Friday, January 7, 2011

It Isn't Easy To Runaway From Your Career


“The Runaways” is advertised as being a lot of things. It is supposedly the story of the rise and fall of the first all-girl rock group. It is said to be an inspiration for young women to follow their hearts and defy the standards of society. It is allegedly a period piece, dramatizing life as a teen in California’s 1970s music scene. It is publicized as the movie where “Twilight” costars Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart share a kiss. Yet, in much the same way that the real Runaways defied their origins as an advertising gimmick of sorts, all of the previously mentioned elements play but a small role in the 2010 film, titled after the ‘70s rock band.

And that is the first misleader. Of the five members of the band, three are all but ignored and one is written as a fictional stand-in with no lines, due to a legal battle involving her real-life counterpart. Instead, attention is directed toward the personal lives of guitarist Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and singer Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning), both of whom were in their teens when they played with the Runaways.

Currie is a bleach-blonde California girl, complete with bell-bottoms and a love of David Bowie. Her parents are divorced and her father is an alcoholic. She doesn’t fit in at school and seeks to escape her suburban hell by hanging out in dingy dance clubs. It is there that she meets the young, leather-clad Joan Jett, a female electric guitarist with a black guitar pick and her own interpretation of “On top of Old Smokey”. The two become united with the eccentric record producer, Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) through the notion of starting an all-girl rock group. The rest of the musicians seem to materialize out of thin air and before too long the band is on the road to stardom in a station wagon stuffed with drugs, alcohol, and hormones.

Due to their popularity with “Twilight’” fans, Stewart and Fanning’s turn towards more risqué material was a guaranteed audience draw for many of the same reasons that the Runaways became a big hit. Not surprisingly, the actresses’ maturity levels appear to be leaps and bounds ahead of the media’s. I have not seen the “Twilight” films, but if Stewart’s performance as Joan Jett is overshadowed by their fame, it will truly be an infamy. She is not a great actress, but rather a great chameleon. Her body’s actions transform her into a detailed and physically perfect replica of Joan Jett, even if the script doesn’t allow for much development beyond that.

Fanning is the polar opposite of Stewart. Where Stewart appears hunched, bored, and dumbfounded when confronted with her own celebrity, Fanning glows with confidence. Her “Cherie” is not a carbon copy of the singer, but rather her own interpretation of the person who would have developed out of Cherie's life circumstances. Fanning shows wisdom by taking creative liberty with the unsubstantial material she is presented with and using it to create a relatable character.

In “The Runaways”, much attention is paid to Currie’s emotional instability when it comes to dealing with fame. She passes out repeatedly, steals drugs from her sick father, and eventually winds up folding linens in a wedding shop after leaving the band. But no amount of drugs or drama can falter Jett’s thirst for music. Even while in a hazy stupor during a party, she still manages to show a girl the correct way to strum a guitar. It is moments like these that define what “The Runaways” is all about. It is a movie about shaping your career. About creating a life based upon your passions, not on running away from your insecurities. Unfortunately, many young celebrities make decisions based upon the latter and end up destroyed by their profession. Joan Jett defied this scenario and went on to become one of the greats in her medium. I can see Fanning following in her footsteps.

14 comments:

  1. So did you find that Kristen Stewart was able to get the physicality of Joan Jett, but for the most part had the dead, vapid eyes and expressions of the same girl who spent three movies trying to remember to breathe AND decide between a vampire and a werewolf?

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  2. Exactly. I honestly don't know why she is an actress. She seems to hate Twilight just as much as the next person. And has said repeatedly that she would have quit "The Runaways" if Joan Jett hadn't been holding her hand throughout the whole process. True, if you squint your eyes a little she and Joan Jett's 15 year old self share a striking resemblance. But if she doesn't get into a line of work that she can handle with a little more enthusiasm, I fear she will bare a striking resemblance to Cherie Currie during her post-runaways self- confidence meltdown.

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  3. I can see how an actor's life might burn out a person. Particularly if your big break comes in the form of a role that has millions of screaming fans, it would be a jarring and sudden change from your previous mode of existence, vs. the sort of slow-build most actors experience. I think I would be more likely to sympathize than blame Stewart if she retreated from the acting life, celebrity can burn a person out bright and fast.

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  4. I took one look at this movie and saw that stewert and fanning were playing jett and currie, and I thought, you've got to be kidding me.
    you should review the twilight movies, bahaha.

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  5. I think that Stewart proved that she can be better than that-actress-who-played-in-the-Twilight-Saga, although her acting seemed still reserves and stiff. Generally, I liked the film, although sometimes it was boring.

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  6. M.A.- I actually hate to see Stewart as an actress, not because she is particularly bad at it, but because she is obviously not cut out to be a celebrity. Or at least the kind of celebrity whose fans are primarily between 9 and 15. I like her rawness but she doesn't seem able to use that as an advantage in her work. I would imagine it is especially hard for her since she plays Bella Goose (or whatever) and everyone with a Twilight fetish is trying to superimpose the plot on her life (i.e. Robert Pattinson is madly in love with her). I hope she can use the intellect that she obviously possesses to do something that she actually enjoys.

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  7. R.- I know. I think that is what everyone thought (in much the same way that people in the '70s thought "you've got to be kidding me" when they saw a bunch of teenage girls playing rock music). I was extremely surprised to see that they actually did a good job.
    Aw... do I have to review the Twilight movies? That means that I would have to watch them first. Ugh.

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  8. L.K.- That's exactly what drives me crazy about Stewart. She has such a rawness about her but is (I think) camera shy. Acting just doesn't seem to be her cup of tea.
    What parts did you find boring?

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  9. I'd love to see what you have to say about twilight... hah :D

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  10. Yes, i have to agree with you about Kristin Stewarts acting. I think she is extremely shy, and if she bit picked/bit her lip one more time on the People's Awards, i was going to call her!She seems to like the glory, as she shows up for everything, but she hides behind her co-stars.

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  11. Louise,
    I didn't catch the peoples choice awards. I think Stewart has all this fame and she doesn't know what to do with it. Did she win anything?

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  12. Rabbit,
    Grrrrr. I'll see what I can do.

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  13. Ooh ... makes you wonder if your fans love you, or are gluttons for YOUR punishment.

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  14. N.M- You make an excellent (if grisly) point.

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