MOVIE: THE RUNAWAYS
This keenly anticipated bio-pic about the notorious 70s all-girl rock band headed by the original grrrl Joan Jett was directed by music video visionary Floria Sigismondi – and you can tell. While based on the spill-all tale of Cherie Currie, the “Ch-ch-cherry Bomb” and jailbait lead singer, all the juicy ‘we-were-actually-there’ bits I was hungering for are sadly swamped by the outfit changes and character clichés typical of a film clip. While Dakota Fanning is convincing as the messed-up teen Cherie, and Michael Shannon creepily electric as twisted record exec Kim Fowley, the grittiness, the grungey grrrl power is cheapened thanks to the hokey Charlies Angel-style makeover. Less montage, more movie please. (AB)
