Directed By Victory Tischler-Blue
SYNOPSIS
A documentary that chronicles the 5 year run of the hard rockin' all-teen girl group The Runaways in the late 1970's.
An interesting but flawed, documentary.
The most entertaining part of Edgeplay is when the members 'dish the dirt' about the other members and their management. The women still have strong feelings (good and bad) about their bandmates after all these years... and that's when they are at their most animated. The director, Victory Tischler-Blue, was a former member of the group, so that adds some intimacy to the film and the band members are clearly more comfortable and willing to open up to her than some anonymous stranger.
But, Edgeplay is far from a definitive look back at the band for several reasons.
1. The most famous member of the group, Joan Jett, does not appear at all. With a former member at the helm, its very odd she is not present. Perhaps she didn't want to open old wounds?
2. Apart from 2 cover songs The Runaways recorded, none of their music appears. Cherry Bomb, their most famous song, is the only song they recorded that's even mentioned.
3. None of their album covers or promo photos are to be seen either. All we see are very grainy home movies and some stage footage from their Japan tour... and some footage so grainy it could be of ANYONE.
4. Little is mentioned of what happened to these women after the band. Joan Jett went on to great success and Lita Ford on to lesser success, but what of the others? Once the band ends, so does the documentary.
The film does not hold a candle to any of the great rock and roll documentaries... but you can still learn what it was like to be in the Runaways.
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