The Legend of Billie Jean

"When you're seventeen, people think they can do anything to you. Billie Jean is about to prove them wrong."

1985 1h 35m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 216

ActionComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Average Texas teen, Billie Jean Davy, is caught up in an odd fight for justice. She is usually followed and harrased around by local boys, who, one day, decide to trash her brother's scooter for fun. The boys' father refuses to pay them back the price of the scooter. The fight for "fair is fair" takes the teens around the state and produces an unlikely hero.

“When you're seventeen, people think they can do anything to you. Billie Jean is about to prove them wrong.”

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Cast

Helen Slater
Billie Jean
Keith Gordon
Lloyd
Christian Slater
Binx
Richard Bradford
Pyatt
Martha Gehman
Ophelia
Yeardley Smith
Putter
Barry Tubb
Hubie
Dean Stockwell
Muldaur

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Matthew Robbins
Writers: Mark Rosenthal, Lawrence Konner
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Matthew Robbins, shot by Jeffrey L. Kimball. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Craig Safan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Cynthia Scheider shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Helen Slater and Keith Gordon and Christian Slater carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When you're seventeen, people think they can do anything to you. Billie Jean is about to prove them wrong.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0089470 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Matthew Robbins directs. Jeffrey L. Kimball behind the camera. Craig Safan scores. Cynthia Scheider cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

141 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Matthew Robbins, shot by Jeffrey L. Kimball. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Craig Safan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Cynthia Scheider shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Helen Slater and Keith Gordon and Christian Slater carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "When you're seventeen, people think they can do anything to you. Billie Jean is about to prove them wrong.".
7IMDB entry: tt0089470 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 12 themes, including "sexual abuse", "chase", "runaway", "texas".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Original score: Craig Safan
Editing: Cynthia Scheider
Production design: Ted Haworth
Costume design: Donna Linson
Makeup / hair: Alan Friedman
Sound: Gary Summers
Stunt coordinator: Bobby Bass
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $3,099,497
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)

Also by

Matthew Robbins

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-10-03
★ 5/10
Just kill Binx and problem solved A blonde teen from Gulf Coast Texas named Billie Jean and her little brother, Binx (Helen Slater and Christian Slater), become outlaw fugitives after a mishap. Two other girls go on the lam with them wherein Billie Jean cuts her hair and, unexpectedly, becomes a cultural sensation. Keith Gordon, Peter Coyote and Dean Stockwell have peripheral roles. Being released in 1985, the movie screams mid-80’s on every front. The soundtrack, for instance, includes cuts like “Invincible” by Pat Benatar and “Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol. The first act is interesting enough but the movie somehow peters out. Helen is winsome as the protagonist, but not curvy enough to hold my interest whereas Christian, who was 15 years-old during shooting, plays his role well, but his character, Binx, is just an annoying loser who seems to always do the wrong thing. If someone just mercifully shot him at the beginning there would be no problem and no film. While this one should be filed under subpar 80’s teen flicks, it has a few points of interest to make it worthwhile to certain viewers. The movie runs 1 hour, 36 minutes and was shot in Corpus Christi, Texas, and nearby areas (e.g. Padre Island National Seashore); the closing Vermont sequence was shot in Colorado and obviously so. GRADE: C

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