The Legend of Billie Jean

Billie Jean Davy is a teenager in a small Texas town who draws constant unwanted attention from local boys. When one of them wrecks her younger brother Binx's scooter for fun, the boy's father refuses to cover the cost, and what begins as a petty dispute over a repair bill grows into something much larger. Billie Jean cuts her hair short and sets out with Binx and their friends to demand what they are owed, an insistence on fairness that turns them into fugitives and, as television coverage spreads, into public figures far beyond their hometown.

Matthew Robbins directed the film, his third feature after Corvette Summer and Dragonslayer, working from a screenplay by Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner and produced by Rob Cohen. Helen Slater plays Billie Jean, with Keith Gordon as Lloyd, Christian Slater as Binx, Richard Bradford as Pyatt, Martha Gehman as Ophelia and Yeardley Smith as Putter.

Released in July 1985, the film took in roughly 3 million dollars worldwide, a modest return for a studio release of its period. Its reputation has rested less on that theatrical showing than on later viewing: on IMDb it holds a 6.7 rating from around 13,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.6 from about 214 votes.