The Legend of Billie Jean

PG-13

Released Jul 19, 1985

1h 36m

Drama

List

39%

38 Reviews

Tomatometer

75%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Restless teenager Billie Jean Davy (Helen Slater) and her brother, Binx (Christian Slater), dream of leaving oppressive Corpus Christi, Texas, for Vermont. When Binx's scooter is trashed by bully Hubie Pyatt (Barry Tubb), Billie Jean goes to ask Hubie's father (Richard Bradford) for $608 for repairs, only to have Mr. Pyatt try to rape her. As she flees, Binx finds Mr. Pyatt's gun and unintentionally shoots him. Billie Jean and her brother go on the run, becoming folk heroes in the process.

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Critics Consensus

Rebellious in spirit and anarchic in style, this Helen Slater-starring vehicle holds a certain youthful cool but is otherwise a disjointed retelling of an oft-repeated legend.

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Jay Boyar

Orlando Sentinel

Although it's obviously a B picture, The Legend of Billie Jean has quite a lot going for it. The film doesn't get many points for finesse, but it has energy, good performances and more wit than you'd expect.

Nov 17, 2023

Full Review

Patrick Goldstein

Los Angeles Times

The film makers may have envisioned Billie Jean as some sort of free-spirited Joan of Arc, but spirit is just one of the many key ingredients missing from this jumbled teen-age fable, enough to try the patience of -- ahem -- a saint.

Nov 17, 2023

Full Review

Sid Smith

Chicago Tribune

Teenagers, who may not have seen this picture's many hero/outlaw predecessors, might like its the pop soundtrack, better-than-average acting and modest punk attire. Everyone else is likely to find Billie Jean the very thing that becomes a legend least.

Rated: 2/4

Nov 17, 2023

Full Review

Joe Baltake

Philadelphia Daily News

The plot of this teen revenge fantasy may be hard to swallow, but the movie itself goes down easy, thanks in large part to the presence of stunning Helen Slater, who is totally credible as a young woman turned into an outlaw/heroine.

Nov 17, 2023

Full Review

Marylynn Uricchio

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Legend of Billie Jean comes complete with a stupid ending, but fortunately, the audience has been well prepared.

Nov 17, 2023

Full Review

Robert W. Butler

Kansas City Star

For a patently silly film, The Legend of Billie Jean is oddly endearing, a situation largely attributable to its star, Helen Slater.

Nov 17, 2023

Full Review

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mike s

Classic 80s movie, not a oscar winner but remember movies are not just supposed to be art they can be fun....This was a fun 80s movie!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/11/24

Full Review

K W

Fun and inspiring. I watched this back in the 80s. Great Pat Benetar song.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/02/24

Full Review

Lloyd S

Not interesting. Awful plot and disjointed.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/24

Full Review

Jeff M

I admittedly am having a rough time separating quality from nostalgia with this one. The first 20 minutes are really rough, and I anticipated yet another film of my youth that didn't age well. However, this is a movie that gets better and better as it goes along. There's some really bad stuff here, and it probably deserves a **1/2 or *** rating at most, but by the end I was captivated and standing up in bed singing the 80s power ballad "INVINCIBLE" along with Pat Benatar. Despite a Southern accent that tends to vary in certain scenes, Helen Slater is a strong protagonist for whom we are definitely rooting. She is strikingly beautiful here, and I have always been baffled that she never became a bigger star. It's also refreshing to see Christian Slater in a performance that doesn't seem to be mimicking Nicholson. On the bad side, we have truly awful performances by Yeardley Smith and especially Martha Gehman, a very stereotypical supporting cast of characters and a plot that strains credibility at times. But there's a peculiar timeliness to this movie during this ME TOO period of our culture. I enjoyed it enough to watch it a second time with audio commentary by Helen Slater and Yeardley Smith.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

Full Review

Trenaway E

The critics were stupid on this movie, for it is great! From the story arch, character arch, and music, this movie hits it out of the park.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/29/23

Full Review

Daniel G

Absolutely amazing! Mad I didn't watch this sooner.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

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Matthew Robbins

Director

Helen Slater

Billie Jean

Keith Gordon

Lloyd

Christian Slater

Binx

Richard Bradford

Pyatt

Peter Coyote

Ringwald

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Synopsis

Restless teenager Billie Jean Davy (Helen Slater) and her brother, Binx (Christian Slater), dream of leaving oppressive Corpus Christi, Texas, for Vermont. When Binx's scooter is trashed by bully Hubie Pyatt (Barry Tubb), Billie Jean goes to ask Hubie's father (Richard Bradford) for $608 for repairs, only to have Mr. Pyatt try to rape her. As she flees, Binx finds Mr. Pyatt's gun and unintentionally shoots him. Billie Jean and her brother go on the run, becoming folk heroes in the process.

Director: Matthew Robbins
Production Co: Guber-Peters Company
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 19, 1985, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2012
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Surround

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