The Runaways

Plot synopsis:
The Runaways (aka: Neon Angels) is based on lead-singer Cherie Currie's book 'Neon Angel' - a reflection of her experiences as a rock star, but also delivering a strong anti-drug warning to teens and others. David Bowie's "Space Oddity" serves as a metaphor for the narrative-- a slow countdown, a surreal but spectacular rise to fame, then alienation and burnout - a long long way from home.The film opens in the year 1975, with 15-year-old Cherie (Dakota Fanning) and her older sister, Marie Currie (Riley Keough), as Cherie has just got her first period. Marie's boyfriend, Derek (Brendan Sexton III), picks up the sisters from Marie's job at the local fast food place, "Pup n' Fries" and Marie announces to him that Cherie has gotten her period. Angry at her sister for telling, she informs Derek that Marie is not wearing any underwear. Later, Cherie is seen cutting her hair in a shag and putting on face makeup in an attempt to create a look resembling David Bowie on the cover of Aladdin Sane (the cover is shown on her wall as a poster).Meanwhile, Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) is a teenage rock star wannabe who is seen huffing some joints with her girlfriend. Joan tells her friend that she wishes to become a famous rock star as her own escape from her lonely life.Cherie is later seen lip-syncing David Bowie's 'Lady Grinning Soul' at her high school talent show and is the target of boos and jeers, as well as paper balls and other objects thrown at her on stage. At the end of the song, Cherie reacts by defiantly "flipping the bird" (giving both her middle fingers) to the boorish crowd, but she wins the talent show anyway.Sometime later, Joan Jett is making out with a guy outside a nightclub when she sees record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon). Joan approaches him and talks about starting an all-girl rock band. Kim is interested and introduces Joan to Sandy West (Stella Maeve), a drummer. Joan and Sandy become fast friends and start jamming when Kim suggests that they recruit a hot blonde in the vein of Brigitte Bardot.At the club that same night, Kim and Joan look for hot blondes to be a their lead singer and discover Cherie. They ask if she wants to be in a band and she accepts. Then they tell her to come to auditions in a trailer park in the valley.Cherie learns the cover song of Suzi Quatro's "Fever" and goes to audition, however they're disappointed at the song. Instead, Kim kicks Cherie out of the trailer and with Joan, thinks of a song for Cherie to audition for, thus writing "Cherry Bomb" on the spur of the moment. Cherie sings it and, after improving, is part of the band. Kim also brings in two new members whom are assistant guitarist Lita Ford (Scout Taylor-Compton) and bass player Robin (Alia Shawkat).One year later in 1976, after moving in with her aunt because her selfish and irresponsible actress mother has moved to Indonesia, Cherie travels to her first gig with the band as they go on the road as 'The Runaways' with Kim as their manager, who scams money from their gigs for himself. A few months later, the group gets signed to Mercury Records and starts recording an album. Soon, both Cherie and Joan fall victim to the rock and roll scene with popping pills, to smoking dope, snorting cocaine, and drinking heavily as their tours become more frequent and the band's popularity increases.Another year later, due to the album's success, the Runaways travel to Japan to play a concert. Cherie causes quite a scene when she opens up the group's tour by performing on-stage wearing only a corset. After their first show, Cherie gets a phone call from her sister saying their their alcoholic father is sick, but Cherie takes no interest in it.After another performance, Lita angrily throws magazines at Cherie that have pictures of her on the cover doing some exotic poses for a local Japanese magazine, something Cherie thought was for the whole band. After an argument with Lita, Cherie, Joan, and Sandy, a group of crazy Japanese fans break through a window and chase the girls out of the building. Afterward, Cherie overdoses in the hotel, collapses in an elevator and is sent to the hospital. Upon arrival home, Cherie's alcoholic father is passed out on his bed. Cherie takes his painkillers and her actions are seen by Marie.While at a recording studio recording their next album, Cherie has a nervous breakdown and refuses to play, followed by Lita trash-talking her and Joan defending Cherie. After a very heated argument, Cherie quits the band and leaves, leaving Lita, Joan, Robin, and Sandy looking on. Joan breaks down, throwing chairs and beer bottles against the glass. Cherie returns home while Joan continues playing and starts her own band, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.Eight months later. Cherie hits rock bottom when she collapses in a phone booth in a deserted supermarket parking lot after trying to buy some cheap liquor for herself. At the hospital, Marie visits her and tells her to get her stuff straight. Cherie goes into a rehab facility to try to get clean.In the final scene, set another year later, Cherie is working at a job at a local bakery trying to get her life back on track when she hears Joan's cover of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" on the radio and calls the station, where Joan is visiting for interviews. After an awkward phone conversation between Joan, Cherie, and even the radio host, Rodney Bingenheimer (Keir O'Donnell), Cherie says her goodbyes and continues working, smiling when Joan's next song, "Crimson and Clover", comes on the radio.

