seductive cautionary tale

Rating: 7/10 (19 March 2010)

I am rarely interested in seeing new movies, but I knew I would have to see this one when I heard about it. I remember The Runaways, though I was a little too young to really understand or appreciate them. My older sister was wild about them. Thirty-five years later I still know the words to "Cherry Bomb." The film version of the Runaways phenomenon was not disappointing. It was extremely evocative of the heady, edgy years that were the mid-seventies, and the huge splash that The Runaways made in those years. All of the performances were very convincing, including Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie. I have to say, though, it really disturbed me to see Dakota Fanning, who may still have been 14 when the movie was made, simulating sex, smoking, drinking, and taking massive quantities of drugs, not to mention recreating Cherie Currie's lewd and sexually sophisticated gestures while performing. I really hope, for her sake, that Dakota is NOT as sophisticated as she appears in this film. I am far from a prude, but I would never let my 14-year-old daughter play a role like this. The implications are really frightening. I hope that Tatum O'Neal, playing Cherie's mother in the film, warned Dakota about the dangers of living fast and hard at such a young age.
Interestingly, the real Cherie Currie is and was quite a good singer and performer, and her Runaways performances were much more raw and electric that what Dakota Fanning delivered in an otherwise excellent performance. Maybe, hopefully, Miss Fanning really isn't sophisticated enough to inhabit such a chilling role. As graphic as the movie was, I'm sure it didn't show the half of what the real Runaways experienced as 15 and 16 year-olds. Anyway, the film is very effective and pretty original. It's good to see a movie where women get to break out of the mold, which is almost as rare today as it was in the 70s. Just one of the many reasons why I usually don't bother seeing new movies...