Joan Jett, lest you forget, has rocked amongst us - many times.Tough number? You bet. She played the rebel in an era before girls played electric guitars. Despite her leather and chains, she had a vulnerable side. My notebook scared her. It was as if rebellion had been thrust upon her, rather than avidly embraced.
The surprising thing about the new movie "The Runaways," which sneaked under the radar into the Regal Columbus theater in the Pembroke area of Virginia Beach, is that it is not really about Joan Jett. She may now be the most famous member of the somewhat-forgotten all-girl rock band called The Runaways, but it is Cherie Currie, the blond lead singer, who is the subject of the film.
Cherie is described, somewhat convincingly, as a mixture of David Bowie and Brigitte Bardot. "The Runaways" is replete with all the usual cliches of rock-star bio movies. But Dakota Fanning steals the movie and, in the process, makes her official crossover to adult roles.
Fanning is a thing of wonder and has been since age 10, maybe before. Based on a series of performances, I'd say she is the best child actress in modern movie history. (I'd be willing to listen to arguments but am unlikely to be convinced otherwise.) Amazingly, her precociousness was never grating or abrasive. She was a smart kid who now is a careful, committed actress.
She co-starred with, and stole films from, superstars like Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington. She once knitted a wedding present for Cruise while talking to me. I'll never forget the time Dakota undertook to convince me that her screams in "When Worlds Collide" were her own, and not dubbed.
"I do my own screaming," the plucky moppet proclaimed, and let loose with a shriek. Security guards came running, guns drawn. Magnanimously, she prevented my arrest.
"The Runaways" suggests that if she wants adult stardom, she can have it.
"This isn't about women's lib. It's about women's libido," the guitarists claim as, spearheaded by Jett, The Runaways follow the standard rock bio route. Rebellion. Signed by a big company. Fan worship, particularly in Japan. The requisite lesbian scene. Drugged out. Somebody hits bottom. We fade out with either renewed hope or tragic burnout, depending on how arty the movie wants to be.
Ho-hum. Seen all that before.
What makes "Runaways" worthwhile is Fanning's performance, plus a rugged outing by Michael Shannon as a sadistic, smart rock 'n' roll coach who teaches the girls how to get tough with their audience. His character, Kim Fowley (based on a real-life person who later worked with Kiss and others) teaches us a good deal about rock marketing, as opposed to the simple beat. Those are riveting scenes.
Kristen Stewart plays Jett and gets top billing by way of her continuing (will it ever end?) vampire romance in the "Twilight" series. Stewart works her one-note range, the suggestion that she doesn't care, to imply that she's writing off this role, and us. She seems content to watch Fanning steal the movie. Since Jett herself is one of the producers, we assume the emphasis is intended. Stewart gets a turnaround in the next "Twilight" film in which she stars, with Fanning in a small role.
Jett's determination is largely offscreen. Turned down by more than 20 recording companies, her "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" still became a No. 1 hit. Currie went on to appear in a classic teen movie called "Foxes" with Jodie Foster and now, we are told, is a "chain-saw artist" in the San Francisco area. That seems a likely occupation for a faded rock star.
The film's most poignant musical moment comes from the revival of Don McLean's hymn to the death of Vincent Van Gogh called "Vincent" (or "Starry, Starry Night"). It doesn't have a beat, but it has meaning.
The reverse might be said of the movie "The Runaways," but still, the performances and the energy keep us interested.
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~Robstenfan
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