Thursday, July 22, 2010

The Runaways (DVD)

The Runaways (2010) starring Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Scout Taylor-Compton, Alia Shawkat, Stella Maeve, Riley Keough. Set in the 1970s, this movie portrays the genesis and rise to fame of The Runaways, a real girl band of the era. Stewart plays guitarist Joan Jett, and Fanning is lead singer Cherie Currie. The girls have to fight the rock fans' bias against women, plus their own battles with substance abuse. It turns out to be pretty standard rock-band-makes-it-good-then-breaks-up fare, but with a feminine twist. Unfortunately, the subtitles are lousy. In a film saturated with music, the songs are not captioned. I know it can be done, because I've seen it done in other movies. If you're not already familiar with the music of the '70s, you'll be lost half the time. I was. Grade: B-

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