In 1975, Joan Jett (Kirsten Stewart) plays rhythm guitar and wants to start her own hard-rock band. At that time, such a thing was unheard of since rock 'n' roll was a male domain. Jett meets songwriter and producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), who is always on the lookout for something different; when he encounters Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning), he immediately realizes that she will be the draw for the group with her Bardot-like face and body. Currie shows up at the audition ready to sing Peggy Lee's "Fever," but Fowley changes the song to "Cherry Bomb," a kick-out-the-jams rocker. Currie desperately wants to escape home which she shares with her dutiful sister Marie (Riley Keough) and her mother (Tatum O'Neal), who is moving in with a lover overseas. Currie's father (Brett Cullen) is an alcoholic.
The band expands and, after much coaching, Fowley has them ready for their first gig. As expected, the Runaways are jeered by the crowd and leave the stage being pelted by objects. Despite the widespread feeling that "chicks can't rock," the Runaways persevere and end up on the road playing small venues. Jett doesn’t seem to mind that all the media attention is focused on Currie, but other members of the band don't like it at all.
As in so many other musical bio-pictures, the pressures of the road and drugs soon take their toll on the band. In addition, the authoritarian nature of Fowley's shepherding of their brief career is too much for these teenage girls. They land a record contract and fly to Japan for a concert where they are greeted by adoring fans who react to them as if they were the Beatles.
The Runaways is based on the book Neon Angel: The Cherrie Currie Story by Cherrie Currie. Writer and director Floria Sigismondi has fashioned a spunky music-based bio-picture with three intriguing performances by Kristen Stewart as the single-minded rocker Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning as the singer who realizes that she's in over her head, and Michael Shannon as their over-the-top and flamboyant producer.
In an interview, Joan Jett once said: "I hope one day people don't look at women like they're out of their minds when they want to pick up an instrument and play. And I think we're getting a lot closer to that." For that accomplishment alone, The Runaways is worth seeing.
