Review of Ode to Billy Joe (1976) by Roxanne R — 19 Feb 2011

Thank you Jesus that I don't live in Mississippi because the discrimination, ignorance, fear and hatred towards certain minorities and others perceived as different is horrendous. This movie depicts the smalltown mores of a Mississippi backwater in the early '50s.

Robby Benson (Billy Joe) confesses his love to Glynnis O'Connor (Bobbi Lee) for most of the film..its not until the last 16 mins of the movie that real drama kicks in when Billy Joe makes a confession to Bobbi Lee.

I agree that the acting, dialogue was good but it failed to engage me big time! This film was boring and so slow overall...Billy Joe should have moved West or to NYC and pursue his dreams whatever they were but to remain in a stagnant town, with prejudiced people is simply suffocating to death.

I live in TN which borders Mississippi and having heard so many horrible things about that area just makes me stay away. The plot is about an 18 year old boy named Billy Joe McAllister who is in love with Bobbie Lee, but her father refuses to allow her to receive gentlemen callers before she's sixteen.

In the Mississippi Delta, in a time before the boondocks had seen television and indoor plumbing, a young man's fancy turns constantly to thoughts of love. The film demonstrates the tragic consequences of a young couple's first awkward grapplings with love and sex.

It isn't until the last 15 mins that we come to understand the truth behind Billy Joe and what forced him to do what he did but the smartest person from the whole cast was Bobbi Lee who stops the man from disclosing to her parents what really happened with Billy Joe.

Bobbi Lee loved Billy Joe that she lied to her parents saying she was pregnant when she really wasn't. The whole town made Billy Joe a legend and she made sure it remained that way. I applaud her for doing what she did but this movie was boring.

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