Reckless Behavior: Caught on Tape (2007) (TV)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Donald Wrye

Writer:

Donald Wrye (writer)

Release Date:

17 June 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Emma Norman spends a wild Spring break holiday on Mintners Cove beach, California, with her female friends...

Plot Keywords:

Party | Beach | Drinking | Shirtless | Beachwear

Cast

Odette Yustman	...	Emma Norman
Antonio Sabato Jr.	...	Greg Vlasi
John Barker	...	David (as Johnny Barker)
Rick Leckinger	...	Dwight
Matt Hudson	...	Les
Paul Glover	...	Chuck Davis
Colin Mathura-Jeffree	...	Raviphamai
Michael Saccente	...	Att. Harold Salkin
Mike Edward	...	Nick Bronson
Tobias Jack Alexander	...	Jimmy (as Tobias Alexander)
Benedict Wall	...	Cliff
Dane Dawson	...	Coffee Shop Guy
Michael Hallows	...	Jesse
Richard Hanna	...	Minister
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alison Bruce	...	Ms Leister
Andrea Bruce	...	Alice
Emma Fenton	...	Jackie
Laurie Foel	...	Esther Richardson (as Laurie Foell)
James Gaylyn	...	Chief of Police
Hannah Marshall	...	Lorraine
Lucy Schmidt	...	Bartender
Maggie Tarver	...	Belle
Hannah Tolich	...	Stephanie (as Hannah Banks)
Jared Turner	...	Fireman

Also Known As:

Stolen Life (Australia) (DVD title)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning of the movie when Emma is talking on the phone with one of her friends her friend makes the comment that Emma works with 7-year-olds all day, and a few scenes later Emma states that she teaches 3rd grade. Later when she receives a teaching award her boyfriend says she teaches 2nd grade.

Good enough for Lifetime

Emma is a second-grade (or third-grade, depending on which character you believe) teacher in Minneapolis. She is fresh out of college and her methods are unconventional, but effective. Nevertheless, the establishment doesn't like change.

Emma's boyfriend David is a firefighter in Prairie, four hours away, where Emma's father and sister still live (her mother is deceased). It's a small enough town to be called a small town, and yet it has a professional fire department.

Emma's friends Lorraine and Stephanie want to go to Spring Break in San Diego. Emma wants to go camping with David, but those plans fall through, so it's off to Mitner's Cove, where everyone is having a wild time. Lots of bikinis, dancing, partying.

The girls meet Greg, who has a cameraman who would like to film their adventures. ALL of them. And just in case they don't do anything sleazy enough (trust me, though, most of what they do without drugs looks bad in certain contexts), Greg has a drug he can use. The girls' behavior seems innocent enough, though they do take off their bikini tops. For the benefit of those watching on broadcast TV, breasts are either facing away from the camera, or they are behind other bodies. That's okay. These girls have already looked plenty hot. And then there's Emma's impression of Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally", which of course Meg did much better. Emma's not bad.

Emma goes home to find David doesn't like her new attitude, and their relationship is in trouble.

She does win an award for her teaching. The kids do like her a lot, though we don't really see much from them (probably just as well; that might attract kids too young to see this movie).

And then word gets out about the hot new porn video. Emma's job, her relationship with David, her father's printing business ... not to mention the pervert who stalks her.

The ending isn't what one might expect, but cleverly written and well performed by Odette Yustman. Somehow it still satisfies.

The main point of this movie: don't do anything you wouldn't want seen on the Internet or on video. And for goodness sakes, don't do it when a camera is around. The law will not protect you ... or will it? I don't want to give too much away, but Professor Richardson and the lawyer she contacted both do a good job of explaining why it's pointless to even try to get justice. With time running out.

Odette Yustman is quite pretty with clothes on (with sunglasses she reminded me of Sandra Bullock), and really hot looking in a bikini. She's not that good an actress, but she's not bad.

The actor playing the porn distributor has a good but brief performance. Not quite what I would have expected.

Another standout performance, very brief, comes from the fat woman cleaning up the beach ... after.

The second graders (or third graders, depending on who you believe) who appeared in the movie should not watch it until they get much older. They wouldn't believe what their teacher was doing with David! It's actually worse than anything she did in Mitner's Cove.

The movie is not sleazy. Once Spring Break is over, it's about a woman who has to learn to be strong to overcome adversity. Notice I said learn to be strong. Emma takes a while. But she gets there.

It's entertaining enough.