Bird on a Wire (film)
Bird on a Wire is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by John Badham and starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn. It was shot mainly in British Columbia, Canada.[1] The title refers to the Leonard Cohen song "Bird on the Wire". The alley motorcycle chase scene was filmed in Victoria's Chinatown, in Fan Tan Alley.
| Bird on a Wire | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Badham |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Rob Cohen |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Robert Primes |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $138.7 million |
Plot edit
Marianne "Muffie" Graves, a former hippie, is a successful lawyer completing a business deal in Detroit, Michigan. At a gas station, she crosses paths with a man that looks and sounds exactly like her hippie ex-fiancé Rick Jarmin, who disappeared in a plane crash 15 years previously and is presumed dead.
The man pretends to be a Vietnam War veteran and Marianne apologizes, says that Rick would never have served in that war, and then leaves. The terrified man then makes a call saying that he has been recognized and needs to be moved.
15 years earlier, Rick testified against murderous drug-smuggling DEA agent Eugene Sorenson and has been in the witness protection program ever since. Unfortunately, his old handler has retired and the new one, FBI agent Joe Weyburn, is being blackmailed into colluding with Sorenson. Promising to have Rick moved immediately, Weyburn leaks the gas station's address to Sorenson.
Meanwhile, Sorenson has been released on parole; his partner, Albert "Diggs" Diggins, picks him up and they set out to kill Rick for revenge and to smooth the passage of their new dealings with the Colombian drug cartels.
Marianne returns to confront Rick just as Diggs and Sorenson show up at the gas station with shotguns blazing. During the gunfight, Rick gets buckshot in his buttocks and his kindly old boss is killed. Marianne escapes with Rick, but Sorenson and Diggs pin the gas station owner's murder on Rick. They are forced to go on the run as Weyburn wipes out Rick's file and sends police to catch them.
To clear their names, Rick needs to reach his old handler. They use contacts from his former life-in-hiding, including at a beauty salon where he was pretending to be an effeminate gay man and was the star hairdresser, and an old flame, a veterinarian who removes the buckshot.
During a night spent in a hotel room, Rick tells Marianne everything that happened 15 years ago. They share their feelings and have passionate sex.
Reaching the home of his old handler, they find out he has Alzheimer's and thus doesn't remember Rick. Sorenson, Diggs and Weyburn show up, so Rick and Marianne retreat to a nearby zoo where Rick once worked. He releases animals from their cages to assist in their defense, and Diggs is mauled to death by a lion, while Weyburn is eaten by piranhas.
Sorenson winds up electrocuted. Wounded, Rick winds up suspended over a tiger in a cage, requiring Marianne to save him. When she is not quite able to reach him, he offers her the extra incentive of marriage and children, which does the trick. They are then seen boating into the sunset in the Caribbean.
Cast edit
- Mel Gibson as Richard "Rick" Jarmin
- Goldie Hawn as Marianne Graves
- David Carradine as Eugene Sorenson
- Bill Duke as Albert "Diggs" Diggins
- Stephen Tobolowsky as Joe Weyburn
- Joan Severance as Rachel Varney
- Jeff Corey as Lou Baird
Reception edit
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Bird on a Wire gained a mixed to negative reception.[2][3][4][5] Of 47 reviews that Variety considered in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington D.C., only 1 was favorable and 38 were unfavorable.[6][7] Lor. of Variety called it "an overproduced, tedious road movie".[2] The film holds a 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 24 reviews.
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[8]
Box office edit
Bird on a Wire debuted at number 1 at the US box office with an opening weekend gross of $15.3 million[9] and went on to gross over $138.6 million worldwide against a $20 million budget. It is considered a box office success.
References edit
- ^ Thompson-Nicola Film Commission 2007-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Lor. (May 16, 1990). "Film Reviews: Bird on a Wire". Variety. p. 26. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- ^ "Bird on a Wire". The Washington Post. 1990-05-18. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- ^ . Entertainment Weekly. 1990-05-18. Archived from the original on 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- ^ . Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- ^ "Critics Opinions". Variety. May 23, 1990. pp. 28–30.
- ^ "L.A. Critics Opinions". Variety. May 23, 1990. p. 67.
- ^ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
- ^ "Bird on a Wire".
External links edit
- Bird on a Wire at IMDb
- Bird on a Wire at AllMovie
- Bird on a Wire at the TCM Movie Database
- Bird on a Wire at Rotten Tomatoes
- Bird on a Wire at Box Office Mojo