The Runaways

I've been a Runaways fan since 1976, so I had been anticipating this film for a long time. Having read Cherie Currie's book, Neon Angel, on which the film is very loosely based, I was pretty familiar with the broad outlines of the story. As with any film adaptation of a book, I knew they would leave some things out and streamline other things, and I also suspected the film wouldn't be as dark as the book, which turned out to be true.

What the film really nailed was the relationship between the Runaways and their sleazy manager/producer Kim Fowley. Michael Shannon does a fabulous job playing this over-the-top character. His expletive-filled rants are simultaneously hilarious and cringe-worthy.

The stars, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, are both excellent as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, respectively. Stewart displays Jett's consuming passion for rock and roll and her desire to work hard to be a star. Fanning does a very good job balancing Currie's conflicting desires (to be a rock star and be with her family). It's no secret that the film doesn't spend much time with the other three members of the band. I have no problem with that, since Jett and Currie are, for me, the most interesting and most talented members.

The film does a great job showing the band performing. Stewart and Fanning clearly worked hard to be believable as rockers, and it paid off. You see the progression of both characters from neophytes to seasoned performers, and it works. Another aspect is the struggle by the Runaways to be taken seriously. There were very few hard-rocking ladies in 1976, so they faced a lot of skepticism. The film shows this very well.

The music is very good. The new versions of Runaways songs are good, although Fanning sounds nothing like Currie. The period songs are a nice selection, from David Bowie to Gary Glitter to the Stooges. The filmmakers nailed the look of the period as well. The clothes, hair, furniture, etc., are just right.

Overall, this is an excellent film. I highly recommend it.

Greetings again from the darkness. Getting dragged back to the mid-70's can be quite fun, especially when the topic is rock 'n roll. Based on lead singer Cherie Currie's autobiography, this film provides an overview of the formation, sudden fame, and equally sudden dismantling of the first all-girl's rock band, The Runaways.

Joan Jett was the heart of the band, but it took oddball music producer Kim Fowley to put the band together and get the recording deal. Fowley may be the most interesting character in this story. Here he is played with force by the very talented Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road).

Instead, the story focuses on Cherie Currie and Joan Jett, mostly Currie, since it is her book! Dakota Fanning plays Cherie Currie as a confused 15 year old with a messed up family life. The family includes a mom, played by Tatum O'Neal, who announces she is getting married and moving to Indonesia. Currie's dad is a very sick alcoholic, so she is an easy recruit for Fowley and Jett. Jett is played balls-out by Kristen Stewart. Yes, Kristen Stewart from Twilight. Here she shows much more of the talent we saw prior to the Twilight series. She captures the fire and spirit of Joan Jett and leaves little doubt she will pursue her dreams despite all obstacles.

Overall, the script comes up short and provides us little more than headlines and a quick glimpse. Would have expected much more on talented guitarist Lita Ford, who continues to work today. For a quick intro to the story of The Runaways, this one is fine. Just don't expect much depth.

I thought the movie was a good portrayal of Joan Jetts early days. I will give Joan all the credit in the world, she is still making music and performing to this day. What about Lita Ford ?? I mean, when I think of Joan Jett...I think of "I Love Rock and Roll" ...When I think of Lita Ford, I think of songs like "Kiss me Deadly" & "Close My Eyes Forever" which were both huge hits in the 80's. The movie hardly mentioned her. The Movie did not even mention her at the the end when it was giving the updates on where Joan, Sherie & Kim...I think Lita should of at least been mentioned...she is still considered by many to be the Queen of Metal still to this day.

THE RUNAWAYS chronicles the run of one of the most successful all-girl rock bands of all time. The film is based on "Neon Angel", the autobiography of the band's original lead singer Cherie Currie, and it gives us a glimpse into the world of rock and roll as seen from the perspective of a group of teenage girls on their way to super-stardom. I had heard some good things about the film when it was first making the festival circuit, but I wasn't as impressed when I finally got a chance to see it myself. The cast did an amazing job in their roles but the film wasn't as great as it probably could have been.

The problem with music biopics, particularly for rock stars, is that most rock stars seem to encounter the same problems: sex, drugs, booze, addiction, conflicting personalities, etc. So we get a lot of repetition with each rock star film and RUNAWAYS is no different. Cherie's decline into addiction, the in-band conflicts, the initial excitement of success and the eventual succumbing to the stress and strain of maintaining the lifestyle. It's nothing we haven't seen before in other films, it's just happening to younger characters. It's fine though because the performances are strong enough that it's easy to forget that the material's nothing new. My main problem with the film was that it came across as unstructured. It felt as if the filmmakers had just strung along random interesting events in the Runaways history and it made it feel like the movie was just wandering along. As a result, the movie loses it's momentum after their first major gig and drags through the last half. It begins around the time Cherie begins to lose control which is a shame; I should be concerned for her character, not bored by the meandering storyline.

