The film stars Dakota Fanning as Currie, Kristen Stewart as rhythm guitarist and vocalist Joan Jett, and Michael Shannon as record producer Kim Fowley.

Cherie sings the song and becomes part of the band, named the Runaways, joined by Lita Ford on lead guitar and Robin on bass.

At the studio recording their next album, Cherie has a mental breakdown and refuses to play after reading a cruel comment about her by Kim in a magazine article.

She said that she established early in development that she "wanted to make it a coming-of-age story and not a biographical film": "What I loved about the Runaways was that they were doing things that girls weren't supposed to do, especially at 15.

[...] I wanted to capture what it was like to be super-young and thrown in this rock 'n' roll world at a time when girls are just trying to figure out their bodies and create their identities.

She said that "[she] felt confident with the level of success—the people at River Road, the Linsons [producers of the film]" and "knew [she] was in good hands" with Sigismondi writing and directing.

"[4] Actors portraying the band, including Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart, took vocal lessons and learned to play the instruments of their character counterparts.

[8] The film also includes "Lady Grinning Soul" by David Bowie, "Fujiyama Mama" by Wanda Jackson, "Do You Wanna Touch Me" by Gary Glitter, "Gimme Danger" by Iggy and the Stooges, "Vincent" by Don McLean, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", "Bad Reputation", "Crimson and Clover", "I Want You" and "Love Is Pain" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

"[18] Joan Jett felt that the film captured 1970s Los Angeles, "that music, that sort of combination of glam and intensity" well, but said "initially it was mischaracterized, because at first it was called a 'biopic', which implies that it's going to be a literal reading of the action.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Viewers expecting an in-depth biopic will be disappointed, but The Runaways is as electric as the band's music, largely thanks to strong performances by Michael Shannon, Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart".

[20] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle noted that the film "doesn't always tell the literal truth" about the band, but felt that "[m]ore crucially, it conveys precisely what it was like to be young in the mid-1970s [...] And in getting that one thing right—in capturing that strange combination of despair and frustrated energy—it gets everything right.

"[22] Roger Ebert gave The Runaways 3 stars out of 4, praising the performances of Shannon, Stewart and Fanning, while writing that the film's visuals and music "[helped] cover an underwritten script and many questions about the characters" which he found slimly developed.

[23] Dennis Harvey of Variety gave the film a positive review, commenting that it "proves [to be a] conventionally enjoyable making-and-breaking-of-the-band saga" and goes on to compliment the cinematography and soundtrack.

[24] A. O. Scott of The New York Times felt that Sigismondi "infuses crucial scenes with a rough, energetic spirit, and shows a willingness to accept the contradictions inherent in the material without prurience, moralism or too much sentimentality."

[26] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times felt that the film, which she described as "a street-level snapshot" of the titular band's creation, should have featured Jett's story instead of staying "too narrowly focused" on that of Currie.

[27] David Edelstein of New York magazine gave the film a less positive review, commenting that "since the music itself is secondary, there's not a lot to this story," and adding "It’s Fanning's movie: You can taste the ex–child actor's relish for playing jailbait.

"[28] Time praised the acting in the film, stating that Fanning "turns in a performance of startling maturity", "seduces us utterly" and is "like a mini-Meryl Streep".

In honor of this distinction, they’re now the first major all-girl punk band to inspire a bleary, excessive, and altogether mediocre big-screen biography.

[31] Apparition changed their marketing strategy due to the company's sudden shut down and reduced their planned wide release of 1,400 theaters to less than 300.

[2] Variety reported that the film's underperformance at the box office could have been due to underfunded marketing and a failure to find an audience with either an age demographic that would remember the band or with fans of Stewart for her performance in Twilight (2008).