Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 19, 1990 TAG: 9005190370
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But somehow that astuteness didn't extend to the movie's script. This romantic action-comedy has star power in Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn. It has plenty of action: if your thing is car, motorcycle and airplane chases then this one's for you. And it has a workable if routine idea for a story. What it lacks is believability. Because the story is as shakily constructed as it is, we're mostly aware that Mel and Goldie are up there being themselves. What would have helped the movie immensely is the street smarts of a "48 HRS." to smooth over the gaping plot holes.
But Badham and his trio of writers are content to have Mel and Goldie trade glib insults in the most perilous of situations.
He plays Rick, a guy who has been in the federal witness protection program for 15 years after putting away a drug dealer and murderer played by David Carradine. When the dealer is paroled, he buddies up with his old partner (Bill Duke) and the two go hunting for Rick. The motivation is not revenge but some fuzzy bit of business that has something to do with the bad guys' economic future.
Rick is pumping gas in Detroit when who should pull up in a rented "Beemer" but Marianne, the fiance who thought Rick died in a plane crash 15 years back. Of course, she's played by Hawn. Marianne is now a successful corporate lawyer. Rick is supposedly an unreconstructed '60s person and the movie tries to use the contrast for comic effect but the movie's sense of time seems to be out of synch and the lawyer/hippie conflict is implausible and ineffective.
When the bad guys come around with guns blazing, sparks are rekindled between Rick and Marianne. They hit the road, fleeing the villains and visiting Rick's past places of employment. During his years in hiding he showed a remarkable versatility, working as an auto mechanic, a hairdresser, an inventor, a builder and a zoo keeper.
Gibson and Hawn have undeniable screen presence even on a cakewalk like this and the movie's pace is brisk. It's easy enough to watch despite the script problems but just as easy to forget. `Bird on a Wire' A Universal picture at Tanglewood Mall Cinema (989-6165) and the Terrace Theatre (366-1677). Two hours long. Rated PG-13 for violence, language and a shot of Gibson's backside.
by CNB