The film's saving grace is the cast. Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, and Michael Shannon did an amazing job. Kristen Stewart has earned some major credibility with me thanks to this film. I was concerned that a girl famous for her role in the TWILIGHT saga would ruin such an iconic role (Joan Jett) but she did a fantastic job and seemed to embody her perfectly. Dakota Fanning is Cherie and I've always thought of Fanning as one of the most talented young stars in Hollywood. She provides an innocence in Cherie's character at the start that makes the film interesting to watch when her stardom warps and destroys it. Shannon is the group's manager Kim Fowley. Fowley is apparently infamous for his aggressive style, and his training sessions with the Runaways are the best parts of the film.

You can't have a music film without the music that inspired it and the soundtrack to the film is awesome. It's loaded with music from the Runaways and Joan's later solo run. The filmmaker's transport you back to the late 70s with their dedication to the style, from the clothes to the music and the fads. The movie has all the ingredients to make a great bio movie, but the execution prevents it from rising to what it could've been.

This is an entertaining film version of The Runaways story. I say version because there is another film on this band called "Edgeplay," which complements this movie perfectly. Essentially, "The Runaways" is Joan Jett's and Cherie Currie's version of things. In "Edgeplay," which is a documentary, the rest of the band has its say.

But let's discuss "The Runaways."

Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Jett is phenomenal. She's got the slouchy guitar playing, the gum chewing, the swagger and the foggy voice nailed. Jett is all girl and quite pretty, but she's always had the manner of a boy. Stewart gets it right. She is not just twitchy Bella, for sure.

If you've ever seen the real Kim Fowley (you can on YouTube), you will see that Michael's Shannon's portrayal of him is not at all over the top. In fact, many who knew him would probably say this depiction is too forgiving to the bizarre monster Fowley really was.

Dakota Fanning acquits herself well as Currie, the band's sexpot singer. The movie gives Currie the only family backstory, probably because the movie is based on her memoir "Neon Angel." It would have been interesting to see Jett's back story depicted. The movie might leave you thinking she's a native Californian, but she didn't move there with her family until she was a teenager. She was born in Philadelphia and spent her childhood in Maryland.

Some may question things that happen in this movie. Did they really write "Cherry Bomb" on the spot for Currie's audition? Did Fowley really teach the girls to dodge garbage thrown at them on stage? Did the Japanese really go THAT apesh*t over the band?

Yes to all. Watch "Edgeplay," where these and other facts about the band are discussed by the girls (now women in their forties) themselves in 2004. (The doc is available for instant viewing on Netflix.) This movie was made by Vicki Blue, one of the band's bass players (the actual band went through five bassists, which is why the bass player in "The Runaways" is a fictional creation called "Robin").

I have my gripes with "Edgeplay," mostly about the jittery camera-work, which I guess is supposed to be edgy, but is just pretentious and annoying. But it is the truth behind the "truth." "The Runaways" makes no mention of Currie's abortion while in the band or bass player Jackie Fox's suicide attempt. In "Edgeplay," Fox, now a lawyer, even displays the scar on her wrist. "The Runaways" makes clear that these teenage girls fought. "Edgeplay" gets into why. In the doc, it is also stated openly that some of them were having sex with each other (and it wasn't just Jett and Currie). Hey, it was the Seventies.

Joan Jett declined to participate in "Edgeplay," despite the fact she is portrayed in a mostly positive light as perhaps the most ambitious, talented and level-headed member of the band. I was a bit shocked that at the end of "The Runaways" when you get the obligatory "what happened to them" text on the screen, only Jett, Currie and Fowley are mentioned.

The most shameful omission here is the tragic Sandy West, the band's doggedly devoted drummer and perhaps the best female drummer in the history of rock (well, maybe until the Go Go's Gina Schock arrived). She and Jett essentially started the band, as shown in "The Runaways." Her history after the band broke up is sad. She was reduced to construction work. Her post-band life was one of drug using, drug dealing, guns and jail. She died of cancer in 2006, but in "Edgeplay" you can see her two years before her death discussing the breakup of the band, which clearly broke her heart. She never recovered.

It is also wrong to ignore Lita Ford's post-Runaways modest success as a solo rock artist. She's also the most entertaining interviewee in "Edgeplay."

All in all, I have praise for both movies. Both are candid portrayals of the first all-girl band in rock history, paving the way for the Go Go's, L7, Bikini Kill and, perhaps the most talented of all, Sleater-Kinney, a band that has also broken up, but in a much more friendly way.

You go, girl rockers!