when you think about it and you just can't look past. You throw in 80s lingo cliches like the interviews with the teenage public watching the escape and their opinions not being portrayed well either. The filmmakers just didn't do their job in fixing obvious issues even a child could see is wrong.
That is a shame because the rest of the film is great and despite being dated in some ways the film has been become more relevant now then when originally released.
Despite that the film does have a certain charm to it mostly Putter and Lloyd being the redeaming factors. Yet those redeeming factors may not be enough to save the casual viewer from not liking this film.
Final Thoughts: Billie Jean is one of those I like, but because of its flaws I find hard to recommend to people. So if you like my description of the plot watch the film, if not then don't force yourself unless you can catch the film on tv or streaming. That said in the era of the MeToo movement this film has become more relevant today then back when released.
Because of how the film became more relevant now then back when released, I am going to make a rare recommendation in that this film should get remade under the right circumstances. Those circumstances requires the following from me.
1. A female writer
2. A female director
3. A female producer
4. A female cinematographer
5. A female composer
Billie Jean just won't get the justice she deserves unless it falls under those circumstances. I hope this can happen, but only time will tell.
With all this said despite that I like The Legend of Billie Jean, the fact is I want to give this film a good rating yet I can't. If I gave this film a good rating I wouldn't be true to the film, the viewer, and myself. So Billie Jean you get a 5.5 out of 10.
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