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The Runaways (2010 film)

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The Runaways
File:Runaways film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFloria Sigismondi
Written byFloria Sigismondi
Produced byBill Pohlad
Art Linson
John Linson
Joan Jett
Kenny Laguna
StarringDakota Fanning
Kristen Stewart
Stella Maeve
Scout Taylor-Compton
Michael Shannon
CinematographyBenoît Debie
Edited byRichard Chew
Music byLillian Berlin
Distributed byApparition (Theatrical)
Sony Pictures Entertainment (DVD)
Release dates
January 24, 2010 (Sundance)
March 19, 2010 (limited)
April 9, 2010 July 20, 2010 (DVD/BluRay)
Running time
106 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million
Box office$3,573,673[1]

The Runaways is a 2010 American biographical film about the 1970s all-girl rock band of the same name. The film was written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, who based the screenplay on the book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by the band's original lead vocalist Cherie Currie. Dakota Fanning plays Currie, Kristen Stewart plays rhythm guitarist and vocalist Joan Jett, and Michael Shannon plays record producer Kim Fowley. The film depicts the formation of the band in 1975 and focuses on the relationship between Currie and Jett until Currie's departure from the band.

Plot

The film opens with Cherie (Dakota Fanning) and her sister, Marie Currie (Riley Keough), as Cherie has just gotten her first period. They run into a public restroom and Marie gives Cherie her underwear to put on and Cherie fills it with toilet paper. Cherie puts on their mother's heels, saying "Mom never wore anything twice." Marie's older boyfriend, Derek (Brendan Sexton III), picks up the sisters from Marie's job at "Pup n' Fries." He and Marie make out in front of Cherie as she sits in the backseat of his car. Marie then announces to him that Cherie has gotten her period. Derek gets excited that she's officially a woman and thinks they should celebrate. Angry at her sister for telling, Cherie informs Derek that Marie is not wearing any underwear. Derek reaches over and touches Marie between her legs then reaches back and rubs Cherie's hair telling her he hopes that runs in the family.

Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) is in a clothing store looking around until the lady behind the counter asks her if she's actually going to buy something this time. Joan then walks over to the counter and dumps a bag full of coins onto the counter saying she wants "what he's wearing" - referring to the guy standing next to the counter wearing a leather outfit. Wearing her new clothes, Joan runs down the street and meets up with one of her friends next to a building. Joan excitedly tells her she's a glycerine queen and the "wild one."

Cherie is seen cutting her hair in a shag and putting on face makeup in an attempt to create a David Bowie-type look. Marie tells her she looks terrible but helps Cherie with her makeup anyway. The scene is accompanied by scenes of Joan huffing marijuana with her girlfriend. Her friend tells Joan that her brother said guys don't like tough girls, only the ones that are soft and flirty. Joan replies to this saying, He would say that, he's a pussy.

Cherie is seen wearing glittered platform shoes, face makeup, and a tight red costume lip-syncing David Bowie at the school talent show and is the target of paper balls, to which Cherie reacts by flipping off the crowd, but it's later found out that she won the talent show.

Joan Jett goes in for guitar lessons but the teacher refuses to teach her any rock songs and he tells her that girls don't play electric guitars. Joan gets annoyed and plugs her guitar into an amp and plays loudly, the sound echoing through the halls. She is then seen walking away from the building with her guitar case. Joan goes to her house and plays the guitar in her bathroom until she falls asleep on the floor.

Cherie is sitting at her kitchen table with a birthday cake in front of her. Her father calls her and she tells him she saved the best piece of cake for him but he tells Cherie that he's not going to be able to make it. They hang up after saying I love you to each other but Cherie still seems upset. After hanging up, she walks back over to the cake and puts out the last candle.

Joan is seen at a club watching Cherie fix her makeup in the bathroom mirror. Cherie looks at Joan for a second from the mirror and then leaves the bathroom, walking past Joan on her way to the dancefloor. Joan is then making out with a guy outside a club when she sees record producer, Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon). Joan approaches him and he doesn't seem interested until she talks about starting an all-girl rock band. Kim then introduces Joan to Sandy West (Stella Maeve), a drummer. Joan and Sandy become friends and start jamming and Kim is pleased with what he hears, telling them they're going to be bigger than The Beatles. Once they start practicing some more, Kim suggests that they recruit a hot blonde in the vein of Brigitte Bardot.

At a club, Kim and Joan look for hot blondes and discover Cherie. They tell her that they love her style, explained by Kim as "A little Bowie, a little Bardot, a look on your face that says I can kick the shit out of a truck driver." They then ask if she wants to be in a band and she accepts. Then they tell her to come audition in a trailer park in the valley. Kim seems particulary happy about the fact that she's only 15, making her jailbait.

Cherie learns the cover song of Suzie Quatro's "Fever" and goes to audition, however they're disappointed at the song. Instead, Kim kicks Cherie out of the trailer for a few minutes and with Joan, thinks of a song for Cherie to audition for, thus writing "Cherry Bomb". Cherie at first declines to sing some of the sexual lyrics to the song but realizes she has to when Kim opens the door to the trailer and tells her to go sell girl scout cookies, implying that she wouldn't be a part of the band if she didn't sing what they told her to. Cherie sings it and, after improving, is part of the band.

