Movie Rental Recommendation: The Runaways

Yes, you read that right. I just watched The Runaways - the movie about the band of the same name starring Taylor Momsen -oops! I mean Dakota Fanning- as Taylor Momsen Cherie Currie the lead singer. And it also stars Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett. I have never seen Twilight and didn't understand just how massive Kristen Stewart is until I went looking for images for this post. There are complete Paparazzi style blogs devoted to her...which I found a bit creepy. And it also made me realize how I really do (happily) live in my own fashion bubble. So if like me, you don't have a natural affinity for either of the lead actresses why should you check this movie out?

1. To see Seventies fashion in all it's glorious badness. (and I mean bad in the original sense: not bad as "good") This isn't Tom Ford's reinterpretation of the '70s for Gucci or his current reinterpretation. It's not bad fashion made palatable for today. Its the honest-to-goodness real deal. From glam rock to Brady Bunch it's like the massive car accident of fashion: you want to look away but can't stop yourself from taking in every detail.


2. There are some really beautiful/interesting shots  If you are reading this blog I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you might be a fan of fashion and photography. Watching this movie I wasn't overly impressed with the story or the acting. What held my attention was some of the filming. One of my favorite scenes is where Cherie is walking in weed filled parking lot of a strip mall in the blazing sun to a phone booth that seems to randomly be in the middle of nowhere. It made me think of a shoot that Meisel did for Italian Vogue around 2000 with women caught in a bleak suburbia. This still below does NOT do it justice but is what I could find online. -also great scenes with Fanning & Stewart lying around...

 

This shot in the movie was much more golden and they're framed by tall grasses - looks like a perfume ad.

3. and I know this has been stated before but: I am convinced that Taylor Momsen is modeling her musical persona after Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie.  It's easy to see how she's copying her in photos but even her "acting" is similar...