Bird on a Wire (1990)
Bird on a Wire might not be the most intense or complicated action movie ever made, but it’s a great choice for date night. It has a shameless amount of cheesecake to please the ladies and gents, and since it has a relatively lighthearted plot, if you end up paying attention to other things besides the movie, you won’t get lost.
Goldie Hawn plays a successful, gorgeous attorney (remember her famous quote about the three ages for women in Hollywood: “babe, district attorney, and Driving Miss Daisy”?) with a boyfriend she claims to be happy with. When on a business trip, she bumps into Mel Gibson at a gas station. She’s thrown for a loop since he looks exactly like her old boyfriend who died fifteen years earlier. He’s thrown for a loop because he is her old boyfriend! He’s been in the witness protection agency for fifteen years after he testified against drug kingpins David Carradine and Bill Duke. When he calls the government to say he’s been recognized, he’s told his old handler has suddenly retired and his new one (Stephen Tobolowsky) is desperate to learn his location. Might there be “foul play”? Wrong Goldie Hawn movie, but she still ends up as a lawyer on the run trying to hide her ex from the cops.
Goldie is a beautiful woman with a sensational figure, but it does feel a bit gratuitous to continually flaunt her legs, show her panties, and have her run from her life in a strapless dress. Back in 1990, Mel Gibson was a sex symbol as well (and his Jefferson-ponytail mullet was perfectly acceptable), so the movie also features more scenes than necessary where he takes off his clothes. The story itself is a bit thin, so the action scenes are plentiful to make up for it. Car chases, motorcycle crashes, helicopters with machine guns, and gas station explosions all entertain the audience while they get to watch two beautiful people bicker and fall back in love. The end sequence at the zoo is pretty intense, with the wild animals on the prowl for tasty treats!
If you like witness protection stories, you won’t want to miss Bird on a Wire. I’d seen it years ago and rewatched it recently to honor Jeff Corey as Star of the Week. He has a small but important role, and although he’s definitely recognizable even after 50 years on the screen, his character broke my heart. To make myself feel better, I popped in Third Finger, Left Hand to see him as a happy honeymooner.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. In every chase scene, there are some canted angles and handheld shots, and that will make you sick. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
More Jeff Corey movies here!
Goldie Hawn plays a successful, gorgeous attorney (remember her famous quote about the three ages for women in Hollywood: “babe, district attorney, and Driving Miss Daisy”?) with a boyfriend she claims to be happy with. When on a business trip, she bumps into Mel Gibson at a gas station. She’s thrown for a loop since he looks exactly like her old boyfriend who died fifteen years earlier. He’s thrown for a loop because he is her old boyfriend! He’s been in the witness protection agency for fifteen years after he testified against drug kingpins David Carradine and Bill Duke. When he calls the government to say he’s been recognized, he’s told his old handler has suddenly retired and his new one (Stephen Tobolowsky) is desperate to learn his location. Might there be “foul play”? Wrong Goldie Hawn movie, but she still ends up as a lawyer on the run trying to hide her ex from the cops.
Goldie is a beautiful woman with a sensational figure, but it does feel a bit gratuitous to continually flaunt her legs, show her panties, and have her run from her life in a strapless dress. Back in 1990, Mel Gibson was a sex symbol as well (and his Jefferson-ponytail mullet was perfectly acceptable), so the movie also features more scenes than necessary where he takes off his clothes. The story itself is a bit thin, so the action scenes are plentiful to make up for it. Car chases, motorcycle crashes, helicopters with machine guns, and gas station explosions all entertain the audience while they get to watch two beautiful people bicker and fall back in love. The end sequence at the zoo is pretty intense, with the wild animals on the prowl for tasty treats!
If you like witness protection stories, you won’t want to miss Bird on a Wire. I’d seen it years ago and rewatched it recently to honor Jeff Corey as Star of the Week. He has a small but important role, and although he’s definitely recognizable even after 50 years on the screen, his character broke my heart. To make myself feel better, I popped in Third Finger, Left Hand to see him as a happy honeymooner.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. In every chase scene, there are some canted angles and handheld shots, and that will make you sick. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
More Jeff Corey movies here!