Neon Angels: The Runaways Movie
Posted on Mar 19, 2010 @ 12:34PM - 1 comment
The new film The Runaways, opening in theaters today, tells the tale of five trailblazing female rockers who started the first seminal all-girl rock band in Los Angeles in the mid-‘70s. Led by guitarist Joan Jett and fronted by vixen-singer Cherie Currie, The Runaways played DIY rock with the same spite and conviction as the boys, changing a woman’s role in rock and roll forever -- and paving the way for bands like The Go-Gos, L7 and The Donnas.
Based on Cherie Curie’s book Neon Angel: A Memoir of A Runaway, the film focuses on Cherie’s journey from humdrum teenage boredom to international rock stardom, and the perils that she falls prey to along the way. Cherie, portrayed flawlessly by Dakota Fanning, embraces the glamour and excitement of her new world only to discover not everything is what it seems.
The band’s Svengali-manager Kim Fowley sees dollar signs in the “jail-bait” rock group and manipulates their image to his liking, sexing up frontgal Cherie through naughty lyrics and sleazy photo shoots, causing rifts in the band with jealousy and a classic bout of lead singer syndrome.
