The Runaways

Starring:  Kristin Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon
Drama, Rated R

Kristin Stewart stars as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning stars as Cherie Currie in the story of the short lived hit teenage all girl band of the 70's called The Runaways.  The band came out of nowhere at a time when rock music was ruled by men.  Their rise to fame was unexpected and the film tells the story of the ups and downs that come along with that sudden popularity and living the rock star lifestyle.

• Loved it!!!  Kristin Steward and Dakota Fanning are a dynamic duo in this movie if I ever saw one.  They are both so captivating in their performances. 
• Fanning is so amazing I can't even put it into words.  Wasn't it just yesterday that she was a little girl on "I am Sam"?  Now she is all grown up and doing her first on screen kisses-one of them with a girl!  She has this amazing ability to really take on a character and make you believe it.  Fanning was gone and in her place I saw Cherie Currie-the rock star-and nothing else.
• Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) was obnoxious and ridiculous beyond belief.  Shannon did an excellent job playing this neurotic over the top character.
• I find it pretty amazing that this band was so young.  Currie was only 15 when the band got put together.  It seems like a more common trend now that superstars are barely teenagers but that wasn't the case so much back in the 70's.
• Another story about the pitfalls of super stardom but it was gritty, interesting and so well done that nothing about it felt like just another story.

5 STARS