THE RUNAWAYS

THE RUNNAWAYS (2010)—I grew up in the seventies; I was never what you might call your typical impressionable hot blooded American boy, I was never into hard-rock.  I was much more country, into Don Mc Lean, Gordon Lightfoot,  and Olivia Newton John.  But I stood up and took notice when the all-girl band THE RUNAWAYS hit the music scene. I was fifteen; I listened to their music, I bought their records and worshiped those girls. I think I always knew their was something slightly naughty or forbidden  about them. I think that’s what appealed to me most. With promotional pictures of Cherie Currie, with her shirt unbuttoned down to her fifth button . . . Currie was always proffered as the band’s sex-pot front woman. Joan Jett, she however remained my favorite. There was something about Jett, her short coifed black hair, Drano-singed raspy voice and tough girl attitude that I always found very appealing. I think it was partially her bona fied passion for rock-n-roll that made Jett different from the other girls. I have been a Joan Jett fan for her entire career. So,  it was not without anticipation, high expectations, and a perhaps even a little bit of a personal vested interest that I approached this film.

      Directed by Floria Sigismondi, scripted  by Sigismondi and Cherie Currie based loosely on her book Neon Angel. The Runaways essentially  tells Joan Jett's and Cherie Currie's version of things. As a consequence, as a necessity,  much of rock history is compressed or deleted altogether, most notably, the omission of real-life base player Jackie Fox who is completely written out of the Runaways’ canon. Replaced by a  fictitious character named “Robin.” (Fox, who is a lawyer, threatened to sue, so the filmmakers didn't take any chances).

     The story focuses mostly on Cherie Currie and Joan Jett. Dakota Fanning plays Cherie Currie, a confused 15 year-old with a messed up family life. The family includes a mom, played by Tatum O’Neal (in a weird coincidence of déjà vu, Tatum was my number one crush in the seventies), who announces she is getting married and moving to Indonesia. Currie’s dad is an alcoholic, so Cherie is left alone and vulnerable and is an easy recruit for Fowley and Jett. Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of Joan Jett is phenomenal. She’s get’s the slouchy guitar, the gum chewing, the swagger and the foggy voice nailed down pat. Jett, as a girl is quite pretty, but she’s always had this tough girl, boyish manner. Stewart gets it right.

     Some may question the things that happen in this movie, and Jett in her audio commentary admitted as much that some events were stylized, fictionalized. 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 over-the-top ape-sh*t over the band? (Yes, they did).

     Both Stewart and Fanning do their own singing for the movie and Stewart sounds exactly like Jett as she belts out portions of one of Joan’s original early songs, “I Love Play’n  With Fire.” Unfortunately, the only song we get to see performed in it’s entirety is, “Cherry Bomb” (sung by Dakota), which was co-written by Fowley and Jett, specifically for Cherie and amounts to the band’s one and only true “hit.”

     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). 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 as they are cringe-worthy.

     Ultimately though the standout award in the film must go to Fanning, who even from an early age has always possessed this worldly-wise awareness of her sexuality. People were shocked when Fanning appeared on David Letterman in a slinky black dress that came half-way up her ass. I was not. Fanning is Hot and she knows it, and she’s not afraid to flaunt it. So it’s probably no accident that Fanning elects to spend a large part of the film dressed only in corset and  underwear. Dakota’s depiction of Currie amounts to a full onslaught assault of jail bait sex appeal. Fanning acquits herself quite well with her vocal duties and while she doesn't quite make it her own, Fanning does a credible job belting out a lusty version of “Cherry bomb.”

The Runaways (2010) ***