Physical Evidence

Reynolds used to snap out a smart line, hold the audacity for a close-up, then cinch a zip or slam in a magazine. In this hopelessly muddled thriller, he is denied his routine, and what his fans make of the resulting penny-plain actor is anybody's guess. Script-heavy, improbable, and with a thrown-together plot, the movie doubtless started out as a gloss on the complications of '40s film noir. Framed for a killing, drunken cop Joe Paris (Reynolds) is assigned up-market attorney Jenny Hudson (Russell) to defend him. He can't remember what he did on the night in question, won't implicate his married lover (Lenz), and they go through the usual period of mutual resentment. Jenny lives with a bracered yuppie (McGinley) who says things like 'I thought we were gonna spend some quality time together'. The case is crazy with clues, fights, new characters who fail to detain the attention, and all-important tapes containing something or other. The resolution is rubbish.