Lesbian fans of punk rock, Joan Jett, and "Twilight" actress Kristen Stewart will all get their due in a few weeks, when the film "The Runaways," which premiered at the recent Sundance Film Festival, goes into general release. In it, the adorably dark and moody and arguably dykey Hollywood bad girl Kristin Stewart — supposed girlfriend of actor Robert Patterson, though we like to think we know better — plays rock goddess and uber-lesbian pin up Joan Jett to Dakota Fanning’s stylized femme rendition of Jett’s band mate and one-time lover Cherrie Currie. To any dyke who grew up in the ‘70s and/or to any dyke worshippers of ‘70s alternative culture out there, this news is a godsend. The fact that there is a major movie about the highly influential and almost criminally overlooked all-female 70s band headed by the always boyish and black leather clad Jett is good enough; that this movie is both critically acclaimed and sanctioned by the real life Jett is better still; but the news that the film contains at least one explicit girl-on-girl makeout slash sex scene between Stewart as Jett and Fanning as her lover Currie is just the best ever.
What with the media storm surrounding the film, it’s hard to know exactly how much is sensationalist hype and how much is an accurate rendering of the film’s content. The two actresses confirmed the existence of their love scene or scenes to the “E!” Channel but declined to answer the "E!" anchors’ dopey question as to "how two actresses and young ladies such as yourselves prepare for such a uniquely intimate encounter." This line of inquiry cut off, the commentator then tried another approach: he asked Stewart whether she would concur with Fanning’s purported description of the makeout scene filming as "passionate." "I don’t know, Dakota," replied Stewart, turning to address her co-star playfully. "Was our makeout scene particularly…passionate…for you?" she smirked.
Meanwhile in a related development, Mattel is about to release a black-clad guitar carrying Joan Jett “Barbie” in tandem with the film which sports Jett’s iconic shag haircut and which Mattel claims "captures the singer’s independent attitude and dark beauty." This generation’s little girls get to have all the fun.
Also at Sundance: “High Art” director Lisa Cholodenko’s long awaited second feature film "The Kids Are Allright," which stars Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as a lesbian couple who finally get to meet the sperm donor for their two teenage children. Described as a tragic comedy, the film and its stars are getting great press, including Oscar buzz for both actresses. Moore purportedly plays the more complicated and reserved half of this lesbo duo, while Bening, according to New York Magazine, plays "the bitchy half of a lesbian couple.”
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