The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)

nThe Legend of Billie Jean (1985)

nDirector: Matthew Robbins

nCast: Helen Slater, Christian Slater, Keith Gordon, PeternCoyote, Dean Stockwell, Richard Bradford, Martha Gehman, Yeardley Smith

nSo according to IMDB, Pat Benatar, the singer behind ‘Invincible’, the theme song for The Legend of Billie Jean, supposedlynintroduces this song by saying “this song comes from the worst movie ever made”;na statement that I am strongly against! I mean, sure, nobody is saying that ThenLegend of Billie Jean is the best movie of all time or anything, but worstnmovie ever made? Come on! This movie is onenof the most quintessentially 80’s movies ever made! That’s what it is! And it’sngot spirit and spunk! The soundtrack is awesome, and no matter how much PatnBenatar might hate this movie, her song gels to perfection with the film! “Wenwill be Invincible!” It’s that spirit of us vs. them, the oppressed vs. thenoppressor, the rebels vs. the system that gives The Legend of Billie Jean itsncult status; it’s the reason why it’s gone on as long as it has. We the peoplenidentify with the heroically stoic figure of Billie Jean; she will not stand thenabuse! She fights back! And she’s a woman! And she will take it no longer!

nThe films premise is an interesting one. Billie Jean and hernbrother Binx (Christian Slater in his first role) are two teenagers who enjoynthe simple things in life: vanilla shakes, riding their scooter to the lake andnbasking in the sun as they muse about their possible futures. Their peace isndisrupted when a group of rich bullies (read: total assholes) start disrespectfully hitting on BillynJean. When she refuses their advances and Binx throws a strawberry shake inntheir faces, the bullies steal Binx’s scooter and take off with it. They laterntrash it, and give Binx a beating which leaves him all bruised and disfigured.nThat’s when Billie Jean decides to take matters into her own hands! She goes tonthe rich kid’s father and asks for the 608 dollars that its going to cost to fix the bike, the rich bastard says he’ll givenher the money little by little, in exchange for sex every time she comes. Billie Jean of course refuses! One thing leads to another and Binx ends upnaccidentally shooting the rich guy in the shoulder, so Billie Jean, Binx andntheir two friends run off together, avoiding the law and surviving in abandonednbuildings and empty houses, becoming legends along the way. Will they get Binx’s scooter back? Will the richnasshole pay the money he owes? And can Billie Jean and company live on the runnfor long?

nThe Legend of Billie Jean is one of these movies in whichnadults don’t pay attention to the kids and their situations, which is kind ofnlike a staple of movies from the eighties. Billie Jean actually goes to thenpolice, who brush off her story as nonsense. They think it’s just a silly squabblenamongst teenagers, but the teenagers are sick of being ignored by the adults,nso they take matters into their own hands. The film has that spirity of young people wanting to change the world they are living in, they want to revoltnand make things better. But the powers that be don’t want to let them do that,nthey don’t want teenagers revolting and saying what they think or feel. Billie Jean represents that voice, she’s the voice of her generation. And thisnparticular generation she represents is the generation that was living throughnthe Regan era, a time when capitalism/consumerism was rampant and money wasnking, it was a generation known as the ‘me’ generation. That selfishness,npowered by greed is represented perfectly here. The whole film is one big message againstnconsumerism. Billie Jean becomes a hero to the people, so suddenly she becomesnmarketable, so suddenly everyone is selling Billie Jean T-shirts, hats, posters,nbumper stickers, you name it. The ending of the film speaks loudly about whatnthe filmmakers think of consumerism. Here’s a hint: they despise it. They seenit as something that’s devouring humanity, spreading like a cancer, as we allnknow, they were absolutely right, consumerism has grown way out of control, it’snstronger and uglier than ever. If you don’t believe me, go to a Wal-Mart onnBlack Friday and watch people die. Billie Jean hates this money based society, shenwants her 608 dollars, but at the end of the day, she hates the fact that thisnis all about money.

nThis film is b-movie stuff for many, and in manynways I’d say they are right, but in other ways, the film has a lot to say.nBillie Jean identifies with Joan of Arc, she sees herself as a strong woman withna voice, she wants to be heard and treated with respect, she’s standing up for herself. She wants hernbrothers scooter back and wants to make sure we are all treated fairly, its Billie Jean vs. the abused, in this case, her little brother and herself. I mean, it’snnot just about getting the scooter or the money back, Billie Jean is also angrynthat she was almost raped by the rich greedy bad guy. At heart, this is a filmnabout a woman standing up for herself and not taking the abuse anymore and thatnmy friends, is something I applaud, even through all the cheesiness. Which bynthe way I find is one of the many charms this film has, it exudes a certain naiveté,na certain idealism and a passion to set things right. I love this kind of film,nwhere the teens stand up to ‘buck the system’, yelling at the ones running thenplanet letting them know they are wrong. The Legend of Billy Jean can standnproudly next to films like Turk 182! (1985), Wisdom (1986), Footloose (1984), Heathersn(1988) and Pump Up the Volume (1990), all movies where young people give thenfinger to adults and want to do things their way, which is usually fueled bynheart, passion and justice; which is why I like The Legend of Billie Jean sonmuch. It’s about being fair with everybody, especially the poor. So the film also addresses classist issues, it’s the rich vs. the poor here and the poor want to be treated with some respect. That’s all, they want to be treated with dignity.

nHelen Slater nails it as Billie Jean, giving a rebel yell,nscreaming for all the kids, becoming their hero. Love that whole idea about kidsnhelping each other, like a secret society of youngsters all backing each othernup. Like youth existing on a whole other level that adults don’t even knownabout, it kind of makes me wanna be a teenager again! Watching this movie takes me back to my teenage years. Yeah, I was a kid when this filmnfirst came out, I was about ten, so Billie Jean in many ways became anvoice for me, I was right there following her with all those other kids. Ofncourse, now the film seems a bit cheesy to me, but I can see past its flawsnbecause to me, it’s more about the feeling, the passion and the ideas that thenfilm projects, it’s that idealistic way of seeing the world, it’s about the waynwe’d like things to be. What I wouldn’t give for everybody to collectively wantnto produce a significant change in society, to change the status quo of things, or at the very least give it a try. Is it all that idealistic of an idea?

nRating: 4 out of 5