The Runaways

Release Date: April 8th, 2010
Genre: Biography / Drama

Stars: Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Michael Shannon

Synopsis: Based on the true story of the all girl rock band formed in the 70's called The Runaways.  Centers mostly on the relationship between singer Cherie Currie and Joan Jett during the rise and fall of the band.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot & Writing:      

The screenplay was based on a biography written by Cherie Currie so I don't know who gets the blame for this storyline that struggled terribly in being consistently interesting and appealing to an audience.

Acting:                            

Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett took tremendous steps forward from her progressively lame performances in the Twilight series and Dakota Fanning seemed to almost but not quite nail her take on Cherie Currie.  Michael Shannon as producer Kim Fowley seemed absurdley over the top and not quite believeable at times.

Originality:                 

No drastic deviations from the typical music biography formula.  If anything the director and producers failed to follow the formula closely enough which is by and large why this movie is not very good.

Overall:                          

This film had a solid and interesting story to tell and just seemed to fall short in every way imaginable.  The one saving grace occurs about half way through the movie when The Runaways are touring in Japan and perform the song "Cherry Bomb".  The music and cinema combine in the scene masterfully to create an exciting and enjoyable scene.  This film could have benefitted from more music, a bigger budget, and a better supporting cast.  Skip it unless you're a die hard Joan Jett and/or Runaways fan.

The Laugh Factor

Belly Laughs: 0

Chuckles: 0