Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Regression

Harking back to a youth that could/should have been misspent a little more often, on the verge of my momentus 39th birthday. "Runaways" movie opening. Cautionary bio pic about a fake, producer-created jailbait pop band, which is being portrayed, typically, from the POV of the band member who fell apart and barely survived. Much more interesting, but less knee-jerk nihilistic, to consider the tough cookie who turned a gig in a fake band into a real career: Holding onto music rights to hits like "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" to build a foundation under a satisfying and ideosycratic career.

She's featured in this video for a Paul Schrader movie I barely remember seeing and didn't much like. Song by Springsteen that holds up quite well.



And then there's this. Open question how guilty we should feel even watching it, much less digging it. I have no answers. Only questions.



It's also about vulnerability and weakness as a turn on, and the fact that there's a clear alternative built into the story is reason enough to be suspicious of this project, IMHO. "Cherie is the one who has the arc," is the way it was stated by one Person Close to the Production. She can be impacted by events and create drama. The character who enters the situation with personality already formed, and with a clear agenda, can't be at the center if you want to turn these events into a Story. You could create obstacles for her to overcome, but they would be external. That's the argument, anyway: Extra difficult to build good drama around stable, focused characters.

10 comments:

Tulkinghorn said...

Not so open a question...

The hypersexualization of adolescence is a big problem these days: not only when designed for the pleasure of adults but also when it makes life harder for children.

I would imagine, given the provenance of this movie, that this is what the story's about.... But there's always a certain amount of hypocrisy involved.

In short, you are in fact a dirty old man but the film makers are giving you an excuse to indulge. It's their fault.

David Chute said...

Could be a subtle distinction if the old men hail more or less from the era portrayed in the film; of the characters if not the performers. An exceedingly subtle distinction.

Tulkinghorn said...

Really really subtle...

Especially since you were older than 25 when the song was released.

David Chute said...

No! Was I? Could sworn. Young at heart, then? Will that fly?

Christian Lindke said...

Kristen Stewart is no Joan Jett and the girl playing Lita Ford was born the year I graduated high school.

Now that is disturbing.

David Chute said...

Another comment rejected by mistake while eating a slad at my desk:

Christian Lindke has left a new comment on your post "Regression":

One naturally comes to the question, "what exactly constitutes a 'fake band'?" Especially, when two of the members had subsequent musical careers -- one did a duet with Ozzie FFS.

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Posted by Christian Lindke to HUNGRY GHOST BLOG at March 17, 2010 12:18 PM

David Chute said...

Undetstanding that the fake can be made real by human will and effort: A band is fake when it is assembled by a producers around a marketable image. Eg. Monkees, Runaways, New Kids on the Block. Probably Village People, though I'm not sure about that one.

David Chute said...

And of course a real band is assmebled organically by and from the association of its members.

You thought this was a tough one?

Tulkinghorn said...

Tougher than you thought, in any event....

I'm not sure you can make a principled distinction between a bunch of guys hanging out and a producer-led attempt to hire it done.

Except, of course, if the producer is a jerk...

But even then....

Motown? the Phil Spector groups?

David Chute said...

Gordy and Spector's motives were still primarily musical. Foley's less so. Much less/\.