Jenny L I remember seeing Reckless when I was in middle school. It was an incredibly racy movie for the time--even though it pales in comparison to what teenagers see today. It was also the movie where I developed a lifelong crush on Aidan Quinn.I just re-watched this movie (3 times, actually) for the first time in more than 20 years. It holds up. There is no question that some of the dialogue/delivery is flat out cheesy: "Tracey, I love you", "You're the coach" and anything the coach actually says. But there are some golden moments in this film that I could watch over and over again. It has been mentioned before, but the dance scene is superb--the circling of the camera, the quintessential 80s bounce-dance, and Aidan Quinn's amazing, punk moves--not to mention the song by Romeo Void. It is one of the first times we actually see the character Tracey really smile. The "Kids in America" scene...awkward and sexy and a little bit odd but utterly perfect in the way the sexual tension builds. The sex scenes were realistic and erotic--especially the way they were filmed without accompanying background music. The movie has a quick pace, although it still feels like there is something missing at times. Daryl Hannah has always bugged me a bit as an actress, but she generates a lot of heat with Aidan Quinn, though I'm not sure if this was his doing or theirs together. Because with the exception of a few moments, she can be very wooden. Still, it didn't really diminish the movie for me as I think her character was meant to be icy until she began to interact with Johnny. Which brings me back to Aidan Quinn. In the beginning of the film, he makes your heart break for Johnny's loneliness. Everyone celebrates after the football game, which he basically won, and he goes to sit on the overlook, cold and alone. Quinn's facial expressions are 75% of his acting--and I mean that as a good thing. When Tracey undresses by the pool...and he gives his half smile. When they are making love in her parents' bed and his face radiates his happiness. When they are making love in the boiler room, his expressions make you understand why she wants him so badly. When he sees her at the funeral and he realizes that she cares. When he walks by her at school after they fight and he can't bear to look at her. When he is trying initially to de-escalate the confrontation with his coach when he is late for practice. This scene, by the way, makes my hear hurt for the way some kids/students are treated by those who have no idea what they go through outside of school. I love 80s movies--but I find it funny that the most underrated ones made the most impression on me: Reckless and Fire with Fire. Neither are going to win any Oscars, but that's not why I watch them. When I watch this movie, I feel like a teenager all over again.

da_lowdown I was a teenager working at the Cineplex when I saw this movie for the first time. It doesn't take much to stir teenage angst, and longing. I was an easy target for this movie. You see, at the time, I too was in a doomed relationship with a girl that was all wrong for me (or so it seemed to the myopic teenage eye). She was a drill team princess and I was a nobody from the wrong side of the tracks. I had an immediate emotional response to Johnny and Tracey's dilemma. It resonated with me powerfully at the time. "Reckless" has lingered in my memory along with all the other sweet nostalgia from my youth. Time and distance grant you clarity. So now, twenty four years later, I think I can review this movie with a much more critical eye. After seeing it again recently on a fairly good VHS copy, some of the strengths that I remember are still there. The beautiful cinematography that is reminiscent of "The Dear Hunter" is still there. Many of the shots in the film give the Pennsylvania mill town a bleak and forlorn look that matches Johnny's life. The editing is dead-on and lends this film an urgency that matches the story. The music is used effectively throughout. Inxs, Romeo Void, and Kim Wilde, just to name a few, give each scene the 'feel' it needs to enhance the story. The home coming dance scene where Johnny punks out to 'Never Say Never' is a great example of how bringing together great acting, editing, music, and energetic camera-work into a scene can get an audience's heart rate going. The scene still holds up after all these years. Fresh faced earnestness of the performances from Quinn and Hannah also make this movie very watchable. Despite all of it's strengths, I couldn't ignore the glaring shortcomings. First off, Quinn's character, Johnny, is not really very believable. To be more precise, the way girls react to him in the film (with the notable exception of Tracey) is not really believable. Look at some of the opening scenes where some of Tracey's fellow cheerleaders treat him like a leper and call him a weirdo. Who are we kidding? Let's face it, as far back as James Dean, good looking, brooding guys on motorcycles have been babe magnets. Had I known this back then, I would have saved my money for a bike instead of blowing it on beer and fast food every weekend. I will pause this review briefly to kick myself…. Okay, I'm back. On with my review. Johnny's relationship with the older lady at the bowling alley is never developed although it seems to hold promise for further developments. Perhaps a love triangle? I dunno, it just seems kinda weird how it is given attention, and then dropped. Aside from Quinn's character, all other characters are fairly two dimensional. Tracey feels underwritten. She's a perfect princess that decides to rebel just because her life is too perfect? Really? Huh. At least that's what a brief two minute scene tries to sell us on for her motivation for ending up with Johnny on her first night. Did I miss something? I attribute these anemic characters to an underdeveloped script that comes across as clichéd and formulaic.In most instances, this would be the death of any film. At least for me it would be. But because of all it's other strengths, it actually turns out to be a pretty engaging little movie, even after all these years. "Reckless" is a fine example of how style, and shameless pandering to the teenage psyche, can sometimes triumph over a substandard script.

drylungvocalmartyr I caught Reckless on TCM the other night and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. In the beginning it seemed like the all-too-familiar small town college romance thing with the quarterback, the cheerleader and the outcast but as the story developed I found myself more and more intrigued. And the reason for this was the inspired acting by Aidan Quinn (his first movie ever!) and Darryl Hannah. The chemistry between them was exceptional and as their relationship unfolded the movie really came alive. Credits must be given to the then first-time director James Foley for directing their scenes in a down-to-earth, natural way. Maybe the script is not too original and we've probably seen these characters before, nevertheless the film manages to grasp the relative pointlessness and hopelessness of the industry town milieu really well. Although our two protagonists come from different family backgrounds which–under normal circumstances–would produce totally divergent ways of life, they still find each other and share the common desire to escape from the lives that are laid out for them in order to step on a road less traveled. The top-notch performances and the unmistakable 80s atmosphere make it well worth looking out for this film.

caspian1978 Just another typical 80's youth film with two actors in their late twenties playing teenagers. Besides all that, you got yourself a sexy poolside scene where you have to wait through half the film to see it. You fot Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah doing a dare strip tease at their high school pool in the middle of the night. It's great. You got to admit it's one of the only reasons why people rent this movie in the first place. A decent story, decent acting, an overall worth see movie. Check it out!