The Runaways

Cheri, bombed

Swift shot:  Rock and Roll reveille!  Sadly devoid of poignant dramatic relevance.  Worthy of a cult-following, Fanning loyalists may find chagrin with her portrayal of Cheri Currie.  This was my least favorite performance out of the young actor to date.

Two fists pumped way the hell up in the air for Michael Shannon (World Trade Center, Boardwalk Empire) who sprayed maleness into every scene as Kim Fowley, like a Tom Cat marking his turf with a scent few will forget.  This flick was more about sticking it to the man, whilst whoring for the man, but it offers a nice behind the beef curtains glance at The Runaways, the in-your-face piss on your guitar all girl rock band that jump started the world of feminine rock and roll with arrogance and grimy glam.

The Runaways are, in no particular order, Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart), Cheri Currie (Dakota Fanning), Lita Ford (Scout-Taylor Thompson), and Sandy West (Stella Maeve) – together they are The Runaways!  But, that is kind of the problem, we only ever find out why one of them is a “runaway” and only one of the characters is completely fleshed out, Cheri.  Even Cheri’s sister has more of a back-story than the Wild One – Joan Jett.  Essentially, we are meant to believe Jett is just a wild creature, roaming the streets, hell bent on breaking down mores and standards with her innuendo driven existence – but this film won’t tell you squat about why she is that way and never attempts to develop the other members of the band.  Maybe, in that regard, the film is goading you to do just that, don’t like it?  Tough shit – look it up!  Granted, the plot is ripped from the pages of Cheri Currie’s bio “Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story”, so the heavy Cheri slant is to be expected.

The film follows the creation, duration and demise of the punk rock pussy patrol, The Runaways.  It doesn’t have any cohesive message, other than to tell the story of Cheri Currie and her brief existence as THE Cherry Bomb.  A girl once declared to be bigger in Japan than Godzilla!

What I liked most about this flick was that I didn’t know crap about The Runaways when I started watching it; I knew to strap in and enjoy the ride, and overall it was a fun ride, but I just couldn’t get into the characters – and I blame one of my favorite actresses for that, Dakota Fanning.  I have raised the bar for her from now on, because I have seen how talented she can be – but quite frankly, her Cheri was painful to watch as you could see she was trying so hard . . . too hard, to become Cheri.  It just never happened; the whole time I was painfully aware I was watching a talented actress pretending to be a big girl, and step out of her childish roles, with what she assumed would be a “coming out” role.

And, I was incredibly shocked by how well Kristen Stewart did, given almost no exposition for her character.  I am by far not one of her biggest fans, but she impressed me with her Jett.  If you are into these kinds of rock and roll, how they started, almost a Behind the Music, flicks – this is for you.  If you are looking for an intelligent, interesting, thought-provoking film – you might want to steer clear.  Overall, the message appeared to be, with fame comes sacrifice.  In Cheri’s case, the sacrifice was her integrity, giving up who she was to be “cool”.  Jett didn’t have that problem, and I get the feeling her life story would have been a little more interesting – like, just what the hell made her “The Wild One”?  It’s a decent Netflix instant viewer.