The
Runaways
Get ready to see Dakota Fanning in ways you never imagined, never
wanted to see, can't believe with your own eyes and make you feel very
very dirty.
Set in 1975, and based on the true story (well, based on the part of
the story told by the people who cooperated with the production and
were deemed more important), Fanning stars as Cherie Currie - an Los
Angeles area teen who wants to be David Bowie and doesn't fit in with
all of the other kids at school. However, LA is one of those places
where the misfits can all find each other, and Cherie is on the verge
of being discovered.
Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) is a young guitar player and songwriter who
wants to rock and roll harder than the boys, and record producer Kim
Fowley (Michael Shannon) thinks the idea of an all girl rock and roll
band could be bigger than the Beatles, so he hooks Joan up with drummer
Sandy West (Stella Maeve) to see what they might come up with.
Eventually, the group adds a lead guitar player, Lita Ford (Scout
Taylor-Compton), and a bass player, Robin (Alia Shawkat playing a
generic character, since the group changed bass players more often than
Jennifer Aniston replaces boyfriends), but it all starts to gel when
Joan and Kim see Cherie in an LA club, and like her look. Now, they're
The Runaways.
Will this group be able to overcome prejudice against female rockers,
and prove they can deliver hit records?
Will they implode before superstardom is theirs for the taking?
Those who know the story will realize The Runaways is the
stereotypical tale of a band that rockets to fame, only to see internal
pressures, egos and drugs ruin it all, and writer/director Floria
Sigismondi's (based on the book by Cherie Currie) only addition to the
cliché is a girl power message lost in the presentation.
Sigismondi seems torn between the empowerment message and focusing on
Currie's troubles, which dilutes both stories.
Sadly, Sigismondi completely ignores most of the band to put Currie
front and center throughout the film. Sure, it's probably because this
is based on Currie's book (and Dakota Fanning is the best actor among
the gang), but Jett is involved as a producer, and I'm sure Lita Ford
has something to say about the crazy times the band faced. Jett's story
(which is fascinating and much more inspirational) slightly is told,
while Ford and West seem to only appear on stage during performances
because you need a drummer and guitar player to complete the group.
Because of this, almost all of the scenes with Jett and Fowley plotting
this all girl project, as well as facing the hateful reactions of
misogynists and chauvinists have little impact and no context to help
support them and instruct the audience what a massive undertaking this
was, especially for the 70's. Plus, it minimizes Jett's story, which is
just as important, and maybe more important, than Currie's fall from
grace.
Worst of all, you get the feeling Stewart and Fanning are little girls
playing dress up. Watch the real Runaways
then compare them to the movie
Runaways and you'll notice the real ladies could kick your
butt, while Stewart and Fanning might be better off in a ballet class.
Yes, Sigismondi wants the audience to realize how young and naïve
the ladies were when all of this took place, but they were much tougher
than what you see on screen in The Runaways.
Finally, Sigismondi fails to provide a good timeline for The
Runaways, so the audience doesn't get a feel for how quickly the
band rose to fame, and some facts seem to be lost in the name of
dramatic license. Plus, the band had some of its biggest success after
Currie left, a convenient set of facts left out by Sigismondi.
The Runaways is rated R for language, drug use
and sexual content - all involving teens.
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