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Anton Sirius is singing about THE RUNAWAYS!
Anton Sirius' The Runaways review (2010, directed by Floria Sigismondi)
Depending on who you talk to, the Runaways were either an interesting footnote in rock history, or one of the Most Important Band Ever. They certainly weren't the first chick rockers (Patti Smith and Suzi Quatro got there before they did) but they were the first all-girl band to actually make some legitimately awesome noise (despite being packaged as disposable sex kittens) and thus prove that girls could kick as much ass as boys. A biopic was pretty much inevitable; the only question was which generation of starlets would be the ones to portray them.
In the end, we got the Twilight generation. And that turns out not to be as tragic a bit of happenstance as it could have been.
As a movie, the Runaways is fairly bland, which is a weird thing to say about a film that begins with a drop of menstrual blood hitting the sidewalk. It makes no effort whatsoever to distance itself from all the usual rock biopic stereotypes. Drugs! Tyrannical managers! More drugs! Big success in Japan! Drugs again! Shattered home lives! Still more drugs! Partly that adherence to cliche is due to the source material. The movie, while produced by Joan Jett, is based on Cherie Currie's autobiography, and Currie apparently saw her life in terms of those cliches. Sigismondi's direction, in her feature debut, doesn't help either. She makes no effort to get to the other side of those cliches, just presenting them at face value rather than using them to reflect on Currie's choices, or contrasting how Currie was handling the ride to how any of the other band members were. Sigismondi frankly seems more interested in shooting a music video for Cherry Bomb (which she does, awkwardly shoehorning it into the Japanese tour sequence) than she is in making her characters three-dimensional.
Really, though, most of the blame needs to be pinned on Dakota Fanning. She's simply not up to the task at hand. It's fine that she doesn't come across as a terribly dynamic frontwomen for the band, since Currie wasn't a terribly dynamic frontwoman in real life, but what doesn't work is her doe-eyed distance from the proceedings. She's trying to play it guarded and damaged, but she just comes off as disinterested. Currie is supposed to be the fallen star, the one who burned out and couldn't handle the fame, who didn't trust that she deserved the success: the mirror image of Joan Jett's 'born to be a rock star' balls-to-the-wall determination and drive. Instead Fanning just alternates between being kinda nervous, and kinda sleepy, and never once seems to be giddy from the heights, or bracing for the (to her) inevitable lows.
And Fanning's weak effort is a crying shame, because Kristen Stewart is a revelation as Joan Jett. She absolutely fucking nails it. I'm sure it helped to have Jett herself on set for reference purposes, but that doesn't downgrade the bravado of the performance. From the moment she appears on screen she's a nuclear missile homing in on rock and roll stardom, who isn't going to let any motherfucker stand in her way. While Fanning has the showier role in Currie, Stewart's got the tougher assignment. Currie is living a cliche rock lifestyle because she doesn't know any better; Jett's living it to prove that she can, and because she knows she has to in order to get what she wants. The self-awareness, and self-assurance, in Stewart's performance is amazing, and completely unpredicted by anything I've seen her do before. It's a performance that to an extent even saves the film. With a lesser actress in the role, the Runaways would have been a total train wreck, as opposed to the merely OK movie that it is. I'll even go a step further. Kristen Stewart does a better job of channeling Joan Jett here than Joaquin Phoenix did of channeling Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. She's that damn good.
About the only thing I can think to compare Stewart's performance to is Joseph Gordon-Levitt's in Mysterious Skin. I had zero expectations for either of them heading into their respective movies, and came out the other end strongly suspecting that they might in fact be among the best actors of their generation. Gordon-Levitt's proved me right on that assumption since; I can only hope Stewart shakes Bella out of her hair and gets a chance to do likewise.
There isn't much to say about the rest of the movie, because there isn't much else to the rest of the movie. Michael Shannon isn't good at all as the band's svengali Kim Fowley. At no point do his profanity-laced tirades and mind games rise above the level of comic relief, and they really needed to have some actual menace behind them given how they were supposed to be contributing to the band's disintegration. The rest of the gals barely gets any screen time, which is weird considering that a) Lita Ford was the band's guitarist and it's not like she disappeared off the face of the earth after the Runaways broke up, and b) they went to the trouble (WARNING: OBLIGATORY SPINAL TAP REFERENCE APPROACHING) of inventing a bassist for the band, cast Maeby from Arrested Development (Alia Shawkat) as said fictional bassist, and then gave her all of about three lines. I understand the thought process behind inventing a bassist, since in reality the Runaways blew through more bassists than Spinal Tap blew through drummers, but it just seems a wasted effort to go to all that trouble and not do anything with the character. Keir O'Donnell does deliver a fine Rodney Bingenheimer impression though, so that's something.
Basically put, the Runaways is just all right. Stewart's performance aside, it's nothing special. It isn't daring enough to be more than a formulaic rock biopic, but despite all the teenage drug use and the brief lesbian scene between Stewart and Fanning (c'mon, you knew it would be in there... did you really need me to tell you about it?) it also isn't entertainingly trashy enough to be a legendary Gaggle of Starlets flick. It may, in fact, be the exact midpoint between I'm Not There and Satisfaction.
