Getting reckless with Daryl Hannah
Once upon a time, she was a pinup princess. A blonde vision sent from heaven to tantalize male movie-goers. A sex symbol for a generation of guys who were just outgrowing their Garanimals.
Oh yes, Daryl Hannah was a goddess. And even though she turned 47 years old today, to the 80s generation she's still a mermaid ("Splash"), or a high school cheerleader turned rebel ("Reckless") or even a "replicant" ("Blade Runner"). Man, is there a role she had in the 80s that sucked? (Well, maybe "Ayla" in "Clan of the Cave Bear." Or is it Care Bear?)
Daryl has come a long way since those salad days. These days, she's a big-time environmentalist with her own blog called DH Love Life. And speaking of love, she's dated a slew of big names over the years, including John F. Kennedy Jr., Val Kilmer and Jackson Browne.
And -- oh yeah -- she has five movies in production now. But the best from the old days? Ummm, Wall Street, Splash and Wall Street if you want the obvious picks. Otherwise ...
MOST UNDERRATED DARYL HANNAH MOVIES OF THE 80s:
5. Legal Eagles (1986): An overall unwatchable movie, except for Rod Stewart's tune ("Love Touch") and the lovely Daryl Hannah (who also sings a song in the movie -- "Put Out The Fire.")
4. Roxanne (1987): Yeah, this flick is all Steve Martin, but who wouldn't fall for Hannah. (Favorite line: "I thought you said, 'Earn more sessions by sleeving.' ")
3. High Spirits (1988): A tough movie to stand up for. On one hand, you have Hannah, Peter O'Toole and Liam Neeson. But you also have Steve Guttenberg, Peter Gallagher and Jennifer Tilly. Oh hell, just enjoy it. ("If he kills me one more time, I'll scream!")
2. Summer Lovers (1982): Peter Gallagher and Daryl again? Hmmm, prying minds what to know what's up. In the meantime, just enjoy all the sex threesome scenes set in the Greek islands.
1. Reckless (1984): A largely forgotten teenage flick from our decade, starring Aidan Quinn as the loner football play who falls for well-to-do Hannah as the popular cheerleader. Great, I mean GREAT pool scene. Need another reason to love it? Queue up the movie's signature song -- "Kids in America" by Kim Wilde.
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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"Care Bear, "Cave Bear" ... whatever :-)
Posted by: chase | December 03, 2007 at 05:09 PM
Ah yes! Clan of the Cave Bear. The "squat and give birth" scene really won viewers over. :)
Posted by: Marissa | December 03, 2007 at 05:25 PM
I think "Clan of the Care Bear" could have been an interesting flick. Like the original no English and they meet their mortal enemy," Smurfs ". Oh! The humanity!
Posted by: Tom | December 03, 2007 at 06:26 PM
Oooh man, that's a great typo on my part. And I remember as I was writing the item ... "Don't write Care Bear, don't write Care Bear..."
With the 80s, even typos are great.
Posted by: Spears | December 03, 2007 at 06:53 PM
You know what's freaky? While reading it I said to myself, "don't read Care bear, don't read Care Bear..."
Honestly, I didn't notice the typo... because I NEVER LEARNED HOW TO READ!
Posted by: Marissa | December 03, 2007 at 07:34 PM
Back in the 8o's I went to see movies just because of the song I heard in the commercial, so "Kids in America" was responsible for me sitting through "Reckless." That pool scene was the only memorable one (I vaguely recall a motorcycle 'getaway' at the end), but I thought Aidan Quinn and Adam Baldwin were scorching hot, so it all worked out.
Posted by: theroux | December 05, 2007 at 07:37 PM