Bad Reputation

Bad Reputation opens with a story that the former Joan Larkin tells about her desire as a 13-year-old for a Sears electric guitar. Her parents didn't understand why, but they bought her one, and she wailed away on it until she became as good as the teen boys who were also dreaming of rock ‘n’ roll stardom in the Southern California suburbs of the 1970s. Jett got her start by hanging out at the Sunset Strip nightclub Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco, where she plunged into the glam-rock scene. Through the club, she met the notorious Kim Fowley, who helped her put together an all-girl band. If Jett longed to be taken seriously as a musician, the male-dominated media of the time couldn't see past the Runaways’ jailbait image. Director Kevin Kerslake (Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!) proceeds through the years as Jett struggles to remain commercially viable. And then along came the riot grrrl movement, which brought her back to her punk roots through collaborations with Bikini Kill and the Gits. Over the years, she has also played for the troops and spoken out on behalf of LGBTQ rights. On "Fragile," from 2013's Unvarnished, a 54-year-old Jett sings, "I'm at the point in life now, I think about my own mortality and how it all works out. I lived the best I could, but is that a bluff? I see myself and wonder, was that good enough?" Well, no one is better at being Joan Jett than Joan Jett, and Kerslake captures her essence well in this documentary that also features Debbie Harry, Ian MacKaye, and Adam Horovitz paying their respects to the pioneering performer. Extras include bonus performances, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction footage, and music videos. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)