Reckless: Jean Harlow deserves better than this

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you're a die-hard fan of Jean Harlow or you really want to see what 1930s Hollywood thought 'drama' looked like. If you get annoyed by rich men who think money is a personality trait, you're going to hate this one. It’s a bit of a slog, but Harlow is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.

The whole premise starts with Bob Harrison, a guy with way too much money and zero boundaries, buying every single seat in the theater just to watch Mona Leslie perform by himself. It’s supposed to be romantic, I guess? To me, it just felt like the ultimate display of 'I can buy whatever I want.' 🙄

Watching the train wreck

There's this weird tension between Harrison and her agent, Ned Riley, and it turns into this exhausting tug-of-war over Mona. They treat her like a trophy they can just swap back and forth. It’s frustrating to watch because Harlow is clearly the only one in the room with a pulse.

The pacing is all over the place. Sometimes it feels like a snappy comedy, then it shifts into this heavy-handed tragedy that feels a bit unearned. One minute we’re at the theater, the next everything is falling apart in ways that feel a little forced. Maybe they were trying to mirror the chaos of fame, but it just feels like the script didn't know when to quit.

• Jean Harlow is really, really trying.
• The supporting cast feels like they wandered in from a totally different movie.
• That theater scene is just awkward, not grand.
• I kept waiting for the story to actually care about what Mona wanted.

It reminded me a little bit of the vibe in La dame aux camélias, but without the same kind of focus or punch. There's just too much noise. The movie doesn't really know if it wants to be a cautionary tale or just a flashy musical drama, so it settles for being a bit of both and neither at the same time.

When the third act hits, it gets surprisingly bleak. It’s almost like the movie got bored of the romance and decided to punish everyone instead. The shift in tone gave me whiplash, but hey, at least it wasn't boring for those last twenty minutes. Definitely not something I'd rush to watch again, but it’s interesting enough for a lazy afternoon. Just don't expect a masterpiece.