Marie and Cherie are sitting on the couch at their house while watching TV. Cherie is smoking a cigarette and Marie mocks her now that she's a "big rock star". They then realize their mom (Tatum O'Neal) has arrived home with her boyfriend Wolfgang and she tells them that she's moving to Indonesia with him so they can get married. Cherie is upset that her mom is leaving them and that they'll have to go live with their aunt and grandmother because of it.

The band continues to practice with Kim in the trailer. Kim doesn't think they're doing their best so he brings in youngs boys to throw garbage at them while they play so they'll try harder. Afterwards, they have their first gig for a party in someone's living room. Kim had them well prepared for guys grabbing at them and people throwing beer cans around. While they're playing, Kim is upstairs on the phone setting up tours overseas, even though he won't be going with them because he doesn't go on the road. The gig is ended by the sounds of cop sirens.

Cherie says goodbye to her family as she's getting ready to leave for the tour. While walking out to the car to join the rest of the band, she sees her dad's car parked with him passed out inside of it. Marie tells her to go and she would take care of it.

The band checks in at a hotel with only two beds in their room. They go hang out by the pool for a while. Sandy and Joan are then hanging out in the bathroom. Joan is sitting by the sink while Sandy is in the shower, trying to get herself off but can't. Joan tells her to use the showerhead and think about someone she has a crush on. When that doesn't work, Joan tells her to think about Farrah Fawcett which actually works for her.

Later Joan and Sandy are doing a soundcheck when two older guys who are in the headlining band unplug their amps and tell them their soundcheck is canceled. Sandy tries to fight one of them but Joan breaks it up.

Minutes before their first gig on the tour, Cherie is in a room with the band's roadie, Scottie, when they start making out with each other against the wall. Joan knocks on the door to use the bathroom but they ignore her. Desperate, Joan goes into the headliner's room with Sandy and pees on their guitar.

As Cherie, Joan, and Sandy get ready to go onstage, they take some pills and play the gig. Afterward, Joan calls Kim asking for more money for food but hangs up because he was in the middle of having sex.

The band continues on with their tour. After playing at a roller rink, Joan and Cherie start making out with each other and make their way back to their hotel room where they spend the night together. The next morning, Joan comes out of the bathroom after finishing a phone call. She wakes up Cherie and tells her that they got signed to Mercury Records and that they're leaving for Hollywood to start recording an album. The band continues practicing with Kim and he calls Cherie at home, telling her that a photographer is going to take pictures of her for a magazine and the rest of the band will get their pictures taken later.

Next, the band travels to Japan to play a concert. On the plane on the way there, Joan and Cherie do some drugs in the bathroom and flush the rest down the toilet. When they arrive in Japan, they're greeted by fans, all shouting Cherie's name.

While getting herself ready for the concert coming up, Cherie practices dancing in a corset and heels, which is what she decides that she will wear while performing. When the band goes out to dinner, they see themselves on the cover of a Japanese magazine, making them all very happy.

Right before Cherie goes onstage for the concert, she crushes pills with her heel and takes them off the ground. She then performs Cherry Bomb for thousands of screaming fans with the rest of the band. After their performance, Lita Ford (Scout Taylor-Compton) throws magazines at Cherie that has pictures of her, the same pictures that Kim said the rest of the girls would be involved in later. After an argument with Lita, Cherie, and Joan, crazy Japanese fans break through the window and chase the girls out of the building. Afterwards, Cherie overdoses in the hotel, collapses in an elevator and is sent to the hospital. Upon arrival home, Cherie's alcoholic father is passing out on his bed. Cherie takes his painkillers and her actions are seen by Marie.

At the studio recording their next album, Cherie has a breakdown over a magazine article and refuses to play, followed by Lita trash-talking her and Joan defending Cherie. After a very heated argument between the band and Kim, Cherie quits the band and leaves. Joan has a fit, throwing chairs and beer bottles against the glass. Cherie returns home while Joan continues playing and starts her own band, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Cherie is at a phone booth in a supermarket parking lot where she collapses again after she is refused alcohol at the check-out counter.

Cherie later gets herself back on track after being in jail. While at a job, she hears Joan's cover of "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" on the radio and calls the station, where Joan is visiting for interviews. After an awkward conversation between Joan, Cherie, and even the radio host, Rodney Bingenheimer (Keir O'Donnell), Cherie says her goodbyes and continues working, smiling when Joan's next song, "Crimson and Clover", comes on the radio.

Cast

Release

Apparition acquired distribution rights to The Runaways in December 2009.[3] It was slated to open nationwide March 19, 2010, in 1,400 theaters.[4] The film's world premiere took place on January 24, 2010, at the Sundance Film Festival.[5] Jett performed live in Park City the evening before the premiere and premiere night.[6] Its Hollywood premiere took place March 11 at the ArcLight Hollywood.[7] Its theatrical release in the United States began March 19.

