gwynnega

I went to see the Runaways movie yesterday (in one of the tiny little screening rooms at the Los Feliz 3 that a friend of mine calls a "shoeplex"). It was WAY better than I'd expected. After spending so much imaginative time in the 1975-76 of New York City (i.e., writing the Jo book), it was a delight for me to spend a couple of hours in the 1975-76 I know best: 1975-76 Los Angeles (and more specifically, the San Fernando Valley, which is where I grew up). The movie nails the look of the time and place. There was only one line that threw me out of the film. Sandy West mentions "a party on the south side," and I immediately thought, Whoever wrote this screenplay is not from LA, because we don't say south side, we say South Bay. (Sure enough, the screenwriter's Canadian.)

I was surprised at how completely Kristen Stewart disappeared into the role of Joan Jett. The makeup, hair and costuming had a lot to do with that, but she also seemed to be having a marvelous time with the role (and getting to play a swaggering teenage rock star had to be a real kick after moping through the Twilight films). There are a lot of the original Runaways recordings in the film, and what's recreated by Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning etc. doesn't sound jarringly different from the original stuff. The film drags a bit towards the end, as the predictable rock movie cliches (drugs, egos, etc.) are put through their paces, but overall it's damn good.

Now I just wish someone would make a movie about Fanny, the all-female rock'n'roll band who blazed that trail BEFORE the Runaways...