Cast:
Victory Tischler-Blue/Vicki Blue......herself/
Cherie Currie......herself
Lita Ford......herself
Jackie Fox......herself
Sandy West......herself
Kari Krome......herself
Joan Jet......herself (archival material)
Writer/Director:
Victory Tischler-Blue
Release Date:
October 7 2004
Running Time:
110 mins
This movie was, to my knowledge, the first "rockumentary" I've seen; and it was fantastic. Vicki Blue did an amazing thing by creating this, and I only wish Joan Jett would have participated so they all could have been together again. I'll get to why she didn't later in this review.
The film begins on a black screen with, I believe, Cherie screaming at fans in the audience at a concert. Effective beginning, as it draws you in to the film. Kari Krome begins speaking about her short-lives stint with The Runaways, and you then hear from Susi Quatro, Vicki's inspiration. The next guest is both great and awful: Kim Fowley. He's great in the sense that he put those girls together and formed a legendary band, but awful in the sense that... well, we'll get to that.
Jackie Fox is the second Runaway to be interviewed, and she seems the most bitter, which may be true due to the fact that she refused to allow any part of herself to be featured in the 2010 movie The Runaways. However, she and Vicki seem to be very close, due in large part to their fooling around in the bonus scenes after the credits. The story about Jackie quitting the band is intense, and told mostly by Fox and Cherie Currie.
I honestly forget the order of interviewees, but I think Sandy West was next. Her story is the saddest. She is the most angry about the demise of the band, and she wants nothing but to get back together. What makes this heart-breaking is that Sandy passed away in 2006 due to cancer. Near the end of the film, she starts to cry at the thought of The Runaways never touring again, and it really does make you feel awful at what's to come.
Lita Ford was originally spiteful of Vicki Blue because they looked a lot alike. This, however, is no longer the case as they now consider each other "a sister." Blue is actually helping Lita and her family make a reality show.
Next is Cherie Currie, undoubtedly the best-looking of the group. Now a wood-carver, she seems to think back fondly at The Runaways like an adult would at a long-forgotten childhood friend. I'm aware that she and Dakota Fanning spent some time together for the 2010 film, and there's an interview with Cherie on the DVD and Blu-Ray's bonus features, so she seems to still want to be a part of the band's future.
So, Joan Jett. The diva, apparently. Since she wouldn't be in control of how she was portrayed in the documentary, she refused to take any part, and tried to take this film and Vicki down. This seems extremely odd, considering Joan was an executive producer on the 2010 film, and much that was portrayed there was also talked about in Blue's documentary. Either way, all the girls seem to like Joan, as they praise her a lot during the film.
The worst for last: Kim Fowley. Cherie seems to be the most spiteful of him, and she begins talking about him taking them all in a one-bedroom hotel room, and saying that he'll "teach them the real way to fuck." That's the end of that until Jackie Fox is asked and she says that she really doesn't know if there was any sexual abuse, but there was verbal and mental abuse. It was reported that Fowley let Blue license 9 Runaways' songs in the film if he would take that bit out, so she did. Unfortunately, the music couldn't be put in the film anyway. Hmmm...
So I very much recommend that you check this rockumentary out if you're interested in The Runaways. You'll find yourself highly rewarded with what each bandmate has to offer.
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