Review: Performances carry revisionist history of 'The Runaways'

“The Runaways”
Directed by: Floria Sigismondi
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Scout Taylor-Compton, Stella Maeve, Riley Keough, Tatum O'Neal, Brett Cullen
Rated: R

“The Runaways” has a narrow demographic, isn't particularly well directed
and at times comes across as a rough and rowdy “made for Lifetime TV” film.

But that doesn't mean it's not good, if you care about the subject.

The main stars – Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, who is an executive producer, Dakota Fanning, almost grown up and playing Cherie Currie, and Michael Shannon as the (by all accounts) crazy, obsessed record producer Kim Fowley – inhabit their roles mightily.
Stewart in particular has her portrayal of Jett so down, from facial mannerisms to swagger, that at times I forgot this wasn't a documentary.

The film is based on Currie's biography, “Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story,” and with Jett as a producer, it weighs heavily on those two characters with Fowley thrown in the mix for the crazy factor. To give Fowley credit, he was instrumental in getting the band up and running, noticed and successful, and he produced a number of bands before and after The Runaways.

“The Runaways” opens in 1975. Joan and Cherie are in high school and sometimes notice each other. Punk rock is just making an appearance, but artists such as David Bowie, Iggy and the Stooges and the MC5 have already set the stage for that movement. Suzie Quatro has already broken ground by being a tough female musician leading her own band.

Jett picks up a guitar and decides she's gonna play. Her idea is an all-girl band in a business dominated by men. And she believes in herself enough to be fearless. The type of rock 'n' roll she wanted to make is 90 percent attitude. And she understands that.

Fowley notices both Jett and Currie at a club and decides he's going to make them famous. But they have to do it his way – and he is relentless.

Jett and drummer Sandy West get together through Fowley. Bassist “Robin,” who is a composite of several early bass players in the band, comes along, creating the genesis of the what became The Runaways.  

Fowley adds Currie and guitarist Lita Ford and sets out to make them the “biggest thing since the Beatles.” That didn't happen, but they did get a lot of recognition, and rightly so. Jett is a great rock 'n' roll songwriter, the band was tight and focused, and Fowley, despite his madness, did know a thing or two about producing records and promoting his “products.”

The problem I had with the film was that it left out too many of the early details. Leaving out bassist Michael Steele, who went on to form The Bangles, and giving Ford little mention is disappointing. Ford was the best musician in the band and has forged a well respected solo career.  

The other big problem for me, a rock 'n' roll fan, is that the movie purports The Runaways to be "the first all-girl group to play their own instruments.”

There were a lot of female jazz bands, and when it comes to rock 'n roll, there was Goldie and the Gingerbreads in 1962 – the first “all-girl rock band" to get signed to a major label.

But The Runaways were in a place and time when music and attitudes were changing. Along with artists like Patti Smith and Deborah Harry, they changed the way women were perceived in rock 'n' roll.

Currie has acted in films, and Jett's story is well known. After recording her first album and finding that no record company would buy it, she started her own record label and sold millions of copies.

"The Runaways” isn't for everyone, and even those who are fans may have problems with its revisionism.

But it's got the swagger and the sway. If you, to quote Ms. Jett, “love rock 'n' roll,” you'll be happy.