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My fangirl review of the almost forgotten and always cherished Reckless (1984), starring Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah
Originally published January 5th, 2010

I also hesitated about buying this teen steam classic in the DVD-R format, but so far, so good. I watched the movie last night and the quality was fine. Actually, it was better than I expected. Clean and clear and none of that photo of a photo murkiness I've seen in other recently exhumed films.
If you are a newcomer to this movie, or it's been a couple of decades since you've seen it, rest assured that Reckless stands out from other post-Risky Business teen movies of the 80s and beyond. The chemistry between Aidan Quinn's Johnny Rourke (the poor rebel outsider) and Daryl Hannah's Tracey Prescott (the popular, rich cheerleader) renders any plot line cookie cutterness totally obsolete, and Reckless rides on their heat.
Beyond that, Reckless also is well served by the strength of another main character -- the setting. No soundstage, or Vancouver street corner, this. Much of the movie was shot in Mingo Junction, Ohio, a town that couldn't be more rust belt if it tried. The opening shots of steel mill smoke stacks belching pollution into a heavy, gray sky, followed by a close up of Quinn's dreamy intense blue eyed stare, say it all. The desperation felt by Johnny, Tracey, and the other high school seniors feels real -- job prospects, outside of the dying steel mill, are scarce. "Are we dead?" asks one of Tracey's cheerleader friends when they almost get into a car crash. "No," replies another girlfriend, her voice a sigh of disappointment. The only hope for life is to break out of this dead end town. And go where?
Good question. After a turn on the dance floor in the high school gym -- in an unforgettable scene given extra oomph by a Romeo Void song ("I might like you better if we slept together," indeed) and a camera that doesn't stop circling the pogo-ing lovers -- the main characters go and have rust belt teen steam sex. Sex that is actually sexy. That chemistry thing again ... Meanwhile, Aidan Quinn channels Brando. Hannah channels, well, that lips parted, insecure, almost vacuous, legs that go on forever thing. The end of the movie is a bit of an open road fantasy, but 25 years later, it also invites the question ... whatever happened to Johnny and Tracey?