Runaways

Theatrical Release Date: 2010 03 19 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 043396355194

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Not For Children, Profanity, Drug Content, Youth Substance Use]

Summary: The story of the groundbreaking '70s female rock group the Runaways is recounted in this River Road Entertainment production focusing on the duo of guitarist/vocalist Joan Jett (portrayed by Twilight's Kristen Stewart) and lead vocalist/keyboardist Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) as they navigate a rocky road of touring and record label woes under the malevolent eye of abusive manager Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) during their teen years. Acclaimed video artist Floria Sigismondi directs from her own script, with Scout Taylor-Compton co-starring as guitarist Lita Ford. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Film Presented – Sundance Film Festival Film Presented – SXSW

Features: Go on the road with the runaways with a rockin' commentary with Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning and a behind-the-scenes look at making the film

Runaways

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 07/20/2010

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DHMA null

Runtime: 106 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Region: Blu-ray region A (North America, Central America, South America, Japan, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia)

Cammila Collar

If you're planning to see the 2010 biopic The Runaways out of a pre-existing interest in the titular '70s all-girl rock band, then there's a good chance that you're also coming in with some concerns about casting. Can angsty Twilight teen Kristen Stewart really handle playing the original badass rock chick Joan Jett? Are we really supposed to buy the unnervingly articulate child star Dakota Fanning as jailbait bombshell Cherie Currie? Seeing as how the film is based on Currie's memoir, and focuses for the most part on her and Jett's friendship (as well as their semi-witting roles as commercially exploited teenagers/bird-flipping feminist pioneers in a male-dominated industry), there's a lot riding on the performances of the two leads. Well you can breathe a sigh of relief, because Stewart and Fanning both hit it out of the park. Starting with some traditional background info on Currie and Jett, the movie walks us through the basics of life as a latchkey rocker girl in the San Fernando Valley. Currie gets booed at the school talent show when she does a hyper-stylized tribute to David Bowie. A well-meaning music teacher tells Jett that "girls don't play electric guitar." In addition to being generally alienated people, both girls have co-dependent sisters and unreliable parents, so when they meet at a local club through flamboyant/creepy/possibly abusive record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), they click. Partly through Fowley's Svengali-ism and partly through their own creative alchemy, the girls team up with a handful of other high-school-aged female musicians and form the Runaways. On paper, the story is no different than any other musical biopic, complete with the eventual decent into the show-business pit of drugs, egos, and creative strife. But while the story may be a little unsurprising, the way it plays out onscreen is absolutely striking. The narrative is totally personal, telling the tale so intimately from Jett's and Currie's points-of-view that the visceral nature of the film is almost unnerving. And that's really to Stewart's and Fanning's credit; they both play extremely reticent characters, and yet they still evoke penetrating internal views into the young women's experiences and friendship. For a band so flashy and loud, it may be a more cerebral take on the Runaways than fans would have expected, but the film's emotive style serves the group well, telling the side of the story that we didn't already know. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Joan Jett  Executive Producer 
Art Linson  Producer 
Bill Pohlad  Producer 
John Linson  Producer 
Brian Young  Executive Producer 
Floria Sigismondi  Director 
Floria Sigismondi  Screenwriter 
Lillian Berlin  Composer (Music Score) 
Kenny Laguna  Executive Producer 
Kristen Stewart  Actor 
Dakota Fanning  Actor 
Michael Shannon  Actor 
Stella Maeve  Actor 
Scout Taylor-Compton  Actor 
Alia Shawkat  Actor 
Riley Keough  Actor 
Johnny Lewis  Actor 
Tatum O'Neal  Actor 
Brett Cullen  Actor 
Hannah Marks  Actor 
Jill Andre  Actor 
Ray Porter  Actor 
Kiaya Snow  Actor 
Allie Grant  Actor 
Shammy Dee  Actor 
Aaron Parker Mouser  Actor 
Peggy Stewart  Actor 
Robert Romanus  Actor 
Jay Thames  Actor 
Masami Kosaka  Actor 
Masayuki Yonezawa  Actor 
Hiroshi Sakata  Actor 
P.D. Mani  Actor 
Mickey Petralia  Actor 
Antonella Sigismondi  Actor 
Nick Eversman  Actor 
Keir O'Donnell  Actor 
Lisa Long  Actor 
J.R. Nutt  Actor 
Alejandro Patino  Actor 
John Konesky  Actor 
Tim Winters  Actor 
Adam Silver  Actor 
Koji Wada  Actor 

Country: USA