The Runaways (2010)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Purely Joyful Movie!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

I was reading someone else's review of this film, and he asked the question in my summary heading. The answer to that is simply. Joan Jett was the executive producer and Cherie Curries book was the basis of the story. Lita Ford was written off as a villain, and Jackie Fox was background scenery. Had this film been made today, I don't think Jackie's story would have been left out. Ironically Jackie went on to become a graduate of Harvard Law School and came out with her story of being raped by Fowley. Micki Steele's involvement would have been interesting as well. What a shame. I'll look forward to a real documentary about this band in the future that tells the complete story of everyone, and isn't transformed into the Joan Jett show. I would expect this from Gene Simmons. I gave this an 8 because at least two members got to tell their story, and problems associated with this band's startup. Also it shows what a jerk Kim was to the human race.

What does one say about a movie that's really good but could have been a great?First off. Why was it really good? Well because The Runaways were the first all female rock band that wrote their material and played their instruments. The fact they were charismatic eye candy was a bonus for us males - so God bless'em for that. That makes this an important movie.This type of genre tends to fall flat on its face, especially for musicians, when an actor is cast that can't play their respective instrument or mime the vocals. So when Joan Jett (played by the very gifted Kristen Stewart)is playing the guitar and singing, it appears authentic. Didn't hurt that Kristen resembles Joan Jett either.Dakota Fanning is another gifted actress. Only difference is she exudes a wholesomeness that should have banned her from playing the role of Cherie Currie. But she handled it like a true pro. Folks. we're talking," Sex, Drugs, Booze and Rock N Roll." Plus, she sings amazingly well on these tracks.Casting Elvis Presley's granddaughter as Cherie's twin sister Marie was a great choice. The role was small but gave her the opportunity to mix- it-up with the pros and shine.Now.How could it have been made great? Well,simple; more emphasis on the other band members, especially Joan Jett. The story line leaned too heavily on Cherie's family life leaving me wanting to know more about the other group members family life. I still don't know diddly-squat about Lita Ford's life. We actually get to see Sandy West's Mom's horrified reaction after Kim Fowley comes to their home. And as for Joan's family life? Well forget about it. Not a peep.And I don't recall the bass player, Robin, played by Alia Shawkat from the sitcom Arrested Development having any dialogue! We see they played in Japan. But did they play at CBGB's ? It desperately needed that kind of balance.It would also have been nice to show a photo of the real-life Runaways in 1976 that morphs into how they look today, just before the ending credits. Cliché? absolutely. Relevant? Very much so. BTW, the peeing on a guitar scene did happen according to Joan and the group it happened to was ( drum roll,please ) RUSH !As a final note, the commentary is not to be missed. It has Joan Jett, Kristen and Dakota dishing out morsels of interesting background info. It too is rated R because of Kristen's penchant for whimsical profanity

Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) is a rebellious teen winning her 10th grade talent contest as David Bowie. Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) is a tough bisexual teen sniffing glue and playing her guitar. She faces a lot of sexist attitudes. She approaches record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) outside a club to start an all-girl band. Kim introduces Joan to drummer Sandy West (Stella Maeve). Then Kim and Joan recruit Cherie into the band. Kim toughens the girls into an edgy rock band.Dakota Fanning is trying to do more rougher roles. Kristen Stewart has a good handle on the tough young chick character. The girls do a good job. Then there is Michael Shannon. He is amazing in this. This is not necessarily a ground breaking music bio. In fact, it follows the try-and-true formula of all such movies. It just does it very well. Also it has some pretty good music.

Up until the Runaways hit the scene, women's rock and roll were limited to some random women in rock bands. The Runaways were the first group to change all that by having an all-women group. This is the second film to address this band. Both films should be watched and then remember that history is always revised in Media. When I watched the extras on the DVD I found out this story focus was on -Kristen Stewart Kristen Stewart ... Joan Jett Dakota Fanning .. Cherie Currie Joan Jett and Cherie Currie were consultants on this film and so the story is limited by their point of view. Other than that limit I have no complaints about what the film tries to do. Women in Rock and Roll prior to the band I can recall were a member of The Honeycomb who sang the song "Have I The Right" in the early 1960's and a woman drummer with The First Edition ( song -Just In Time). Kenny Rogers was the lead singer of The First Edition. Since neither of these counts as really hard rock, they were just token women who tried to break the barrier