Artistic but in a good way

Rating: 8/10 (21 February 2010)

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! I saw this movie in January at a Sundance event in Madison Wisconsin with Cherie Currie actually in attendance. There's a lot of two things in The Runaways, drugs and sexual references but really what can you expect from a movie about a 70s rock band. For those of you who have read the script in advance only small details change for instance Joan doesn't actually steal the leather jacket in the beginning nothing bigger then that really. The music is amazing of course even if you're not a Runaways fan it's a pretty catchy and weaves itself easily into the story line. You don't see even a glimpse of Bella in Kristen's portrayal of Joan Jett, having seen Joan Jett live, Kristen really captured her essence. Dakota Fanning was noticeably a better actress then Kristen Stewart, Dakota was Cherie and stole the show hands down. When the real Cherie Currie did a Q and A after the movie was over I got to see just how perfectly Dakota mastered even her personality. The movie it did drag at parts but the highlights definitely made up for it. The scene where Joan walks out of her first guitar lesson and Cherie at the talent show are two of my favourite movie moments. I don't know the actual filming lingo for the artistic angels and blurriness for the lack of a better word but it was all used very effectively creating an artistic feel not just another high budget Hollywood film. This movie may bring up a lot of questions about Cherie and Joan's possible romantic relationship during their time in the Runaways but when asked at the Q and A Cherie said it was nothing more than friends experimenting. To address the debate over the whole Kristen Stewart-Twilight audience this movie will attract all I can say as a Twilight fan who was a Runaways fan before Twilight was invented, I think some of the content in the movie will disturb the stereotypical Twilight fan. There's a lot of drug and sexual references made that I think a younger audience like that might not understand for instance Cherie masturbating in the shower to images of Farrha Fawcett (behind a shower curtain of course) or I believe it was Joan pissing on a guitar. Overall it's a good movie not my favourite but still solid, some parts dragged but with all the star power, great music, a pretty crazy story and a lot of heart I think this movie has the potential to top the box office in March.