Bird on a Wire (1990) - DVD Review
Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn Star in an underrated Action Classic
Mar 31, 2008
Taking the Leads
In attaching Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn to Bird on a Wire's two lead roles, Director John Badham was investing in Hollywood star quality. Gibson was between filming the second and third chapters in the Lethal Weapon franchise, and he was hot property. In addition to the audience garnered by cult hit Mad Max, Gibson's new-found star-status had elevated him to that of Hollywood A-Lister. Gibson's co-star, Goldie Hawn, had shot to fame some twenty years before Bird On A Wire came to fruition, having been launched on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, the hugely popular television series, between 1968-70. After following this success with the smash hit comedy Private Benjamin (1980), Hawn's film career stalled somewhat. John Badham's runaway action hit would reignite it.
Played for Laughs
The film's plot centres on the adventures of Rick Jarmin (Gibson), a fugitive on the Witness Relocation Program, whose past catches up with him when his ex-girlfriend, Marianne, pulls into the garage where he works. Unable to shake her interest, predictably because he looks exactly like her adrenalin-junkie ex, Jarmin is traced by his worst nightmare. 15 years previously, when Rick and Marianne had been young, carefree lovers, Rick's involvement in a botched crime led to him testifying against the two drug dealers whose freedom he traded for his own. Now released from their incarceration, both are intent on a bloody revenge against Rick and set about tracking their quarry. Rick and Marianne are forced to run for their lives while their past hunts them down. The action is fast-paced, and the quips frequent, sometimes belying the dramatic nature of the film. But many of the laughter lines are punched home by accomplished performers, so the comedy is well balanced alongside the action thrills.
A Familiar Direction
As demonstrated by the cult classic War Games (1983), John Badham was a director in the prime of his mainstream-Hollywood life. Short Circuit had followed in 1986, and Stakeout (1987) soon after. And Badham's direction is a stand-out - the film has incredible pace, including hilarious action set-pieces such as an impromptu aircraft flight, a wild motorbike ride through a hairdressers and a morning stroll around the outside of a hotel - a hundred metres high! Badham grips the reins tightly; the story is told well, and the tone set firmly to tongue in cheek. The finale, set in the dead of night in a deserted zoo, is the last thrill that rounds off the action perfectly. Badham has been remembered for the other great works that book-end Bird On A Wire. But this 1990 classic had tremendous humour, relentless action, and paid off on all levels. Both Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn went from strength to strength following the release of the film, and as well as taking $70 million, the film has gone on to enjoy a whole new lease of life on DVD. This is definitely one film worth revisiting and enjoying on the latest format.
