Despite all the great music, I was very disappointed with this film for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a very rough interpretation of real events, and in places extremely so. Certain key characters are portrayed incorrectly - notably Jack Clement and Sam Phillips - but most importantly it is the persona of Jerry Lee himself that is of concern. I certainly don't blame Dennis Quaid for this; his performance is suitably crazed and his on-stage antics are at times reminiscent of The Killer in his prime. But Quaid was clearly instructed to play the role more as a comic turn than as the troubled and conflicted man that Lewis was at the time. In fact, the whole film is positioned as some sort of over-the-top comedy, and some of the lowest points of Lewis's life are treated with, at best, a kind of dark slapstick.
There are also some more minor details which I personally disagreed with. In some ways, getting Lewis himself to re-record many of his classic hits was a good idea and added more immediacy to the 'live' performances than the old and familiar recordings would have done. However, in parts of the film where actual records of his songs were playing, I believe the originals should have been used to add authenticity. This raises the wider point of the fact that Dennis Quaid lip-syncs at all. Ever since Gary Busey, Don Stroud and Charles Martin Smith performed every song completely live in The Buddy Holly Story, anything less has been (rightly or wrongly) seen as some sort of cop-out in rock biopics. Lip-syncing has been used with minor success in films such as Ray, but there is an argument that says you should allow whichever actor you have entrusted to play a rock legend the opportunity to undertake the most important aspect of the character - the musical performance.
Another issue with the film is one of its main themes - the relationship between Jerry Lee and Myra, which is handled rather clunkily. The resolution between Lewis and Myra's father is sudden and unexplained, and the relationship somehow goes from being completely taboo to accepted and even normal in a very short time.
I'm not surprised that this film was disliked by the Killer himself. It makes light of extremely serious chapters in his life and misrepresents certain people who were dear to him. In my view, it is never a good idea to take a real story and tailor it for your own preference in the hope of entertaining people. Usually, the real story - and in this case, the real man - is much more interesting.
There are also some more minor details which I personally disagreed with. In some ways, getting Lewis himself to re-record many of his classic hits was a good idea and added more immediacy to the 'live' performances than the old and familiar recordings would have done. However, in parts of the film where actual records of his songs were playing, I believe the originals should have been used to add authenticity. This raises the wider point of the fact that Dennis Quaid lip-syncs at all. Ever since Gary Busey, Don Stroud and Charles Martin Smith performed every song completely live in The Buddy Holly Story, anything less has been (rightly or wrongly) seen as some sort of cop-out in rock biopics. Lip-syncing has been used with minor success in films such as Ray, but there is an argument that says you should allow whichever actor you have entrusted to play a rock legend the opportunity to undertake the most important aspect of the character - the musical performance.
Another issue with the film is one of its main themes - the relationship between Jerry Lee and Myra, which is handled rather clunkily. The resolution between Lewis and Myra's father is sudden and unexplained, and the relationship somehow goes from being completely taboo to accepted and even normal in a very short time.
I'm not surprised that this film was disliked by the Killer himself. It makes light of extremely serious chapters in his life and misrepresents certain people who were dear to him. In my view, it is never a good idea to take a real story and tailor it for your own preference in the hope of entertaining people. Usually, the real story - and in this case, the real man - is much more interesting.