Run Away with the Runaways

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2013)

The Runaways were the first all girl rock group, put together by a sleazy manager who saw a gap in the market. In their line-up was a very young Joan Jett... she would go on to much greater things with a group called The Blackhearts who would score a huge hit with a cover of I Love Rock And Roll, which would sell over ten million copies in the USA alone. The reason you probably haven't heard of the Runaways is perhaps because a) They had a massive falling out when the co-lead singer, Cherie Currie(!) decided to quit early into their creation, and b) Judging by the material in this movie at least, their music wasn't actually that good. Oh well, c'est la vie...
The 70's was all booze, sex and drugs according to those who witnessed it, and the film demonstrates that in graphic detail with a catalogue of debauchery and mayhem. Quite how these young bodies can stand so much abuse is beyond me, but hey... If all the Rolling Stones are still alive, I guess that's possible. There's also an awful lot of profanities exchanged between these amateur musicians... if you took any of these girls home to meet your mother, she'd most likely have a heart attack, You can't help but feel though for all they THINK they're doing for feminism, they're still being exploited in a different way... And most of their fanbase seem to consist of either dirty older men, and young girls who should know better.
Dakota Fanning completely ditches her good-girl image as the depraved and vulnerable Cherie, who sleeps with girls and boys during the course of events and snorts more blow than a cheap hooker. Kristen Stewart also surprises as the openly gay Joan Jett... free of the shackles of her usual downbeat roles, she portrays the boisterous and spirited young future star with relish. The reason why, despite all the talent on show, this doesn't score higher is not much happens in the 90 minute run time... Just a few performances of their one hit song and an impromptu trip to Japan, before Cherie leaves and the movie is as good as over. Oh, there's some stuff involving Cherie's fractious family life and the crush Joan has on her, but none of this is particularly exhilarating.
They may have been trailblazers in a way, but in my opinion the footprint they left on the industry was smaller than a mouse's. There are no real classics in their repertoire, and the only people who fondly remember them these days are either blinded by nostalgia or devotees of Joan Jett who adore everything she does. It's rather odd that a studio would bankroll a film about an average band that struggle for a few years before ending acrimoniously, such groups are ten a penny. But I suppose the fact they're female gives it novelty value, but not enough to convince me they were anything great... even if they had stayed together. 6/10