Box office and home media

The Runaways opened in the United States on Friday, March 19, 2010, at 244 theaters.[1] Its opening weekend gross was $805,115—placing it at #18 at the box office—averaging $3,300 per theater,[1] and most of its audience that weekend were 25 or older.[8] Apparition changed their marketing strategy and began to target "older arthouse" demographics April 9, by which time The Runaways had grossed approximately $2 million.[9] It left theaters June 3 with a domestic gross of $3,573,653.[1] Variety reported that the film's underperformance at the box office could have been due to underfunded marketing and a failure to find an audience with either an age demographic that would remember the band or with fans of Stewart for her performance in Twilight (2008).[10]

The Runaways was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on July 20, 2010.

Critical reception

The film currently holds a "Fresh" rating of 65% on the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 132 reviews. The consensus given is "Viewers expecting an in-depth biopic will be disappointed, but The Runaways is as electric as the band's music, largely thanks to strong performances from Michael Shannon, Dakota Fanning, and Kristen Stewart."[11] It also holds a score of 65 out of 100 at Metacritic, based on 35 reviews.[12] Dennis Harvey of Variety gave the film a positive review, commenting that it "proves [to be a] conventionally enjoyable making-and-breaking-of-the-band saga" and goes on to compliment the cinematography and soundtrack.[13] David Edelstein of New York Magazine gave the film a less positive review, commenting that "since the music itself is secondary, there’s not a lot to this story," and adding "It’s Fanning’s movie: You can taste the ex–child actor’s relish for playing jailbait."[14] Mark Sells of The Oregon Herald was also less impressed, suggesting that the film "lacks an anarchistic punch - an authenticity and angst so distinctive of the band's rock n' roll revolution."[15] Time magazine praised the acting in the film, in particular the work of Dakota Fanning, stating that Fanning "turns in a performance of startling maturity", "seduces us utterly" and is "like a mini--Meryl Streep" [16]

Soundtrack

Untitled

Music from the Motion Picture The Runaways was released on March 23, 2010.[17]

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Roxy Roller"Nick Gilder2:49
2."The Wild One"Suzi Quatro2:51
3."It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (Live)MC55:13
4."Rebel Rebel"David Bowie4:31
5."Cherry Bomb"Dakota Fanning2:19
6."Hollywood"The Runaways2:58
7."California Paradise"Dakota Fanning2:59
8."You Drive Me Wild"The Runaways3:22
9."Queens of Noise"Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart3:13
10."Dead End Justice"Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning6:36
11."I Wanna Be Your Dog"The Stooges3:13
12."I Wanna Be Where the Boys Are" (Live in Japan)The Runaways2:57
13."Pretty Vacant"Sex Pistols3:17
14."Don't Abuse Me"Joan Jett3:37

The film also includes "Lady Grinning Soul" by David Bowie, "Fujiyama Mama" by Wanda Jackson, "Do You Wanna Touch Me" by Gary Glitter, "Gimme Danger" by Iggy & The Stooges, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Kristen Stewart also covers the Runaways' "I Love Playin' With Fire" in the film. The film included 34 credited songs[18], leaving 20 out of the official soundtrack and did not have an official composer.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Runaways (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  2. ^ Rebecca Davis (January 20, 2010). "The Insider - Alia Shawkat". Nylon. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
  3. ^ Jay Fernandez (December 14, 2009). "'The Runaways' finds a home at Apparition". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  4. ^ Gregg Kilday (January 14, 2010). "Apparition sets release date for 'Runaways'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  5. ^ "2010 Sundance Film Festival: The Runaways". Sundance Institute. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  6. ^ Sharon Swart and Pamela McClintock (January 25, 2010). "Avoiding slush puddles at Sundance". Variety. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  7. ^ Bill Higgins (March 15, 2010). "Jett set crowd in Hollywood". Variety. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  8. ^ Andrew Stewart (March 21, 2010). "'Runaways' nabs $800k in B.O. bow". Variety. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  9. ^ Andrew Stewart (April 9, 2010). "Box office's big nights". Variety. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  10. ^ Pamela McClintock and Gordon Cox (May 12, 2010). "Berney's exit a mark of indie uncertainty". Variety. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  11. ^ The Runaways at Rotten Tomatoes
  12. ^ "Runaways, The reviews at". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  13. ^ Dennis Harvey (2010-01-25). "The Runaways Review". Variety. Retrieved March 15, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ Edelstein, David (2010-03-07). "David Edelstein on 'The Runaways' and 'Green Zone' – New York Magazine Movie Review". Nymag.com. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  15. ^ Sells, Mark (2010-05-03). "The Reel Deal". oregonherald.com. {{cite web}}: Text "Movie Reviews by Mark Sells – The Runaways" ignored (help)
  16. ^ Mary Pols (2010-03-29). "'Runaways' Review: Dakota Fanning Seduces as Currie - TIME". Time. Retrieved April 12, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Daniel Kreps. ""The Runaways" Soundtrack: Stewart and Fanning, Plus Stooges, Bowie and More : Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  18. ^ http://www.what-song.com/movie/title.php?Title=Runaways,%20The
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