Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways

An absorbing chronicle of the ’70s teen-girl rock band the Runaways includes performance clips and interviews with group members, except for most famous alum, Joan Jett, who declined to participate or to permit her songs to be used on the soundtrack. Written and directed by Victory Tischler-Blue, who was known as Vicki Blue during her stint with the band., Years before the Go-Go’s and the Bangles proved the commercial viability of all-female rock bands (and while Courtney Love was still in grade school), the Runaways were blazing new trails for women in rock & roll. Playing loud, swaggering hard rock which unapologetically dealt with sex, drugs, and wild living, the Runaways were seen as a novelty act by many when they released their first album in 1976; it wasn’t until years later, after the solo success of band members Joan Jett and Lita Ford, that their importance and influence was widely recognized. Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways is a documentary directed by Victory Tischler-Blue (who, as Vicki Blue, played bass with the group) which deals with the ups and downs of the band’s career — a story fraught with abusive management, sexual stereotyping, an uncomprehending record company, and a band of teenagers who were literally growing up on the road. A number of the group’s better known songs do not appear in Edgeplay, due to the fact that Joan Jett refused to cooperate with the making of the film or allow her songs to be used on the soundtrack.