If it ends up doing for Kristen Stewart what the band itself did for Joan Jett though -- make her realize what she wants and what she's good at, and helps her get there -- then it'll all have been worth it.
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I'm actually looking forward to seeing this. The Runaways were great back in the day.
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Stewart, Shannon and especially Fanning are getting raves from Variety, The Reporter, etc... What were we expecting? Stewart was the loose cannon, so if she's knocked it out of the park and all the other early screenings are resulting in praise for Shannon and Fanning -- I think we have a good movie. Certainly a stronger one than is being indicated here.
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Now THAT would make an interesting movie!!! What's the point of The Runaways? Some chicks form a band, create one hit song, go to Japan and, er, what else exactly? I mean, apart from having Stewart and Fanning dressing like skanks and doing some light lesbian shit and, let's face it, unless they engage in some savage 69 action and rampage each others pussy's with their mouths, like starving dogs being given a bowl of Alpo, there just ain't no point or anything worth paying a ticket for? Meanwhile, Wendy O. Williams is a punk legend who died in 98 and also was in Candy Goes to Hollywood, the 1979 Carol Connors porn classic where Miss William's shows her particular talent of shooting ping pong balls out of her vagina. You sure as fucking Hell ain't gonna get Stewart or Fanning doing that shit any time soon. The Runaway's sounds like the type of movie that Drew Barrymore would be involved in given her apparent fondness for Cherie. In the Charlie's Angels Full Throttle commentary, Barrymore revealed that she had her hair, at one point in the movie, stylised after Currie's. The only interesting thing that can be said about Currie's life was that she played the mouthless sister of Anthony in the Twilight Zone movie and that she co-starred in Foxes (1980) with Jodie Foster and that the movie was Adrian Lyne
's feature debut before he hit the big time with Flashdance and Fatal Attraction. -
I'll see this for some good 80s cheese, but I'm not expecting anything more than going through the motions the reviewer mentions.
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this might be a boner-epic
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dammit
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I'm pretty sure that it has already been mentioned on this site that the other band members don't really feature because they didn't want to be featured.
Anyway, I'll see this because Kim Fowley was an interesting character and I find Kristen Stewart to be most engaging in all manner of ways. She certainly deserves more challenging roles than that Twilight nonsense. -
Based on her performances in films like Into The Wild and Adventureland i've thought of Stewart as pretty good anyway - although i haven't seen and don't intend to the Twilight movies, so maybe that brings her down. I loved that in London recently she made it pretty damn clear she finds the Twilight movies (and her clamouring fan-base from them) a bit embarrassing. Just made me like her more.
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it was funny, she came out wearing a very cute and short dress. she looked hot, i have no problem admitting it. but men in the audience were funny, there was a little hoot and holler goin on but it was so subdued, like they almost felt bad about it. twas funny. lol
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Or do they cheat and just show the back of the head and imply they are kissing?
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i read an article where Kristin said due to Dakota's age she wasn't allowed to grope her but she doesnt say if anything else was held back.
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I've been saying for a few years now, before and during this whole TWILIGHT thing, that Kristin Stewart has enormous potential. You can see it when she speaks in real life and in her non genre work. She's got a "laconic intensity" that can produce serious fireworks with the right role. Good to see she's getting attention outside of those teen dramas that are bringing in the big money.
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runaways...1975 lady gaga...2010 would like to hear jett's take on how they had to fight off the jeers of "SHOW US YOUR TITS", and having to see a woman become a pop icon by doing just that
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Why does she always look so miserable? If she's such a great actress, can't she at least PRETEND that she is enjoying herself when selling her movies?
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now this is only based on the clips that i saw, but we see jett approaching fowley with the idea of starting an all girl band that isnt how it happened in 74, fowley put out an ad for an all girl band...he got no takers in 75, he was approached kari krome, who had written a bunch of songs fowley liked the songs, but kari wouldnt part with them, unless they were played by a girl band her age kari introduced fowley to jett, who then had brown streaked hair, and wore paisley
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I expected Fanning to be the show-stealer and Stewart to be her usual understated self. I want to see this if she really comes out of her shell.
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Cherie's identical twin sister who went on the road with them to Japan and more than likely doubled for her onstage for some of the tour dates because she was too burnt out. That would have been cool doing Parent Trap shit with Dakota in both parts. I'm guessing they also left out the fact that Sandy West the drummer was actually the one who founded the group with Joan Jett. After it's disolution Sandy went on to be an enforcer for loan sharks who actually broke peoples arms and sadly dies of cancer in 2006. That and the Japan stuff. Japan was pretty much the death of The Runaways because the Japanese fetishized them to death while the rest of the world put them in a box marked irrelevant once Debbie Harry showed up.
I know this movie is weak more than anything because the version of Cherry Bomb is so lousy. It doesn't even sound like 70's rock(punk or other wise). I could swear she actually sounds auto tuned.
See for yourself how bad they fucked this up.
