BAD REPUTATION: Joan Jett's Journey

BAD REPUTATION (Blu-ray)

2018 / 93 min

From Magnolia Pictures

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Headbanger😺

There was the Joan Jett before “I Love Rock & Roll” and the Joan Jett after. 

Some of us remember back in 1982 when she and that song were suddenly everywhere, blasting from car speakers and popping up on MTV about 500 times a day. At the time, she seemed not-only new, but far different than your typical female pop star. Jett was punky, wore leather, half-sang-half-shouted and totally rocked a guitar. As a teenage headbanger, yours truly found that kinda hot.

What we didn’t know was this wasn’t exactly Jett’s first rodeo. She’d previously been a founding member of The Runaways, an all-girl rock band who never amounted to much but are now regarded as influential and groundbreaking. The Joan Jett biography, Bad Reputation, begins by documenting those pre-stardom years, particularly the struggles and obstacles she faced in an effort to be taken seriously. If all you know of Jett are the glory years, these segments are somewhat revelatory.

The film segues into Jett’s most successful era, the 1980s, beginning with “I Love Rock & Roll” and her career-long working relationship with manager-producer Kenny Laguna. Ironically, these years are chronicled, but not in a lot of depth (maybe because its assumed to be common knowledge). These segments also tend to reveal Bad Reputation’s one major drawback…we learn a lot of Jett’s career highs and achievements, but comparatively little about her personally.

In a moment of epiphany, Joan Jett suddenly realizes she doesn't particularly love rock & roll.

The remainder focuses of Jett, the mentor, legend and activist…essentially a victory lap of a long, influential career, which more-or-less culminates in her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. As presented, Jett is a woman who has more-than-earned the respect and admiration of fans and peers. Speaking of which, in addition to Jett herself, the film features dozens of interviews with people who’ve known, worked with or have been influenced by her, including Iggy Pop, Pete Townsend, Debbie Harry, Billy Joe Armstrong, Adam Horovitz, Kathleen Hanna, co-Runaway Cherie Currie, Michael J. Fox and Miley Cyrus. 

Bad Reputation also features plenty of performance footage spanning over 40 years, from the club days to arena shows to philanthropic events raising awareness of issues important to her. Overall, it’s an entertaining chronicle of a remarkable career, though viewers still might be left wondering what truly makes Joan Jett tick.

EXTRA KIBBLES

THEATER PERFORMANCE - “Bad Reputation” and “Fresh Start.”

SOUND CHECK - “Bad Reputation” and “Fresh Start.”

BACKSTAGE - At the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony.

SEVERAL MUSIC VIDEOS