Last night I went to see the coming of age biopic, The Runaways, starring Dakota Fanning as lead singer Cherie Currie, Kristen Stewart as rhythm guitarist Joan Jett, Scout Taylor-Compton as lead guitarist Lita Ford, Stella Maeve as drummer Sandy West and Alia Shawkat as fictional bassist Robin Robins.
I'd seen a few previews and thought it looked decent but was expecting Stewart's portrayal of Jett to somewhat bring down the film. Having only ever seen Stewart in Twilight, I assumed her acting ability only stretched so far. Stewart's portrayal of a character (well, real-life person) so completely opposite of Bella Swan made me realize that playing Bella, a character so 2-dimensional, passive, co-dependent and perpetually the damsel in distress, really limited what she could do with the role. I think my total dislike for Bella Swan really clouded my judgment in determining whether or not Stewart was a very good actress.
Kristen Stewart steps out of her normal angsty girl act and nails down the punk rock, hard as nails Jett, and Fanning is equally as good with her disconnected portrayal of Currie, who is dealing with the fact that she's abandoning her alcoholic father and her twin sister Marie (played as fraternal in the movie, although they were identical in real life) to embrace a life of rock and roll. It's not long before the girls are full-on in the swing of drugs while on the road, and Fanning and Stewart share an extremely intimate kiss on the floor of a skating rink before the camera swirls them up into a heavily implied sex scene, which is something the movie doesn't shy away from. We see Fowley having sex with some woman while on the phone, Currie having sex in a dressing room, and Jett teaching Sandy West how to masturbate ... to Farrah Fawcett.
One final note: Beware Twihards and Twi-Moms, this is not your sweet and innocent Bella. Kristen Stewart's Joan Jett pees on guitars, pops pills, snorts coke, and makes out with girls. Just a fair warning.
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