Here's the real deal in Japan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMDn6V7ZLhE
Here's the shit they wasted a million dollars budget on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzAq7S8o9H0
I mean Dakota looks hot as shit but still. -
jackie fox's suicide attempt
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Not about Joan Jett, still sounds interesting.
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Mar 15, 2010 9:54:55 PM CDT
Fanning and Shannon are getting rave reviews everywhere else.
by sighborg
Stewart's getting good reviews but Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon are getting amazing reviews every where but here. Especially Shannon.
Makes me question the credibility of this review. -
Kristen Stewart is a terrific actress. I think all the "Stewart sucks" backlash is a little bit like what we saw with DiCaprio after titanic. There was a period of time where the word of mouth on Leonardo was terrible. It's unfortunate that one Titanic can make people forget The Basketball Diaries. The world has come around again now, though -- and it will with "the Twilight generation;" Ten years from now Stewart and Fanning will probably both have at least one Oscar. That's the Mono guarantee.
I hate Twilight as much as anybody.
By the way, I read the screenplay for this movie last year, and it wasn't very good. I'll still watch the movie, though.
Now I have some advice for Kristen Stewart's handlers: Never intentionally put this girl in the public eye (outside of her movie roles). Let her do her thing. Let her get stoned, travel Europe, learn to surf -- whatever. But keep her off the television. She doesn't want to be there. No interviews, no presenting awards -- just stop it. She is clearly uncomfortable in public to the point that she will sabotage every appearance you give her. Let her be a recluse. She's far more charming being the girl who's never on television because she hates the spotlight and she doesn't want to be a star she just wants to be an artist... You know? That's a far more interesting person than the chick who shows up on Letterman and won't answer his questions and keeps looking at somebody off stage and who goes on award shows and monotones through her banter. She comes across as charmless. If you want this girl to have a long career, let her be a mystery.
Memo to Kristen Stewart: They work for you. You don't work for them. Quit being a dopey kid who does whatever she's told. -
yes, the reviews of the acting are very good, however, the movie as a whole is not getting great reviews...nor is the direction
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..."breaking all the rules while finding out who they are."? Love that quote from Harry's review.
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I should have made it clearer in my review -- Shannon is very funny as Fowley. I personally just felt the role needed to be less funny and more scary as the plot unfolded, and I never got that out of Shannon's performance.
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Shocked they haven't made that yet.
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it's all for the better i suppose.
I can't see Y:the last man as a single film. -
Stewart knocked it out of the fucking park in every way. If the Academy Awards weren't a year away, she'd be a shoe in for a supporting nom. Her Joan Jett was so great, I just cannot get over it. You add this to an always dependable Fanning who delivers a STUNNING performance and Shannon who put the cherry on top, literally. This film is so much better than some on this site have given credit for. Do not miss this movie. It is not what you think so do not dismiss it. It fires on all six and does not relent. I hope the director's cut is an hour longer. I did not want this movie to end. Damn, this made my day. I'm definitely going back to see this again. Terrific film that does not shy away from language, nudity, drug use, lesbianism and good old fashioned sex, drugs and Rock & Roll.
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#1. As Joanie Larkin shops for clothing, the proprietor of the store tells her she's in the wrong section and that the girls' stuff is over there. Joanie points to a punk rocker at the counter and says "I want what he's wearing." Cut to Joan Jett emerging from the store clad in black leather and studs up and down. She runs down the street like Superman. #2. Young Cherie Currie enters the high school talent contest dressed and made-up like David Bowie, sings one of his songs and flips a two fisted bird to the dazed audience when she's done. #3. Kim Fowley brings stunt hecklers to abuse the band before their first gig, and they proceed to throw bottles and dog shit on the girls until they learn to fight back. #4. Joan Jett drops her leather pants and pisses on the headliner's guitar after sneaking into his better dressing room with better food. #5. Cherie becomes mesmerized by Joan's performance at the roller boogie and with a slow burn takes her mouth full of toke as a prelude to a night of sexual awakening. The shot is one of the more beautiful I have ever seen committed to celluloid, or digital. #6. Japanese photographers convince Cherie to pose in her black panties and platforms for press kit photos in her back yard. Her grandmother sees this and proceeds to beat the men with her cane. #7. Lita Ford tears into Cherie for taking the spotlight and looks great doing it. Joan defends Cherie, but moreover, asserts herself as a force to be reckoned with and the real powerhouse behind the band. #8. The entire band's performance of "Cherry Bomb" in Japan. It is perfect and electrifying. Dakota really brings it. #9. Joan's rise, like the mythological Phoenix from the fire and ash. As she dons the hot pink blazer, "I love Rock & Roll" and "Crimson and Clover" ensue. There are many, many more great moments in this incredible film. Oh, and Cherie's sister is played by Elvis Presley's granddaughter.
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No, I am not a plant. I've been posting on this site since dirt and Harry can prove it. I copied my post to the various sections involving this film, but only on this site. People usually don't go back to old line items, so I wanted to make sure they read my review and at least considered seeing the film. Many have written it off unfairly. If it's not your cup of tea, fine. My list of scenes will give you a good idea of what is there and what is not. It's a rock bio pic yes, but some are better than others and I'm a fan of this one in particular.
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