The Runaways
Feb. 4th, 2011 05:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reviewthatMovie: The Runaways
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart and Michael Shannon
Released Nationwide: March 19, 2010
DVD Released: July 20, 2010
Stars: 2
This film is an adaptation of Cherie Currie's memoir Neon Angel and her time as part of the all-girl rock band The Runaways. It shows the rise of the band, and their susaquent self-distruction just as fame starts to come their way.
While I realize that this film was an adaptation of the band's original lead singer (so things are likely to be skewed toward her POV), and that Joan Jett was one of the producers (so the writers of the screenplay may want to pander to her a bit), I was rather disappointed by just how much time was spent focusing on Currie and Jett. Since the film was actually given the same name as the band, I would have thought that this would have been more of a biopic for the band as a whole, instead of focusing on only two members of the original line-up and their skeevy producer. I really would have liked to have seen their bassist actually have lines, the drummer not come off as a complete pothead, and Lita not to come off as a complete harpy. The bassist was largely ignored throughout, and it almost seemed that Lita was only named more than once during the film because she went on to have some success after the band's demise.
The film also went far too quickly, without going into enough depth about pretty much anything. So, you are only left with a vague sense of what was happening with and to these girls during the band's rise to fame (and the consequences of them not having any sort of adult supervision). I would have liked it much more if the film would have also given us a bit more in the way of the band's influence over music in later years.
The only good thing that I can really say about the film as a whole is that Kristen Stewart's performance wasn't as completely horrible as it was in any of the Twilight films (which amazed me more than anything else).
Overall, I'd say skip it. It wasn't worth the price for even a rental, or the two hours that you will lose by watching it.
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart and Michael Shannon
Released Nationwide: March 19, 2010
DVD Released: July 20, 2010
Stars: 2
This film is an adaptation of Cherie Currie's memoir Neon Angel and her time as part of the all-girl rock band The Runaways. It shows the rise of the band, and their susaquent self-distruction just as fame starts to come their way.
While I realize that this film was an adaptation of the band's original lead singer (so things are likely to be skewed toward her POV), and that Joan Jett was one of the producers (so the writers of the screenplay may want to pander to her a bit), I was rather disappointed by just how much time was spent focusing on Currie and Jett. Since the film was actually given the same name as the band, I would have thought that this would have been more of a biopic for the band as a whole, instead of focusing on only two members of the original line-up and their skeevy producer. I really would have liked to have seen their bassist actually have lines, the drummer not come off as a complete pothead, and Lita not to come off as a complete harpy. The bassist was largely ignored throughout, and it almost seemed that Lita was only named more than once during the film because she went on to have some success after the band's demise.
The film also went far too quickly, without going into enough depth about pretty much anything. So, you are only left with a vague sense of what was happening with and to these girls during the band's rise to fame (and the consequences of them not having any sort of adult supervision). I would have liked it much more if the film would have also given us a bit more in the way of the band's influence over music in later years.
The only good thing that I can really say about the film as a whole is that Kristen Stewart's performance wasn't as completely horrible as it was in any of the Twilight films (which amazed me more than anything else).
Overall, I'd say skip it. It wasn't worth the price for even a rental, or the two hours that you will lose by watching it.
