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The Legend of Billie Jean

The Legend of Billie Jean

Action · Comedy · Drama · 1985

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.

Movie details

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 Action · Comedy · Drama 1h 35m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Legend of Billie Jean?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Matthew Robbins

Written by

Mark Rosenthal · Lawrence Konner

Helen Slater

Helen Slater

Billie Jean

Keith Gordon

Keith Gordon

Lloyd

Christian Slater

Christian Slater

Binx

Richard Bradford

Richard Bradford

Pyatt

Martha Gehman

Martha Gehman

Ophelia

Yeardley Smith

Yeardley Smith

Putter

Barry Tubb

Barry Tubb

Hubie

Court is in session

Put The Legend of Billie Jean on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.