BEFORE: Kristen Stewart carries over from "The Runaways". This just makes sense, right, to follow up with a doc on Joan Jett, last member of that all-girl band left standing - or left touring and performing, I guess, after the others quit or found better things to do. Jackie Fuchs (aka Jackie Fox) appeared on Jeopardy! in 2018, and had also worked as a record company executive, a modeling agent, an entertainment attorney, and a promoter for Tony Robbins' seminars. I guess all that beats working as a chainsaw sculptor.
We may all look back on our lives, once we've been through several jobs and several relationships, and realize there were several incarnations of ourselves, and perhaps this pandemic has been an opportunity for people to revisit their lives, reshuffle the deck, maybe even chart a new course. I know I looked for part-time work for about 6 months without landing anything, and then when the movie theaters started to open up, I grabbed a job that turned out to not really be to my liking, but at least I got out of the house more and got some exercise and a little extra cash. Now that things are opening up even more (knock on wood) I'm trying to transition to a job at a college, because they're all starting to prepare for the new school year. Here's hoping the Delta variant doesn't shut us down again, that would really put a monkey wrench into my plans - could, umm, everybody who's been avoiding getting vaccinated please reconsider their plans? Because that would really help me out here. Thanks.
THE PLOT: Documentary about rock star Joan Jett.
AFTER: OK, first off, this is why it's important to keep track of EVERYONE who appears in a documentary, even via archive footage. If I had known that footage of Dave Grohl (from Joan Jett's Hall of Fame induction) would be used, then I could have come here STRAIGHT from "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny". For that matter, if I'd known that footage of Freddie Mercury would appear in this film, I could have come here STRAIGHT from "Bohemian Rhapsody". I may be the only person watching films linked together by actor, but I can't do it alone, I need some help, people! If you're a documentary filmmaker, PLEASE make sure that your film's IMDB records are complete, especially the more famous people who appear in archive footage. It just makes my life easier, don't make me beg. Now I have to spend a couple hours updating YOUR film's record, just in case somebody else travels this same road in the future, which I'll admit is unlikely. But I'll do it, just the same.
(I also would have had more options for my outro, and the order of the next 14 or 15 films in general, but it doesn't matter, the schedule is set, I've got a chain that gets me there. It is what it is. In the end result below, I'm listing the added personalities alphabetically, which places Freddie Mercury next to Liza Minnelli, David Bowie next to Bing Crosby, and Donald Trump next to Sid Vicious - look, I just want everybody to be OK with all that, including the stars themselves, living or dead.)
But this isn't about me, today it's about Joan Jett, and all her incarnations, through the Runaways and after, working as a solo artist and then as a producer and promoter of young punk bands on the rise. After some down time (and I think we've all been through some of that lately) she positioned herself with a new band JUST as MTV was starting to hit in 1982, and who doesn't remember "I Love Rock and Roll" being the biggest damn hit around that time? MTV was only supposed to play it twice a day, so people didn't get sick of it, but they ended up playing it about sixteen times a day - because that's what they did back then. Oh, yeah, kids, MTV used to play these things called music videos, it's sort of what they became famous for, before there were reality shows.
Of course, she's also famous for her cover of "Crimson & Clover" (and for NOT changing the pronouns in that song, hint hint), also "I Hate Myself for Loving You", "Bad Reputation" and "Light of Day", among others. But because I'm so into cover songs, the only album of hers that I own (in addition to her Greatest Hits) is "The Hit List", which is all covers - AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds", The Kinks' "Celluloid Heroes", ZZ Top's "Tush", CCR's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain", The Door's "Love Me Two Times", the Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" and so on. Also, I've mailed out compilations of Christmas songs to my friends and family over the last 25 years-plus, and let me just mention that I used the Blackhearts covers of "Little Drummer Boy" and "Silent Night", with great gusto.
Much is made of the relationship between Joan and her longtime manager, Kenny Laguna - they bicker like an old married couple, but of course they're not, for several reasons. Kenny is married, and Joan just doesn't swing that way, obvi. But I think it's more evocative of the fact that nearly every single famous, successful person has someone like that, someone to take care of the travel arrangements, the contracts, the e-mails and the finances, and you know, keep an eye on things and keep them out of jail, if it comes to that. I fulfill that function for somebody, and I know several people who do something similar for other celebrities, it can be a full-time, all encompassing but also very interesting job.
