Terrible Sense of Aging, Growing & Time Passing

Rating: 4/10 (13 December 2010)

I was excited to see what the young, new talent Kristen Stewart would bring to this great, edgy role. She was perfectly angst in Twilight, but could she be rock-n-roll enough? Could she lip sync? Act strung out?
Although she did a good job (so did Dakota Fanning, who I think will eventually become a great long- standing actor), she did not blow me away. To me, she pretty much played her usual, sarcastic, mumbly angst role. This time in leather hot pants & a guitar. She just didn't show the acting range I was hoping to see.
What I found most annoying about the movie was the non-existing capture of time passing -- of following these growing girls over the years. Suddenly they are "rocking out" in a bus, then in a stadium in Japan?? How did THAT happen?? When did they go? How long were they there? Then why were they back playing on the bus after that?? After hitting it big? It just didn't make sense to me.
And I don't really know the backstory of Joan Jett or the Runaways, I probably should, but this movie certainly didn't explain much to me. It didn't educate me to their lives or struggles, except that Joan went on to be successful as a solo artist and Cherie became a "regular" person. But I could have learned that much about Joan Jett or Cherie Curry by just reading an old Rolling Stone. This movie just didn't give me much more to think about. It was choppy & confusing (how come they are not growing old, not showing the years pass by, what year is it?). It was really just an OK movie.