Film
Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in Chicago, plus articles, trailers and more
- Home
- Box Office
- Listings
- Trailers
- Features
Bookmark this page- Edition:
Bird on a Wire (1990)
Director: John Badham
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Beware films which boast hybrid classifications like action-romantic comedy and credit three screenwriters (one per genre?). This formulaic offering teams Gibson and Hawn - a love match made in casting heaven - as ex-lovers, reunited after years apart, who find themselves on the run from vengeful criminals. Rick (Gibson), hiding under the Federal Witness Protection Program, changes identities and jobs like most people change socks; Marianne (Hawn) is a lawyer who, in taking up Rick's dangerous life-style, bears the permanent expression of a kid on a rollercoaster. Within the first half-hour, we've met the baddies (led by a taciturn Carradine), heard Rick and Marianne's teasing banter, and experienced the thrills of a shootout and car chase. As for what follows, this drearily repetitious film offers more of the same with variations in backdrop, all directed in perfunctory fashion by Badham. It does have a nice '60s soundtrack; shame about the rest.Author: CM
Cast & crew
Director: John Badham
Producer: Rob Cohen
Cast: Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn, David Carradine, Bill Duke, Stephen Tobolowsky, Joan Severance, Harry Caesar, Jeff Corey full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 111 mins
Features
Gray's anatomy
James Gray wants to push buttons—again.
The next big thing?
Gigantic Releasing tries to rethink indie distribution…without movie theaters.
Red Diva: Lyubov Orlova, First Lady of Soviet Cinema
So you think you can dance, comrade?
Puppet master
Coraline director Henry Selick takes stop-motion animation into 3-D.
Socratic method
Laurent Cantet's approach on the set matches the message of his film.
Wander woman
Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy puts a Bush-era spin on the road movie.
Oscars
Read our interviews with the nominees, our reviews of the nominated films and more.
What do you think?
Post your review now