Product ReviewsThe Runaways (DVD, 2010)

The Runaways dvd movie

Interesting, true to life story. Couldn’t stop watching from beginning until end.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: second.sale

The Runaways

Very disappointed in the horrible language (every other word being the F bomb) and sexual content! Not one to watch with younger individuals. My 15 year old daughter was excited to watch it...I was horrified!!! Not a feel good family movie, at all!!!!!!
***Lots of smoking, drinking, drugs, suggestiveness, sex, disrespect, & HORRID language!!!Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: basemntchik

It's Been Done, But Stewart & Fanning Made it Fresh!

This was a good movie. I really liked to see Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning finally playing characters that were women, not girls. And I think they both did a killer job. I really believed Kristen as Jett, and I am fans of both women. She really got the Joan Jett swagger down, and I loved her sneering rebelliousness throughout the movie. She really made me feel like she could kick my ass, despite her size and weight! It made me want to go out and buy my own electric guitar!

But this story has been told over and over and over. It's the classic story of the fast rise to fame and then the equally fast fall because of sex, drugs and rock and roll. I've seen it in Ray, I've seen it in Walk the Line, and I've seen it in a billion other movies about bands. If it weren't for the performances by Stewart and Fanning, I'd have said leave it, you don't need to watch it. But I honestly think that it's worth seeing because of their portrayals of two really different characters. And also, you have to see Dakota Fanning do Cherri Currie's singing, it's almost identical and I was so impressed! She sang "Cherry Bomb" in one scene and I'd have sworn it was Currie's voice had I not read that she did her own singing. Fanning actually spent some time with Currie getting her voice down, and she nailed it!

I feel like watching these two young actresses come of age in this movie is worth seeing it. You'll never really look at them the same, and if you're like me, you'll walk away with even more respect for them. I love that they were chosen for this film, and I can't see what's next for them both (and I don't mean Twilight). . .Read full review...

"Worth a look" bio of the band's singer

The Runaways was a mid- to late-70s American rock band consisting solely of mid-teen girls. While never really that successful in the States, the band was actually huge in Japan. Contrary to the movie's title, though, the film is more about the band's singer, Cherie Currie, & her relationship/friendship with bandmate Joan Jett, than the band itself. Which is a shame because while their story is interesting, their 3 bandmates are mainly relegated to the background rather than actively included in this film titled after the band.

While their drummer, unfortunately, died a few years ago, the remaining bandmates would find fame in their own right. Lead guitarist Lita Ford would go on to a succcesful solo career, while their earliest bassist (Micki Steele) would find success with fellow girl group The Bangles in the mid-80s. The bass slot would prove a revolving door, & the experience was, apparently, sufficiently bad enough for the bass player who experienced the band's greatest success to threatened to sue if her name was used in the movie. Thus the bass player in the movie is actually a fictional character! The greatest indication that the film was made expressly to highlight Cherie & Joan comes at the end of the film when its revealed what became to the 2 of them while not a word is mentioned of the remaining bandmates.

Overall, the film is a good story of 2 girls who sought the fame of rock & roll, yet only one would continue after it to this day. Definitely worth checking out, although a truer account of _the band's_ story is to be found in the documentary "Edgeplay - A Film About The Runaways". In that film, all the ex-Runaways, minus Joan, took part.Read full review...

Better than average bio of Joan Jett!

Great movie based on facts. Very good performances by Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning!

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: second.sale

Punk History

A good movie till all the drama starts with Cherie Currie...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: second.sale

The Runaways DVD

Too bad this movie didn't make it to more theaters; I didn't get to see it until the DVD was released. Great performances, both acting and singing, by Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Curry. The rest of the cast was solid, and the feel of time and place (the mid-70's) was convincing. The soundtrack versions of "Cherry Bomb" as sung by Fanning and "Queens of Noise" as performed by Stewart and Fanning certainly hold up well in comparison to the originals by the Runaways. I felt the movie was an honest attempt to portray the Runaways phenomenon for what it really was--a group of teenage girls being turned loose in the seamy world of the LA music scene in an era that wasn't quite ready to fully embrace a hard-rocking girl band. Predictably, the volatile mixture of youth, sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll ultimately led to a flame-out by Curry, although the band continued on another three years after she departed from the group. Joan Jett, as everybody knows, went on to a solo career and is still an iconic figure in her own right.Read full review...

Druggie Rock film

The thing is I thought maybe this group was well know, but it was really only well known in Asia. We all know who Joan Jett is, and I knew who Lita Ford was because she had an album out in the 80's. I had no clue who the rest of the people were, but I guess the only thing about the movie is this is where Joan Jett got her start. I also didn't know she was that gay. It's pretty obvious in this movie though, which I really didn't want to see acted out. Gross>>> Everything else was okay, but it wasn't that great. If I were Kristen Stewert I would have wore a wig for this role rather than getting an actual mullet. I would have kept my hair pretty for Twilight instead of wearing a stupid wig for the more important film.Read full review...

Hummm...Kristen did a fine job just not what I was expecting in the plot

I love Kristen Stewart's acting since the Twilight films began but I don't know about this one... I was not aware of Joan Jett's sexual preferences so I was a bit surprised and a little more disappointed that Kristen Stewart chose this type of film just for that reason. Not that the acting was bad or the story not interesting...just not what I thought I was going to see. Hard to imagine her with anyone other than Rob Pattinson right now. I hate to give an average rating on the film since it probably isn't too bad...just not for me.Read full review...

Above Average Movie

I saw this movie when it first came out in theaters. It was in limited release. I had heard the controversy around Dakota Fanning being in such a taboo role. The film really delivers an amazing VH1'esque story that makes Behind The Music a thing of the past. This, along with Oliver Stone's "The Doors" bio flick are easily two of my favorite music bio movies. I recommend both films, as well as the 2007 Film "Notorious".Read full review...