.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

Twilight's Kristen Stewart and War of the World's Dakota Fanning star as rockers Joan Jett and Cherie Currie in the new rock biopic The Runaways, a film that is deliciously captures the 1970's and the rise of an all-girl band named The Runaways.

In two incredible performances by two of the younger talents, The Runaways tells the story of the development of the band while exposing every scar and pitfall that have become cliché for rock and roll rise to fame flicks.

We begin in 1975. Jett is a young rocker with the ability to write songs and play a crass electric guitar. In a night of chance, she meets Kim Fowley (played awkwardly by Michael Shannon) a music promoter and manager, who offers his assistance to Jett if she can develop and produce some hard core rock and roll.

Accompanied by a female drummer, their sound catches the ear of Fowley who believes the band needs a blonde, young face to help compliment the hard rock strings. His search leads him to Cherie Currie, a 15-year-old lost soul who has more look than talent.

Cherie is all too excited about the opportunity to leave behind a life that offers little more than options of living with her mother in Asia or caring for her drunken and ailing father. Her vocals and looks combined with Jett's rock acumen will bring the band success and worldwide attention. But their fame comes with the loss of innocence as the rock and roll lifestyle that includes the requisite sex, drugs and rock and roll will eventually destroy and break down Cherie and result in the disassembling of the band in 1975.

The Ruanways is a true rock and roll film with song after song paraded out in rapid fire succession. Twenty minutes into the film, I actually wondered if there was more dialogue than lyrics. Between sessions and gigs, we get two incredible performances by Stewart and Dakota who are nothing like you have seen them in past films. These two take drugs, have lesbian encounters and sell sex to an audience twice their age. Jett (the real Jett) as Executive Producer seems content with showing the hardships and scars of the band's ascent and their equal descent lead by substance dependence and attempts to recapture the lost innocence of Cherie Currie.

Directed by Floria Sigismondi, The Runaways focuses on the music that sometimes works to the films disadvantage. After all, outside of Cherry-Bomb, could you name a Runaways tune? Jett is more famous as being the headliner of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts with hits such as I Love Rock and Roll and Crimson and Clover, but these songs only announce themselves in the final chapter of the film long after the band was restructured to focus more on Jett's talent and passion.

The film is typical rock and roll rebellion. From Ray to Walk the Line to Great Balls of Fire, all music films seem to follow the same path - get a break, become a sensation, face hardship in the form of drugs or some kind of substance abuse and then tie it all up in a bow with a title card listing their outstanding achievements.

The Runaways follows this to a tee and therefore, the film at times doesn't seem to offer anything outside of the ordinary. Luckily, it is saved by the performances which elevates it from the moderately watchable to the intriguingly interesting.