Courtesy of Apparition Films

There’s something overplayed about the life of rock stars. It seems they never learn from their reckless mistakes. Between the sex, drugs and rock “n’ roll, it’s easy to forsee what will happen to them. In the film “The Runaways,” the situation is no different from most cautionary films about a rising singer who loses control of her life.

It’s difficult for this film to be considered a biopic of The Runaways, as the whole story behind the original all-girl rock band concentrates solely on jailbait-age singer Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) and her relationship with bad-girl guitarist, Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart).

Currie is barely 15 years old when producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) invites her to the band mainly for her sex appeal. The audience doesn’t even see the entire rise and fall of The Runaways, just what appears to be a one-year snippet of how the band made it big, then began to deteriorate.

Director Floria Sigismondi doesn’t really do much to make this film any different from other cliché rock and pop icons who lived their lives in the fast lane. Nonetheless, she does excel at capturing the look of the decadent late “70s with neutral colors throughout the film, except for the radiating dark pinks and purples that appear when the girls go onstage to sing.

The saving grace for this film is that Fanning’s acting is superb as the naïve and unusual girl who transformed into a self-assured, sexy diva who trots around in silk stockings and a corset. “The Runaways” is based on Currie’s memoirs of the band, and playing the role of Currie looks incredibly demanding even from the audience’s point of view. It is somewhat uncomfortable knowing that child star Fanning is actually 15 years old. Watching her snort cocaine and flirt with her sexuality is nothing short of awkward. However, Fanning does make an impressive showing as she attempts to transition into more adult roles. She is convincing, and her angry singing was spot on to the actual band.

Stewart plays a convincing Jett, but the role of the jaded teenager is a familiar one for her. However sleazy, producer Fowley is by far one of the more interesting characters in the film, as he inspires the most laughs and gives the girls a real taste of how female rock stars were not socially accepted as real artists. He makes the girls practice in a cramped trailer and, in one scenario, he even has children openly throw trash at them as practice before dealing with a real crowd of hecklers. Fowley openly mocks and antagonizes the girls to the point that even the audience wants to throttle him.

Nonetheless, this is one of those types of movies where everything that happens is expected. The development of The Runaways was the most interesting and the singing from the actors was superb, but the storyline peaks and goes down once the band hits it big. “The Runaways” is worth viewing if individuals want a peek into what the band went through or forgot the side effects of living life on the wild side.

Movie: The Runaways
Distributed by: Apparation
Directed by: Floria Sigismondi
Release Date: April 9
Grade: C