FORGOTTEN FILM: LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN (1985)

THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN was not a hit at the box office. The Pat Benatar theme song “Invincible” was much more popular than the film. It did create a fan base on video and cable.

I watched the film many times on both video and cable. It wasn’t that I loved the film, it was just frequently on.

Watching it again, for the first time in probably twenty years, I have to say it plays a lot better today.


Helen Slater stars as Billie Jean. She and her brother (played by Christian Slater in his film debut, and the two are not related in real life) live in a trailer park in Corpus Christi Texas. They spend days swimming and talking about moving to Vermont. (Funny, I live near Vermont and have no dreams of moving there.)

Some rich kids come along and steal Christian’s motor scooter (like the kind Grace Jones used to be in the TV ads for). They destroy it.

Helen goes to collect the $608 that it would cost to repair the scooter from the father of the boy who destroyed it. He invites her to come upstairs where he keeps his money.

The father offers her $50 and said he will give her more if she continues to come and visit him. Billie Jean refuses his advances. When he tries to attack her, she runs away. He runs after her.

When Christian sees the man trying to attack his sister, he grabs a gun from behind the counter of the store. After he is told the gun isn’t loaded, the gun goes off, shooting the man in the shoulder. The Slaters run off.


On the run from the law with their two friends (Martha Gehmann and Yeardley Smith), they become folk heroes. They stop off at what they think is an abandoned home, only to find it is occupied by Keith Gordon. Being a filmmaker of sorts (as Gordon would become in real life) he shoots a video of Billie Jean, where she explains what happened. She states that “Fair is fair” and all she wants is the $608. This tape makes her even more popular, with her slogan being repeated by all of her followers, who have also adopted her new Joan of Arc look.

Peter Coyote plays a sympathetic Police Lt. and Dean Stockwell is Gordon’s father.


There is a lot to like about the film. Helen Slater is one of the big reasons. I had forgotten just how beautiful she was in this. But Yeardley Smith, now best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson, is hysterical. If you ever wondered what Lisa Simpson sounded like with a Texas accent, or using the F word, this is a must see.

The film is fast paced entertainment. It is filled with 80’s music. Benatar’s song is heard numerous times on the soundtrack. There are also a couple songs by a then unknown band known as the Divinyls.

Is it a lost masterpiece? No. It isn’t a great film. But it is a fun, nostalgic look at the era.

Director Matthew Robbins had previously worked with Spielberg on writing THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS and would later direct BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED for him. He also directed DRAGONSLAYER.


The writers, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, later collaborated on THE JEWEL OF THE NILE and SUPERMAN IV among other films.

A Tri-Star release, the film is not on DVD. The out of print VHS and DVDs from other regions are quite expensive on Amazon and other sites. It should be a popular title if Sony decides to release it. I don’t know what the delay is. It can’t be music rights as other than Benatar’s theme, the songs are all ones that never really appeared elsewhere other than in this film. It does appear on cable.

As I say with many films from the 1980’s, these films will mean a lot more to you if you remember watching them when they were first released. I don’t know how this will play for those who are watching it for the first time.

Here is Pat Benatar's video for "Invincible" with clips from the film:



You can buy used copies of the VHS from Amazon (as well as what appears to be a foreign DVD):