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Trust Weighted
OK
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17Trust Points
BrianSez's Review
Summary - OK 2.5
Girl-band in the 70’s – that’s what made Joan Jett so cool. Joan donned the black hair and leather and kicked off the prequel to her eventually famous band the Blackhearts. The focus of this movie is that history in the Runaways that led up to her most famous work. The movie didn’t start getting good until the music started playing and the nostalgia of the 70’s rock-party scene started inspiring nostalgia. The movie was better at that than it was on focusing on character drama and the turmoil of the band members.
Acting - OK 2.5
Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie: this was definitely the mainstays of the film. Of the two, Dakota shows more range and acting maturity, but both did great given the script they had. Michael Shannon also does a great job as the obsessed band manager who trains them on how to toughen up and sell what the crowd wants to buy: sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
Male Stars - OK 2.5
Female Stars - OK 2.5
Female Costars - OK 2.5
Male Costars - OK 2.5
Film - Barely OK 2.0
I found that the movie lost my attention whenever the focus wasn’t on the music or the music-scene itself. The writing just wasn’t gripping enough. However, when the movie focused on the the band, it was more entertaining to me. Some scenes of drug use, sex, and lewd behavior didn’t really add value to the film – whether or not they actually happened.