Tags: cult

Review:
I was a bit shocked that at the end of "The Runaways" when you get the obligatory "what happened to them" text on the screen, only Jett, Currie and Fowley are mentioned.The most shameful omission here is the tragic Sandy West, the band's doggedly devoted drummer and perhaps the best female drummer in the history of rock (well, maybe until the Go Go's Gina Schock arrived).
The movie begins in 1975 and chronicles Joan's early years as a die-hard rock and roll chick with a rebellious nature who learns to play guitar and wants to form a hardcore, all-girl rock band ("No guys!" she insists).
And Kristen's singing just blew me away -- both Stewart and Fanning sang for the movie -- and Stewart sounds exactly like Jett as she belts out part of one of Joan's original early songs, "I Love Playin With Fire".
Unfortunately, the movie only gets to see one song rendered in its entirety: "Cherry Bomb" (sung by Dakota), which was considered the band's only "hit", and was co-written by Fowley and Jett, specifically for Cherie to learn and sing.
The leads (Kristen Stewart, Michael Shannon and Dakota Fanning) do an admirable job playing the sullen budding rock star, whacked-out manager and reluctant front girl.
Based on lead singer Cherie Currie's autobiography, this film provides an overview of the formation, sudden fame, and equally sudden dismantling of the first all-girl's rock band, The Runaways.Joan Jett was the heart of the band, but it took oddball music producer Kim Fowley to put the band together and get the recording deal.
The film is based on "Neon Angel", the autobiography of the band's original lead singer Cherie Currie, and it gives us a glimpse into the world of rock and roll as seen from the perspective of a group of teenage girls on their way to super-stardom.
And it also has a distinction of being a rise-fall story for a band that was around for only a few years, a less-than-revolutionary girl version of The Sex Pistols, who all wanted to rock but came from different backgrounds and were beat down before they could fully develop rock star egos by a grubby manager/producer.For the Runaways, we mostly get the stories of Cheri Currie (Dakota Fanning) and Joan Jett (Kirsten Steward).
Certainly that, too, has a bit of the cliché to it (un-attentive mother, alcoholic father, same old same old), but the filmmaker is able to straddle the line between Currie, Jett and producer Kim Fowley (unmistakably hammy Michael Shannon, maybe too hammy in some scenes).Here's the thing that works for the film though: as a real gritty rock movie, as a saga of characters rolling around LA (sometimes right under the Hollywood sign), getting wasted, trashing hotel rooms, getting into madness, being rockers who can stand up to those "men" that Fowley says don't want to see girls on stage.
It stars Dakota Fanning as Currie, Kristen Stewart as guitarist and vocalist Joan Jett, and Michael Shannon plays record producer and band manager Kim Fowley.
The film charts the formation of the band in 1975, their rise in a male dominated music world, and their subsequent implosion.For a few short years The Runaways kicked butt, breaking down the barriers in front of them, put up in a male dominated rock world, they paved the way for girl power to actually mean just that; some decades before the term became popular.
The Runaways is a biopic about the first all-girl rock band from the 70's with Cherie Currie as the lead singer and Joan Jett as the second voice and guitarist.
What makes this an interesting movie is that Joan Jett actually produced this film so we have both views from the main stars of The Runaways that paved the way for other female rock bands in the future.
Whether you enjoy rock music or you don't the movie still is worth your time because it has some great performances and is really well produced, and I guarantee you that by the end of the film you will want to read more about their story.From a very young age Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) had a dream of one day making history by forming the first all-girl rock band.
Of course there are a lot of things that are left out in a two hour movie and the film doesn't delve too much into the character's past, but it works nonetheless as a biopic about the band.Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart prove that they can act in more serious and independent roles and don't have to rely on their star power or act only in blockbuster movies.
No, a lot was eliminated.I would think because of the Jett/Laguana camp which is one point I cannot understand,Why Joan would allow herself to be portrayed as a rampant lesbian.For yrs the deal of her sexuality has been ignored/denied.As for the others, they offered Lita Ford a thousand dollar for her life story and she told them where to get off!There was no mention of Sandy West (rip) at the end of the movie only Joan,Cherie and Kim..
There was no doubt that The Runaways gave tradition a good kick in the teeth, and hacked a fearsome swathe through a stale, male-dominated industry – but the sense of how difficult and cutting edge it must have been to form an all-girl teenage band at that time felt underplayed.Instead, we are treated to a formulaic and generic sex'n'drugs'rock'n'roll story that applies to so many bands, concentrating on the interplay between the 2 leads and their producer/manager, egos over-inflated by sudden success and nihilistic burn-out.
