Biopics continue to be a hit-or-miss proposition, and The Runaways, now on DVD (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment/Apparition), is a good case in point. An all-girl (emphasis on "girl," as the members were in their teens) rock band that actually played its own instruments and (co-) wrote its own songs, The Runaways was formed in the mid-1970s, a time when such a thing was still on the risky side. As the story (director Floria Sigismondi's screenplay based on Cherie Currie's book) goes, Southern California girls Joan Jett, nee Larkin (Kristen Stewart) and Cherie Currie (a suddenly grown-up Dakota Fanning), who both shared a love of rock music and coloring outside of the lines, were groomed by record producer/songwriter/starmaker Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) to be lead guitarist and vocalist, respectively, in the next big thing.

With other band members recruited, including Sandy West (Stella Maeve), Lita Ford (Scout Taylor-Compton) and someone – a possible composite? – named Robin (Alia Shawkat), taskmaster Fowley puts the band through their paces, and eventually unleashes them on the world. They caused a ripple Stateside, but in Japan they were tsunami-strength. This fact is illustrated in a scene where a mob of rabid and screaming Japanese fans shatters a glass wall separating them from the band.

Unprepared for even the least amount of success, the already unstable personalities inside and outside the band begin to clash. Cherie especially feels pulled in a multitude of directions. After being abandoned by her self-absorbed mother (Tatum O'Neal), she feels guilty for having left sister Marie (Riley

Keough) behind to care for their alcoholic father. Heading down a path similar to dear old dad's, Cherie also becomes involved in a romantic relationship with Jett. Things come to a head during a recording session where tempers flare and instruments are thrown.

Since the devil is in the details, it's interesting that in Sigismondi's vision, she gets certain things, such as the fashions, the hairstyles, the make-up, even the cars so right, while she drops the ball on others. The Runaways were more than just Jett and Currie, yet their story is the main focus. This holds true right to the end where, post-band-break-up, the two young women who hadn't spoken to each other for quite some time find themselves reunited on the radio – one as an interview subject, the other as a listener and caller. Kudos, however, to Sigismondi for not shying away from the same-sex love story aspect of The Runaways' tale.

DVD bonus features include the featurette Plugged In: Making the Film, commentary by Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, and more.

Summer camp

A late arrival to the cult of Showgirls (MGM/UA), newly reissued in a Blu-Ray+DVD set, it's safe to say that the film's value, camp or otherwise, is completely lost on me. As camp classics go, Showgirls ranks low on the list when compared to Valley of the Dolls or Mommie Dearest. It's a rabidly misogynistic mess, a   corny, softcore porn, toxic baby-oil spill of a movie, and probably Ann Coulter's favorite flick of the 1990s.

Switchblade-wielding hitchhiker Nomi (barely human blow-up doll Elizabeth Berkley) is on her way to Las Vegas to be a "dancer," a career goal as vague as the dull look in her eyes. Once there, she's propositioned on a regular basis. One perv even tells Nomi that "sooner or later, she's going to have to sell it," and sooner comes sooner than later.

Crashing with costume mistress Molly (Gina Ravera), Nomi "dances" at strip club Cheetahs, but clings to her dream of being a Vegas showgirl just like Crystal (Gina Gershon), the star of Goddess at the Stardust. But Nomi still has dues to pay, including a $500 private dance for Crystal and boyfriend/manager Zack (Kyle MacLachlan and his important hair).

Before you know it, Nomi lands an audition at the Stardust with Tony (a toupeed Alan Rachins) and his gay assistant Marty (Patrick Bristow), and despite some unpleasantness, gets cast in Goddess. Soon Nomi and Crystal are thick as thieves, dishing about dog chow over lunch (don't ask!) and flirting with lesbian titillation (it's a testament to Gershon's talent that she survived this car wreck).

Of course, Nomi can't resist banging Zack, which only heightens the sexual tension between her and Crystal. In a twist on the 42nd Street myth, Nomi becomes Crystal's understudy, then proceeds to fix it so that she gets the lead in the show.  But Nomi's world is about to be turned upside down when Molly is brutally raped and beaten by rock heartthrob Andrew Carver (William Shockley) and Zack discovers the truth about Nomi's sordid past.

The Blu-Ray+DVD set boasts a bevy of bonus features.