The Runaways (directed by Floria Sigismondi, 2010)

The “Runways” is a mediocre telling of the story of the mid 70’s all girl rock band of the same name. It should have been cool but, to borrow a term from a friend, this is a “paint by numbers” film. Even if you know nothing about the Runaways, you can pretty much predict every single plot turn. Of course all band based movies tell a similar tale of sex, drugs, and rock n roll but good biopics should bring you into the psychological and emotional world of the characters. Floria Sigismondi tries to do this but comes up short and/or misses the best opportunities for elaboration. What’s worse is that Sigismondi doesn’t give proper attention to the musical impact of the band and instead focuses on the sexual energy thus making the movie both vague and shallow. “The Runaways” also takes quite a few liberties with the facts as was admitted by band members in a Rolling Stone interview about the movie. This looseness is exacerbated by the fact that the film was only made with the blessing of half of the band’s members.

A note here to the Twi-hards who were mislead by the previews into thinking that this film centered around Joan Jett who is played by their beloved Kristen Stewart (who I admittedly have an unexplainable crush on), it’s not. As far as K-Stew’s performance as Joan Jett, it is thoroughly unremarkable. Stewart does not give Jett the edge and grittiness she warrants and this gives credence to the rumor that the real Joan Jett made Kristen cry on set. At 20, Stewart has plenty of time to grow as an actress but in this case she seemed more like a girl dressing as a rock star than anything else.

The two major bright spots of the film come in the work of Michael Shannon and Dakota Fanning. Shannon is known for his small yet memorable roles and his performance as producer Kim Fowley only adds to his reputation. Fowley is crass, weird, and unlikeable but Shannon makes sure he is thoroughly entertaining. Fanning plays Cherie Currie and is simply dynamite. Dakota Fanning has been getting good press ever since her emotional performance in “Man on Fire” but in “the Runaways” she shows movie fans she’s a big girl now and on the cusp of being something truly special. For someone her age (16) she has an impressive ability to fully embrace a role. This is on display as she plays a young girl with dreams of fame and escape who ultimately is swallowed by drugs. If Ms. Fanning decides to remain in the business long term there is a strong likelihood of an Oscar in her future. The biggest shame of “the Runaways” is that it wraps this interesting performance with an otherwise stale film.