Whilst The Runaways may have been one of the first to go through this process in real life, in terms of rock biopics, they're very late to the party, and it just felt like a clichéd resume offering nothing that we hadn't already seen before in other, better genre movies – for example, both 'Breaking Glass' and the outstanding 'Almost Famous' are more accomplished, satisfying and engaging pieces of film-making, albeit largely works of fiction.
Which is a shame, because Scout Taylor-Compton as Lita West puts in one great scene near the end.You may leave with the impression that there's a place for "The Joan Jett Story" and that it would be a more interesting, and probably more honest, film.
All of the performances were very convincing, including Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie.
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.
However, Kristen Stewart's lack of ability to play anything beyond one-dimensional characters doesn't help, especially as she plays the main character, Joan Jett.Stewart is aided and abetted by Michael Shannon, who, as Kim Fowley, tries too hard to be dark, quirky and edgy and comes off as over- acting.Dakota Fanning makes up for this, to a degree, by putting in an excellent performance as Cherie Currie.
As the story progresses, so do the girls, as they discover love, sex, drugs and booze, while back in the real world family matters get ignored and priorities get mixed up.All based on real events with The Runaways being the beginning for some of the members having long careers, well Joan Jett at least, this film is for non fans a sort of coming of age movie set against the music industry that is quite standard in it's story.
Kristen Stewart is far from her Twilight days as Joan Jett in this and actually shows she can perform well, but the real surprise here is Dakota Fanning as lead singer of The Runaways Cherie Currie; her performance is really superb and shows how much she's grown.The film isn't a stand out for me otherwise, it roles along well, but it really does feel too standard in it's format.
Expecting a deluge of estrogenic hormonal music and pure rock and roll, I was a bit taken aback by the artsy, silent, character oriented take of the film, but in the end I liked it.The movie is about The Runaways, an all girl rock band which reached cult status in 1975, but the real story is more of the young and lost teens that were part of it.
All the actresses play well, Dakota Fanning again showing a lot of skill, and one of the executive producers in the movie is Joan Jett herself, so the story must be close to the truth.Unfortunately there is too little focus on the actual music and the pained silences of the characters turn this more into a drama than a band movie.
But now, with the release of The Runaways, people might see the great actress that's been buried underneath three vampire movies' worth of pap.Chronicling the rise and inevitable fall of 70s all-girl rock band The Runaways, Kristen Stewart plays Suzie Quatro-a-like Joan Jett, a young guitarist whose rock and roll aspirations see her paired with 15-year-old Bardot bombshell, Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning).
The two are brought together by crazed musical impresario Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) whose tactics for pushing the girls to their limit include screaming, 'Now, buckle up and get ready for boot camp, babies – you're gonna be trained like the Viet f**king Cong.' But with such success comes the classic trappings of fame including drugs, sex, booze and tension between band mates as Cherie's star rises higher than her cohort's.
Based on the book "Neon Angels", by Cherie Currie, ex-sex symbol and lead singer of the 70's all-girl punk rock band, The Runaways, the movie doesn't disappoint.
Feminism receives its fair share too, the opening scene being that of Cherie's first period; somewhat icky, yet meaningful and symbolic of The Runaway's propulsion into a male-dominated industry.("Girls don't play electric guitar!"- Joan Jett's guitar teacher)As a fan of the band, I was a curious to watch the movie,a bit annoyed by the fact that Kristen Stewart, whose main claim-to-fame was her bland, forgettable portrayal of Bella Swann in the tedious Twilight movies, was cast as Joan Jett.
It's not just historically incorrect, it's boring.Hopefully the movie industry will never get interested in pimping The Shaggs story – a far more talented band and one that had a much deeper impact on rock'n'roll than Joan Jett and the Runaways ever dreamed.
Answer: The Twilight films of course..But are the Twilight films her best work..??...Oh Hell No..!!...As far as I am concerned...It's movies like "Welcome To The Rileys" alongside Melissa Leo and James Gandolfini...And of course..."The Runaways"...Kristen Stewart should have gotten an Oscar for flawless performance as Joan Jett....Even Joan Jett herself was totally blown away by her wonderful acting job....The only real problem I had with The Runaways is that Michael Shannon was kind of a screen hog...Other than that...I loved this movie...I can tell that a great deal of thought and effort was put into this entire production...I highly recommend this film....Especially Joan Jett fans...After watching the film...Watch again with commentary....It has Dakota Fanning...Kristen Stewart...And Joan Jett herself....I won't ruin anything for you by mentioning anything they've said in the commentary here....But trust me when I tell you folks....You won't hear anything bad....Especially about Kristen Stewart....And that's all there is too it....
The movie, written and directed by Floria Sigismondi and based on front woman Cherie Currie's autobiography, "Neon Angel", shows what it was like being a woman in the rock and roll industry back in the 70's.Kristen Stewart does an excellent job portraying Joan Jett with her dark jet-black hair, edgy style, and passion for rock music.
