Hollywood, It Feels So Good

Posted on Jun 12, 2010

The Runaways (2010)

Written & Directed By: Floria Sigismondi

Review Written By: Justin Bozung
Mondo Film & Video Guide Editor
IMDb.com Link

There are some films that you are forced too see, now matter how bad they might turn out.  I’ve been a Runaways fan for a great many years.  The Runaways aren’t just a all women rock n roll group. They are so much more.  So when I received the screener for this film in the mail I was quite excited to check it out.  If you’re coming in blind, let me catch you up!

The Runaways where a mid 70′s female rock n roll band, founded by the great Joan Jett.  Things progressed, and with the help of Los Angeles record producer, Kim Fowley, next thing you now, you’ve included on guitar, Lita Ford, on drums, Sandy West, bass, Jackie Fox, and lastly, on vocals, Cherie Currie (pronounced, Cher-ree).  Only around for a short time, and being comprised of girls ages 16-18, The Runaways where something very fuckin special.  Until the last couple years, there really hadn’t been much wrote about the band.  You didn’t see them in music nostaglia magazines, like Goldmine or the U.K.’s Uncut.  They only made four records, all, kick ass  and take everyone’s name.   Most notably, to the casual fan, they’ll go down in history as the creators of the 70′s scuzzy hit, Cherry Bomb, which was used in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused.   The Runaways oozed libido and sex appeal, and there’s something about their music that’s so damn sexy and unstoppable.  It’s right up there with Iggy and The Stooges.

To fairly engrossed fan, you more or less you already know their whole story. You’ve seen the Runaways documentary, Edgeplay, and you’ve read Cherie’s book, the first printing,  Neon Angel.  This new film is based on that book.

The Runaways starts off with Cherie (played wonderfully by a coming of age, Dakota Fanning) getting her period and dripping blood on the sidewalk while walking with her twin sister, Maria.  Make no mistake, this film is about the Runaways brief career, however it does focus more on Cherie’s coming of age, and her teenage metallic  soul-mate, Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart,  her career performance to date), their friendship and relationship.  There is little attention given the other girls in the band.  That’s ok, that’s how Cherie’s book reads.

If you’re a fan you know their story, how they where taken advantage off by their management, the drug abuse, and the resulting disbanding.  It’s all here.  And it’s really not that interesting.  However, this is a good film.  BUT, it’s not a great film, and believe me, you really want it to be.

What’s makes it good, are the very obvious standout performances by Kristen Stewart (Twilight) and Dakota Fanning (I Am Sam). These girls really give it everything, and it shows. They ARE Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. They’re sexy, cool, and own the fuckin screen.  Another brilliant aspect of the film, are the live on stage sequences and rehearsals, where the girls are actually doing their own vocals, and not simply just lip-syncing over the Runaways music.  You know it’s a mildly against the rock n roll laws, but it’s great and respectable for a film as this to follow through.

Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett is amazing.  And I fuckin hate Kristen Stewart.  Having Joan Jett on the film as executive producer, and technical advisor sure doesn’t hurt.  You can tell no difference between the real Joan Jett and Stewart. She’s got the look, the attitude, the personality and guitar stance down cold, and it’s amazing.   Most critics that had the fun of seeing this film in theatrical screening have beat the shit out of Dakota Fanning and her performance as Cherie Currie.  I don’t buy it.  Her performance is solid.  She’s done a wonderful job here considering the lack of character in the script.   No one is really paying attention, and I doubt any bashers are real Runaways fans anyhow..

You wanna tear the clothes off of Stewart and Fanning and have a drug crazed, wild in the streets, rock n roll orgy threesome with them.  It’s a typical male fantasy. Especially to a music nerd.  Seeing Kristen Stewart with that Suzi Quatro hairdo, smoking, and wearing a Iggy And The Stooges T-shirt is way more sexy that seeing a Playboy Playmate fully nude in the latest issue.

With the performances and the direction of the film solid.  Where this film is weak is really in it’s script.  Written by the director, what it’s missing is a true depth of character.  You barely scratch the surface here on all these characters. Yes, they’ve done a wonderful job of getting these rock icons mannerism’s down, and the film is 99% historical accurate. However, I never felt like what I was watching on screen was an experience of  a real person, but really a one dimensional version of words from  the page of Cherie Currie’s book.  And it’s fuckin disappointing.

All in all, what’s really needed here seems to be more attention to character details.  You’re skipping around with the ladies in a mid 70′s drug and alcohol fueled haze, not knowing where the fuck they are.  Nothing is clearly explained here, leaving the casual non fan, or early fan scratching their heads wondering what the hell is going on.  For me, ultimately The Runaways  truly feels like it’s screenwriter and director, literally sectioned off chapters in Cherie Currie’s book with post it notes, and wrote scenes one by one, and then placed the finished pages on top of each other when she got to 100 pages.  It’s fuckin disappointing….But you SHOULD  see it…  It’s not perfect, but what film is…Buy the soundtrack TOO.  I feel like a perv thinking the music of Gary Glitter is sexy, but it kinda of is.

Justin Bozung is the Co-Founder and Editor of the Mondo Film & Video Guide. You can email him directly at justinb@mondo-video.com