Review of The Runaways (2010) by John M — 28 Dec 2010

Holds your attention, but I'm still not sure that this is a story that needed to be told. Before Joan Jett really hit it big with the Blackhearts, she was in a group called The Runaways. This is their story, with Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as the lead singer Cherie Currie.

It's really weird seeing Dakota Fanning dressed all skimpy and scandalously, as she is only 16... yeah. There are two things that The Runaways really has going for it: 1. Michael Shannon as the producer.

He is great in this, but he already was one of my favorite actors and I have yet to see something that he isn't at least interesting in, and 2. the soundtrack. There's a lot of cool music from the 70's that is sure to get your foot tapping.

I'm not sure if it's the cameras that they used or if they shot it through a filter, but it looks like it was made in the 70's, which complements the music nicely. I thought that Kristen Stewart did a pretty good job as Joan Jett, talking the talk and walking the walk, and managing to lose that Twilight vibe about her.

All that said, there isn't a whole lot that happens in this movie outside of just hanging out with The Runaways, which is cool to a point, but there just isn't that much to tell about them. Is it absolutely imperative that you learn the story of The Runaways? No, but hey, you could find worse ways to pass your time.