Film/TV Mar 18, 2010 at 4:00 am

Comments

1
The film is certainly flawed and will have no real longevity, the director deserves some recognition. While the script simply scratches the surface of The Runaways story, Sigismondi understands that this is based on memoir, on memory essentially. The hazy, smokey, highly stylized film does seem like a 90 minute music video and to be honest, I think that might be the only way that this particular story can be told. I never once felt that the director was asking the audience to take this film seriously. It was an hour and a half of symbols and meaning, with very little dialogue, and it worked. This seems like a review of a band, not a film.
2
Obviously, it would have been nice if a woman had reviewed this one.
3
Being in an all-girl band, especially a cute stylish band with young members, you do hear a ridiculous amount of trite, cliched, sexist comments. Maybe this movie purposely decided not to downplay that.

4
The first 3 comments confirm my initial reaction to the headline of this review: Of course the Stranger would give this a bad review! Yes, I think 90% of biopics are crap, but even though I have not seen this yet, I can't help but feel that Eric is showing his prejudices against biopics and Hollywood. I also suspect that the very things he knocked this film for may be some of the more truthful parts of The Runaways story. Kim Fowly was creepy! I have no doubt that people in the '70's did believe hard rock was supposed to be a mans world.
Eric, get over your hipsterism.
5
@4: "I have not seen this yet."

Thanks for your input.
6
Wow. You don't have to have a vagina to review a movie about people with vaginas, but it's a terrible idea to send a misogynist in the music biz to review a movie about misogyny in the music biz.

Really - does Eric Grandy need another outlet to mock and belittle women in music besides the entire fucking Stranger music section?
7
the only good part about this entire film was that I learned that Cherie Currie now makes chainsaw art.

http://www.chainsawchick.com/

hiLARious
8
@6: What are you even talking about?
9
Shannon's acting in this (as the manager) is ridiculously powerful, as anyone who has seen REVOLUTIONARY ROAD knows. And the character development of the women suffers in the standard biopic narrative, but ya know what -- it matters that THE RUNAWAYS was made by a woman with a woman's vision. Especially with a remembrance of feminism past.
10
@6, since when does complaining about movie cliches make you a misogynist?

Super lame last line? Absolutely. Unrealistic expectations and typical Stranger moaning? Of course. Misogynist? Ridiculous.
11
Eric Grandy is actually quite good at playing the feminist sympathizer in writing. In person, he has a tendency to talk down to most women and relish any moments of humiliation he might cause them.

12
@11: I talk down to all people, men and women.
13
#11, I absolutely agree with you.
14
he really is an equal opportunity condescender.
15
grandy doesn't know anything about film, and its about time the stranger got a good film editor
16
The film might not have objectively been that well made, but I'm positive women would experience it subjectively different than men. Since when are little unimportant things like facts and details and subtle nuance a consideration for most ladies? Just pander to their emotional reactions and you've got an award winning masterpiece everytime.

I wish they'd start making movies in this country for adults again...
18
Yeah, women sure are stupid.
19
This movie depressed the hell out of me. It's almost as if The Runaways were the early Spice Girls - a manufactured idea of "girl power" and feminism created by a misogynist male creep for commercial success. It's like if you went to see a movie about Bikini Kill and found out that they were actually a male construct and Kathleen Hanna was now living in the Valley and making chainsaw art. You'd probably need a drink.
The best thing about this movie were the ridiculous quotable lines which were almost on par with Showgirls.
I think Eric's review is spot on and I have no idea how he is all of a sudden being labeled as a misogynist for it. Give me a fucking break.
One episode of the Golden Girls has more positive female empowerment than this entire movie.

20
I thought the film was uneven and a bit long. It also did a good job of telling a story of women rockers when women weren't allowed to rock. Grandy's first (run-on) sentence shows disdain for the band, so the sexist review which follows isn't surprising. Nor is the photo he chose to run along side it. I'd have loved to read a review by Hannah Levin on this film. Grandy's trendy all-cap'ed question "DO YOU GET IT?" sadly shows that he did not. If you want to read a professional review that fairly reviews this film check out A O Scott of the NY Times- once again nails it.

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