Before the screening came out there was a joke running around on Twitter that Sundance should be renamed Krisdance because of all the praise Kristen Stewart was getting for Welcome to the Rileys and The Runaways.  However, Dakota Fanning, now that the movie has been screened is also getting some major praise.

Three Part Audio Interview With Kristen and Dakota.

From Collider: (Collider also has the best in-depth synopsis of the movie, in other words it’s more than a paragraph but doesn’t totally spoil the plot.)

“What I really liked about the movie is that it doesn’t take any sides about The Runaways story.  Writer/director Floria Sigismondi paints a realistic portrait of Los Angeles in 1975 and what was going on in Joan Jett’s and Cherie Currie’s lives.  We get to see how each of them lived and what brought them together.  And after they got famous and made it in the record industry, Sigismondi paints a portrait not of judgment or condemnation, but simply as it was.  The story has enough ups and downs that she didn’t need to use a heavy hand to tell the story, which some filmmakers might have done.”

From E!:

“I loved The Runaways. It really does rock. The movie is the true-life story of the short-lived but legendary all-girl rock band, with Kristen Stewart starring as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie.

Stewart does what she does best: play the anguished outsider. But Fanning really nails it as the 15-year drug-abusing sex kitten Cherie. This is a Dakota you have never seen, getting so lost in the role that there are times she is almost unrecognizable.”

The Hollywood Reporter:

“The Runaways” works on a lot of levels, and will no doubt be a big hit with little effort. My only quibble is that the films cuts too fast from the demise of The Runaways to Joan Jett’s overnight hit with “I Love Rock and Roll.” The film ends on a minor note rather than with a big flourish. How did Jett come to record her signature hit, and why isn’t that song, in concert, a rockin’ finale? But these are little things. “The Runaways” provided just the energy that’s been missing here in Park City. We needed it.”

MTV

“Forget the executive producer credit for Joan Jett, the true telling credit for the film is where director Floria Sigismondi found her source material–lead singer Cherie Currie’s memoir.

Indeed, “The Runaways” is owned and just about swallowed up by Fanning’s riveting portrayal of the singer (not too dissimilar from the way Currie overwhelmed the group). First glimpsed as a teen literally transforming into a woman, this is the performance that seems sure to launch Fanning into a new thrilling phase of her career. From a sulking broodish David Bowie enthusiast to a howling rock goddess Fanning sells sells sells. I’d watch that band. Hells yeah.”