NITPICK POINT: Supposedly, Joan Jett was the one who wanted the story of The Runaways to be all about the music, not the band members' image as sex objects. The music, the music, it was always supposed to be all about the music. So, umm, then how come this documentary ended up ALSO being about vegetarianism, animal rights, gay rights, appreciating those serving in the U.S. military, and several other causes? I get that Joan Jett is an activist, and feels strongly about these things, but remember when it was supposed to be all about the music? Just sayin'...
But if there's a lesson here, it's one of persistence and durability - if you stick around at any job long enough, you could end up becoming the one in charge. Sometimes it takes a decade or even two to get there, but there's just no substitute for patience and experience. Even a terrible gig or a bad job could wind up feeling like it's exactly where you're supposed to be, after the fact, of course, provided that you maintain a positive attitude, make the right connections and channel that failure into something positive in the long run, I have to believe that. How long did it take for Cher to be taken seriously as an actress? It's kind of like that. Joan Jett made it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, so that (only?) took about 40 years. Sometimes, that's just what it takes, I guess.
Also starring Joan Jett (last seen in "Lemmy"), Billie Joe Armstrong (last seen in "This is 40"), Cherie Currie, Miley Cyrus (last seen in "A Very Murray Christmas"), Michael J. Fox (last seen in "Back in Time"), Debbie Harry (last seen in "Love, Gilda"), Adam Horovitz (last seen in "A Kiss Before Dying"), Iggy Pop (last seen in "Dead Man"), Chris Stein, Pete Townshend (last seen in "Rush: Time Stand Still")
Eric Ambel, Gene Baur, Rodney Bingenheimer (last seen in "Up in Smoke"), Don Bolles, Carianne Brinkman, Gen. Kevin Byrnes, Michelle Cho, Bill Curbishley, Phanie Diaz, Shepard Fairey (last seen in "Exit Through the Gift Shop"), Laura Jane Grace, Nikki Haley, Kathleen Hanna, Sally Hershberger, Kenny Laguna, Meryl Laguna, Anne Larkin, Ian MacKaye, Toby Mamis, Evelyn McDonnell, Alison Mosshart, Dougie Needles, Mike Ness, Thom Panunzio, Thommy Price, Gary Ryan, Elliot Saltzman, Dana White
with archive footage of Roseanne Barr (last seen in "Cecil B. Demented"), David Bowie (last seen in "We Are Twisted Fucking Sister"), Bing Crosby (last seen in "The Last Laugh (2019)"), Darby Crash, Roger Daltrey (also last seen in "Rush: Time Stand Still"), Micky Dolenz (last seen in "Super Duper Alice Cooper"), John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon (ditto), Joey Ramone (ditto), Lorna Doom, Dakota Fanning (also carrying over from "The Runaways"), Lita Ford, Kim Fowley, Jackie Fuchs, Whoopi Goldberg (last seen in "The Color Purple"), Dave Grohl (last seen in "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny"), Chrissie Hynde, J.J. Jackson, Mick Jagger (last seen in "The Burnt Orange Heresy"), David Johansen (also last seen in "A Very Murray Christmas"), Elton John (last seen in "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond"), Paul McCartney (last seen in "The Accidental President"), Malcolm McDowell (last seen in "Bombshell"), Freddie Mercury (last seen in "Bohemian Rhapsody"), Liza Minnelli (last seen in "George Michael: Freedom"), Joni Mitchell (last seen in "David Crosby: Remember My Name"), Manuel Noriega, Krist Novocelic (last seen in "Sound City"), Yoko Ono (last seen in "The U.S. vs. John Lennon"), Elvis Presley (last seen in "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas"), Suzi Quatro, Gena Rowlands (last seen in "Paris, Je t'Aime"), Frank Sinatra (last seen in "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead"), Tom Snyder (ditto), Pat Smear, Donna Summer, Nancy Spungen, Donald Trump (last seen in "Class Action Park"), Sid Vicious, Andy Warhol (last seen in "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky"), Elizabeth Warren, Sandy West, Mia Zapata,
RATING: 5 out of 10 U.S.O. concerts
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