Joan Jett wanted to form an all girl rock band and she did with Cherie Currie singing lead vocals on some songs or most songs.
It's too bad because I like Joan Jett and Cherie Currie and I wanted to love this film but it just didn't go much past what one would expect from a film telling a story of any all girl rock-n-roll band.
Two of the hottest stars of the century and a storming soundtrack ought to make for a cracking good movie, but this film lacks in critical areas - most notably script, direction and editing.As for the terrific twosome, Stewart edges it in my book, more convincing in the role of Jett than Fanning is as Currie.
Runaways, The (2010) *** (out of 4)By the numbers but entertaining look at the girl rock group The Runaways and their lead singer Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) and guitar player Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart).
The film charts the first few years from the formation of the band right through to the trials involving drug addiction and fights within the band.What I liked about The Runaways: the style, the music and Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart in roles a million miles off what I have seen before.
I'd not heard any of the band's music before nor did I know anything about the band themselves - thankfully they didn't scrimp on the music or the costumes.The film focuses mainly on band members Cherie Currie (Fanning) and Joan Jett (Stewart) from when the band was formed, to them getting signed by Mercury Records right through to Currie parting ways with the group and Jett releasing her first solo album.Fanning makes the transition from child star to adult actor well and looks great as the lead singer of The Runaways.
This made for a more intimate insight into the character.I would have like to have had one for Joan Jett also as there is an interesting character tale there, and one there was definitely room for.My favourite quote from the film was from the band's Manager Kim Fowley played by Michael Shannon: 'The Runaways were...
It's Dakota Fanning like you've never seen her before.Kristen Stewart managed to barely hold her own against her co-star's more charismatic and iconic turn, and thankfully the opportunity came in the last act of the film with the formation of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, who are heard rather than seen since this is The Runaways biopic.
Forget Twilight, as Stewart shows that she has enough mettle in her to take on more challenging roles rather than a girl who has to deal solely with relationship woes with unreal creatures.The Runaways contained enough subplots happening outside of the music industry to give it an all round experience, and since the story's adapted from Currie's book, there's an examination into the sibling rivalry between Cherie and her sister Marie (Riley Keough), and some had mentioned the more controversial aspects of her life had been omitted from the film, such as instances of sexual abuse when young.
well, you know the cliché already.The Runaways centers not on Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) but the drug-addled lead singer Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning).
The movie is lightly based on Currie's book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway and therefore focuses on the friendship of Cherie (Dakota Fanning) and Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and their relationship with their eccentric manager Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon).
This was in a time when women weren't really considered or allowed to be rockers.The main three actors: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, and Michael Shannon are each excellent in their portrayals as Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, and Kim Fowley.
The Runaways is an entertaining story of the rise and fall of the eponymous band, with good lead performances by Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as the mainstays of the group, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie.
There was a lot of hard-hitting drama going on behind the formation and packaging of The Runaways (including distinct personality and musical differences between the real band members--Currie, Joan Jett, and Lita Ford among them), but this facile exploration of the group is mostly interested in headlines and druggy montages (which just eat up time on the clock).
The plot is basically about a group of girls mainly focusing on the members Joan Jett(Kristen Stewart) and Cherie Currie(Dakota Fanning) and both the actresses that played them did a decent job.
The film is based on the memoirs of the band's lead singer, Cherie Currie, and the film is mostly spent on the dynamics and rising tensions between Joan and Cherrie, with Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart both convincing in the respective roles.
This movie stars amazing actors such as Kristen Stewart who plays Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning who plays Cherie Currie and Michael Shannon who plays Kim Fowley, they all out on great performances, especially Kristen she was really committed to the role.
This was pretty good; dirty, raunchy, in your face and capturing the spirit and essence of the mid 1970's perfectly.The story follows the conception and early days of "The Runaways" an all girl punk band that took the world by storm and focuses mostly on the tumultuous relationship between Joan Jett and Cherie Currie.I'll admit to questioning the casting here and initially having a hard time excepting Dakota Fanning in the role of sex-kitten junkie Currie.
The movie is the story of Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and how she created "The Runaways" with Kim Foley (Michael Shannon) as their manager.
Joan Jett continued after the Runaways disbanded and became a major force in hard rock music throughout the 70's and 80's and still performs today.The Runaways music is some of my favourite music of all time and in the movie Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart actually sing in the live music scenes.
Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning were the stars of the movie, acted really well and looked like Cherry Curry and Joan jett.
If you're a fan of the Runaways or Joan Jett (or Cherie Currie) you've probably seen the movie.
The story focuses on Cherrie Currie (Dakota Fanning) and the legendary, Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and their beginnings in The Runaways, their inseparable friendship, Cherries unfortunate departure from the band, Kim Fowley and his frightening tactics, and all the unchaperoned craziness they the got into.