In a breakout team-up by Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart, the dramatic life (or at least union) of Cherie Currie and Joan Jett, respectively, came to the silver screen and now your home theater. Sporting a soundtrack that provides the voices of Fanning, Stewart, and a host of more recognizable performers, like the real Runaways, The Runaways is a grittier version of the "making of the band" motif but if you're a fan of Jett's then you're eating this one up.

Both Currie and Jett come across as girls who want to be someone other than they are. They struggle with their identity, with boys, with each other, and with the way they want their music to sound regardless of what anyone else thinks. Sure, these two folks end up famous, but their struggles are typical to the life of the teenager: Who am I, how do I relate to others, and what do I want to do with my life? If I'm going to be fair, these are questions that older folks struggle with, too, but the crucible of rock'n'roll augments the highs and the lows.

The rock'n'roll scene usually has its fair share of spills with sex, booze, and alcohol, and you could probably extend that to the music scene (was Joaquin Phoenix doing Johnny Cash as a rock'n'roller?). Obviously, Jett has made it a long time, and she's survived her fair share of problems, as the movie depicts, but I'm no Joan Jett historian. It seems like a fair navigation of her road to stardom, and she's obviously not someone who made it on her own. But who did?

Stewart and Fanning knock their roles out as angsty teens, but they've been doing that for awhile, maybe with less seriousness. They grow as "sisters" and prove that sometimes artistic collaboration requires "iron sharpening iron." In the end, I don't know how strong the bonds are but it certainly appears that Jett owes some credit to her fellow Runaways.