Although I'm not a big fan of the Runaways, I'm very interested in this era of the Los Angeles music scene (being too young and stuck in Wyoming at the time). Like the big screen doc. "End of the Century" about the Ramones, this gives a good background of the scene and era and like other reviewers have said is miles ahead of VH1 canned nostalgia crap.
It was interesting to see the band members now. I always thought of Cherie Currie as a drugged-out, bleach-blonde piece of pedophile bait (who reminds me more of that uber-sleazy 70's hit "Hot Child in the City" than any song she ever personally sang). Well in middle age she looks healthy, VERY attractive, and surprisingly intelligent and well-spoken. Lita Ford is the same as she's always been, and Joan Jett was conspicuous in her absence. They interviewed pretty all the other, more obscure band members, but I would have liked them to talk more about some of the other figures in the nexus of the Hollywood music and low-budget movie scene--i.e. Cheryl "Rainbeax" Smith, a famous groupie and drive-in movie actress who sometimes played drums for Joan Jett (and died recently), and Sondra Currie, another actress and the older sister of Cherie and Marie.
The documentary was not all nostalgia though. It danced around some lurid claims of verbal and possibly sexual abuse involving the bands scummy manager. In addition, to showing how sleazy the music business can be, the documentary also shows how irresponsible parents can be in turning their children over to somebody who's supposedly going to make them famous (a moral lesson perhaps?). Mostly though this gives a good sense of the era and will probably please fans of the band. Not as good as "End of the Century" perhaps but better than anything you'll see on VH-1.
It was interesting to see the band members now. I always thought of Cherie Currie as a drugged-out, bleach-blonde piece of pedophile bait (who reminds me more of that uber-sleazy 70's hit "Hot Child in the City" than any song she ever personally sang). Well in middle age she looks healthy, VERY attractive, and surprisingly intelligent and well-spoken. Lita Ford is the same as she's always been, and Joan Jett was conspicuous in her absence. They interviewed pretty all the other, more obscure band members, but I would have liked them to talk more about some of the other figures in the nexus of the Hollywood music and low-budget movie scene--i.e. Cheryl "Rainbeax" Smith, a famous groupie and drive-in movie actress who sometimes played drums for Joan Jett (and died recently), and Sondra Currie, another actress and the older sister of Cherie and Marie.
The documentary was not all nostalgia though. It danced around some lurid claims of verbal and possibly sexual abuse involving the bands scummy manager. In addition, to showing how sleazy the music business can be, the documentary also shows how irresponsible parents can be in turning their children over to somebody who's supposedly going to make them famous (a moral lesson perhaps?). Mostly though this gives a good sense of the era and will probably please fans of the band. Not as good as "End of the Century" perhaps but better than anything you'll see on VH-1.