If you go into "The Runaways" seeking a biopic that profiles Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning), you won´t find it. What you will encounter is a sex, drug and alcohol buffet fueling rock n´ roll manager Kim Fowley´s (Michael Shannon) desire to make money and Joan and Cherie´s desire to make it big in a traditionally male dominated profession.
You see, this Sony Pictures Home Entertainment release is not really about The Runaways as a band, and it is even less about Joan, Cherie and Kim as people. What "The Runaways" does more than anything else is show us lots and lots of moments where teenage girls are drinking, using drugs, swearing and exploring each other sexually.
I didn´t live through the 1970s, but history suggests it was a pretty turbulent time. Some found refuge in academia, others protested and many turned to old or new vices to help numb the bumpy road. In "The Runaways," we discover some turned to music, but in doing so also indulged in the so-called "lifestyle" such musicians apparently needed to have in order to be popular, sell records and make money. Make no mistake, I´m not judging, but rather exploring why the music industry seems to bring talent forward and simultaneously create an impending implosion for its gifted artists.
"The Runaways" opens with Cherie prepping a lip-sync to a David Bowie song for her school´s talent show. She appears possessed on stage and draws some unenthusiastic crowd reactions, yet wins first place. Joan, meanwhile, gets herself a new punk outfit and tries to take a guitar lesson from a teacher who tells her that girls don´t play electric guitars. Cherie´s desire is to perform, and Joan´s desire is to be taken seriously. The planets align when Joan spots Kim on his way into a local club. He connects her with drummer Sandy West (Stella Maeve) and tells them to practice.
Time passes, and after Kim hears an update, he decides the group needs an attractive blonde to help it gain traction. He returns to the club, spots Cherie, connects her with Joan and arranges what turns out to be a less than impressive audition. Kim and Joan both seem to have a thing for Cherie, however, and manage to convince Sandy and Lita Ford (Scout Taylor-Compton) to accept her.
Time passes, but The Runaways start to get more and more popular. Eventually, the group signs with Mercury Records and releases an album that soars with popularity. Things unravel when the group finds out Kim is pinching profits and that Cherie did a slutty photo shoot prior to a big trip overseas to Japan. Everyone objects to her over sexualizing the group, and Joan tells her that now their image will always be separate from their music. Cherie overdoses on drugs and returns to the United States, where the group ultimately goes its separate ways.
Rather than put the things this group should be know for (its music) at the forefront for all to soak up, "The Runaways" puts all seven deadly sins (gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, lust, envy and pride) on a silver platter and allows its characters to indulge. The music has its place, but it is sadly quite minimal if compared to the vices these young women exhibited throughout "The Runaways."
Thankfully, Stewart, Fanning and Shannon are all strong as leads. You could argue that "The Runaways" was a space for Stewart and Fanning to get away from being boxed in for their work on those "Twilight" films, or that thanks to the "Twilight" films they can´t even get away from one another in a rock n´ roll movie. This debate aside, Stewart fits the bill as a talented, cold and committed Joan Jett, while Fanning almost rewrites the dictionary definition on jailbait as she comes of age playing Cherie Currie. Shannon is just plain old bizarre, allowing his ability to make talent make money serve as an excuse for his unconventional behavior and lifestyle.
Fonte: DVD Town
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário