Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning Rock Out 1970s Style in ‘The Runaways’

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – Joan Jett rocks and her 1975 roots are on display in a movie bio about her first band, “The Runaways.” Kristen Stewart portrays Jett and Dakota Fanning takes on the band’s troubled lead singer, Cherie Currie.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

The year was 1975 in greater Los Angeles, and Joan Marie Larkin, who had renamed herself Joan Jett (Stewart), was pestering anyone who would listen about her desire to rock. Along came producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon, chewing scenery), who took Jett’s idea and ran with it, actually going out and discovering female rockers for an all-girl bad ass line-up.

Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) was a 15-year old poseur, hanging out at the rock clubs. After Fowley spots her coquettishly vamping to the in-house band, he enlists her for a tryout with the fledging girl rockers. At her audition, Fowley begins his over-the-top intimidation of his charges, toughing them up for the rigors of crashing through rock’s glass ceiling. He even makes up a song on the spot for Currie, which becomes The Runaways signature hit, “Cherry Bomb.”

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The Runaways”

I Love Rock & Roll: Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning as Cherie and Alia Shawkat as Robin in ‘The Runaways’ Photo Credit: © Apparition

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The Runaways”