"THE RUNAWAYS" ****4 STARS

 Aspiring Rock artists and music fans who think breaking into the music industry is glamorous must see the movie "The Runaways".  It's a coming of age story about the formation of "The Runaways", the first female rock band to hit the big time in the late 70's who performed in major arenas.Joan Jett and a group of teenage girls who lived outside Hollywood created the 5-member group which originally started out as a Punk Rock band.

The story is based on the tell-all memoir "Neon Angel" written by "The band's lead singer Cherie Currie who reflects on the ups and downs of their journey as young teenage girls trying to break into the rock music industry. Currie's book also sends a strong anti-drug message, warning teenagers about the ills of drugs and alcohol.   On her Press Tour in Detroit Currie characterized the experience as quote: " A nightmare living through those European Tours", but she was thrilled to join the group and believes becoming it's lead singer was her destiny.

Kristin Stewart and Dakota Fanning who play Joan Jett and Cherie Currie are transformed! They capture the essence of those characters during the band's meteoric rise and fall from 1975-1977.

The girls were 15 years old when they formed "The Runaways" and with the help of their wild and crazy manager Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), asked Currie (Fanning) to be their lead-singer.
He gave them a crash course in the real school of Rock where the girls were exposed to drugs,violence, sex and were manipulated into selling that tough Sex-Pistols image on stage. "The Runaways" proved they could hold their own as solid musicians and went on tours in the U.S. and  overseas with no adult supervision. The movie also depicts some of the sexist attitudes and out-right sabotage the girls received from some of the major male rock groups they opened for. Their first hit single "Cherry Bomb" received some notoriety in America which helped their tours hit major venues like Detroit's Cobo Hall where they opened for RUSH.

 
 "The Runaways" success reached it's peak in Japan where their first two albums were major hits. When the group finally arrived to perform in Japan the crowds were massive, reminiscent of Beatle-mania. That kind of mega-star fame was too much for the group to handle. Cherie's personal life fell apart, she was burned out from the hard rock star life and decided to leave the group once they returned to the U.S.

Joan Jett went on to form her own band while 
Cherie Currie reinvented herself in several fields as a drug counselor, physical trainer, chainsaw artist, and as a featured actress in several films including "Foxes"with Jodie Foster, "Wavelength" with David Carradine and "Parasite" with Demi Moore. "The Runaways" is an intimate look behind the scenes at a side of the rock industry you probably won't see, but we learn that it's not as glamorous as it seems, thanks to Cherie Currie's honest, unwavering account of the group's wild ride to Rock Star fame.

"The Runaways"

  Drama/(R)

  4 Stars