The Runaways 2010
It seems like I heard good things about this movie and I always liked Joan Jett, so I was happy to borrow this movie using a Screen Pass. It tells the story of the band Joan Jett started out in, The Runaways, primarily about the lead singer, Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning), but also Jett (Kristen Stewart), as well as their first manager, Kim Fowley (played by Michael Shannon). You see some of Currie’s home life and how the band was cobbled together by Fowley, who knew an all-girl punk band could be a big hit. They end up making a medium sized splash in the 1970s, but the story is very familiar as they quickly get involved in drugs, including Currie who was just 15 when the band was started. Otherwise there isn’t much of a story here. The band only lasted a little while, and Joan Jett eventually hit it big with a couple of singles. You don’t find out much about Jett except that she likes smoking, girls, and rock. It needed a little more of a story or a better payoff than facts could maybe offer. Fanning really throws herself into the role, which was a big deal since she had mostly played child roles before. And Stewart is solid as Jett, with some acclaim for playing a lesbian, before she was known to date women in real life. And Michael Shannon is just a crazy nut in the movie, fun to watch, but pretty much guilty of corrupting a minor and maybe worse. He definitely gets himself noticed.
Written: 03 May 2022