Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Ode to Billy Joe

Play trailer Poster for Ode to Billy Joe PG 1976 1h 46m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
44% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A drunken encounter traumatizes teenage Billy Joe (Robby Benson), who loves a girl (Glynnis O'Connor) in 1953 Mississippi.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Ode to Billy Joe

Critics Reviews

View More
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 10/23/2004
2.5/4
Now that I know why Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge, I almost wish I didn't. Go to Full Review
Virginia Hensen OUT FRONT Magazine (Denver) 05/08/2023
One thing must be understood about Billy Joe -- it is not a gay film... One must take offense at the inference of a correlation between homosexuality and suicide. Go to Full Review
Steve Warren The Barb (Atlanta) 05/06/2023
Entertaining most of the way. Go to Full Review
Thom Willenbecher Gay Community News (Boston) 09/22/2022
Ode to Billy Joe is a complex and highly sensitive film, masquerading as a teenage summer romance. Go to Full Review
Joe Leydon The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS) 08/16/2021
A film that transcends its limitations, a film well worth remembering. Go to Full Review
Jacoba Atlas Los Angeles Free Press 10/31/2019
Despite excellent location ,photography, fine performances and a so-called surprise ending, the film is astonishingly predictable and pedestrian. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
01/26/2024 I live in Tallahassee in the late 60’s, so I was familiar with the surroundings. I caught this movie just surfing on YouTube. It is haunting. You might not think it’s ca great movie but it will haunt your mind for many days. See more Steve D 08/11/2023 The song did it better but O'Connor is really good here. See more dave s 01/21/2021 There is a reason why so few films based on songs have been successful – it's virtually impossible to stretch a three-minute song into a two-hour movie. Case in point: Ode to Billy Joe. While the movie captures the vibe of 1950s Mississippi and, more importantly, offers an explanation as to why Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge, one has to wonder why each and every scene drags on significantly and painfully longer than it has to. On top of all the filler, the acting is hokey, the dialogue is stiff, and many of the scenarios are implausible and often unnecessary. Despite all of this, the song, played over the opening and closing credits, remains timeless. See more 06/03/2018 Saw this movie when I was a teenager and it made a lasting impression on me. Hauntingly tragic but good film. See more 02/25/2015 A great slice of life movie- I thought this film perfectly covered small town living, expectations and dynamics a bit better than it covered homosexuality, but that doesn't really take away from the film. The movie I felt was a bit too afraid to actually deal with Billy Joe's potential gayness, though in leaving room for you to interpret if he was actually gay or perhaps just taken advantage of is also an interesting dynamic either way. What I thought the most interesting lesson of this film was about how expectations in small towns are quite literally everything and any deviation can be soul crushing. See more 07/02/2012 An all time favorite! Makes u laugh and cry and OMG. ! Love it! See more Read all reviews
Ode to Billy Joe

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Without a Trace 86% 76% Without a Trace Watchlist Death in Venice 70% 80% Death in Venice Watchlist Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 92% 81% Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Watchlist Barry Lyndon 77% 92% Barry Lyndon Watchlist Badlands 97% 90% Badlands Watchlist TRAILER for Badlands Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A drunken encounter traumatizes teenage Billy Joe (Robby Benson), who loves a girl (Glynnis O'Connor) in 1953 Mississippi.
Director
Max Baer Jr.
Producer
Max Baer Jr., Roger Camras
Screenwriter
Herman Raucher
Production Co
Warner Bros.
Rating
PG
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 5, 2012
Runtime
1h 46m
Most Popular at Home Now