"The Runaways" Brief Summary –
The biographical film, based on the memoir, “Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway,” by Cherie Currie, follows two 15-year-old girls, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, as they go from L.A. street kids to rock ‘n’ roll queens as the guitarist and singer, respectively, of the all-girl rock band The Runaways. The two of them are discovered by somewhat-known record producer Kim Fowley, who turns them from relatively innocent teenage girls from broken homes into sex-crazed, drug-taking rock goddesses. Jett and Currie become friends, and lovers, going down the road together toward an inevitable breakdown.
| Capt. Awesome: I hope this review gives you something to live for — have ya, grab ya till you’re sore. The tale of the rise and fall of a legendary rock band has been done before, and done better. However, “The Runaways” was interesting because it’s about a group of young, like 15 to 18 years old, girls playing in a time when men completely dominated the scene. And while most films about the first something of its kind is generally about the trials faced and social constructs needed to be smashed apart, this story seemed to be more of exploitation of youth and the hazards of the road on already frail psyches. While I overall enjoyed the movie, it suffered from indecisive storytelling. It couldn’t seem to pick a focus, or at least do all the pieces justice. Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart, was the biggest name to come out of the band, but the majority of the focus was on Cherie Currie, Dakota Fanning, and her internal issues. It also tried to push the storylines of female empowerment, exploring and utilizing sexuality, rebellious youth, never trust the manager, Kim Fowley, played by Michael Shannon — who was the best part of the movie, by the way. However, by trying to be and do everything, it came up short. This film could have been greatly improved if it were a biopic on Joan Jett, or if it were about the actual Runaways, instead of barely more than two members of the original five. I also had mixed emotions while watching. On the one hand, it’s a great, and somewhat factual story about the three most iconic food groups: Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, which is always fun, especially when it’s totally centered on a group of girls. However, this movie made my penis confused because these were very young girls, which is one of those demographics that men generally put on blinders for. One plus is Kristen Stewart shedding the “Twilight” label and owning her role. While Joan Jett wasn’t exactly diverse or particularly deep in this film, Stewart played the pissed-off rockstar remarkably well, and had the singing chops to match. And it’s not often an actress is given the chance to be pissed off and not crying, or yelling at her boyfriend. She grew a pair and got mean — very Joan Jett. A few things pissed me off about this film, though: -One, Lita Ford, the lead guitarist of The Runaways, and the second-most-interesting member was reduced to about half a dozen lines that did nothing more than make her look like a bitchy C-bag. -Two, Dakota Fanning trying to sing like Cherie Currie… or at all. -Three, Dakota Fanning being portrayed as sexy. Perhaps it was an intentional casting choice to try to demonstrate how very young these girls were, but it was jarring to see a skinny 15-year-old Fanning in lingerie, gyrating on stage. She’s looks far too young and too sweet to pull off the jailbait sex-kitten look that Cherie Currie was known for. The film’s direction and pacing also seemed to lack a solid rise and fall. It builds, plateaus and then kind of trails off without a good sense of finality. Granted, all the main characters are still alive and relatively young, so it’s not going to be about the lives and times of the band members, but it could have avoided just… See what I did there? So clever. Overall, not bad, but not exactly headed to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. I give it 3/5 stoned Fannings. — Capt. Awesome | The 'Jack: “The Runaways” is a below-average movie that is brought to a higher level by solid performances by its lead and supporting actors. Right off that bat, the best part of the movie is Michael Shannon as Kim Fowley, the pseudo-manager responsible for getting these five women together. If The Runaways were the Power Rangers, Fowley would be Zordon — a crazy, sex-crazed, creepy Zordon. I wish “The Runaways” came out during “Oscar bait” season so Michael Shannon could be nominated for his amazing performance. His performance makes me think “he must be crazy” because he is just too perfect in the role. “The Runaways” is not a bio-pic about Kim Fowley, but I would definitely watch that. It is, in fact, about “The Runaways,” go figure. Well, actually, it is more about Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, played by Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning respectively, since the rest of the band says a total of, maybe, five lines. The bassist, whose name was changed due to the fact that the actual bassist threatened to sue if she was misrepresented, says absolutely nothing. And she’s played by Alia Shawkat, Maeby from “Arrested Development” — talk about not taking advantage of a good thing. Going into the film, I expected to get more “Twilight” acting from Stewart but was pleasantly surprised to see a very good portrayal of Joan Jett. She gives a nuanced, but not boring, and natural performance that seems so specific it must be accurate. I had all but written of Stewart, and the only thing keeping her alive was “Adventureland,” but now it is obvious that she has more acting talent than I expected. The real disappointment, but that’s not really the right word, was Dakota Fanning. Her portrayal of Cherie Currie didn’t live up to the other performances and really didn’t bring much to the film. It wasn’t bad, just average. I will say, though, that no other young actress has the ability of played drunk and/or high quite like Fanning. When she was wasted, she seemed to be wasted. I will hand it to her for trying to break out of her innocent mold at such a young age; it was quite a shock to see her “strutting her stuff” in sexy lingerie on stage. I think I was just not ready for it. The plot was nothing we haven’t seen before and really didn’t bring anything special. It was your typical rock ‘n roll biopic. And in the end, I didn’t get anything more than a quick history lesson. “The Runaways” is a film worth seeing, if only for the acting. I give it 3.5/5 stoned Fannings. -The ‘Jack  |
