Guest Blogger: Kendal K1

The 2010 movie The Runaways is based upon a real life story of the first successful rock band with all women members. Despite the fact that this movie is based upon this band’s journey to success, the two main characters in this story are Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. Throughout the movie we see these two characters experience a roller coaster of emotions together and see where life leads them. Kristen Stewart, who plays Joan Jett, did an amazing job. She realized how important this character was to her and changed her appearance for the role by cutting her hair to be similar to how the character’s was at the point in time. Dakota Fanning, who played Cherie Currie, also did a really great job. Even though her character had a very different lifestyle in comparison to her own, she was able to pull off the emotions that her character must have felt and reenacted difficult scenes that are mostly likely not similar to her own experiences. Joan Jett is played as a determined young teenager who wants to start an all-girl rock band. She is the person who talks to the agent Kim Fowley to get the band started and tries her hardest to keep them together despite the difficulties they must face. Cherie Currie starts as a somewhat naïve teenager who is made the singer in the band. She ends up falling onto the wrong side of the industry and has to pull herself out despite the hard addictions she got herself into. I believe the theme in this movie is that you should follow your dreams even if it a difficult path. In Roger Ebert’s review of The Runaways he talks about how the script itself isn’t what makes the movie good and then says: “Its interest comes from Shannon's fierce and sadistic training scenes as Kim Fowley, and from the intrinsic qualities of the performances by Stewart and Fanning, who bring more to their characters than the script provides.” I would have to agree because I feel each actor brought their character to life. Having not known much about Joan Jett or Cherie Currie I felt Kristen and Dakota did an amazing job portraying their character’s past personality. Also, the other characters, despite being minor, had a major part in the story telling because of their acting. Overall, I believe that The Runaways is definitely worth the time because its actors are able to tell the story well.