Bird on a Wire Information

Bird on a Wire is a 1990 action comedy film starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn, directed by John Badham, and shot mainly in British Columbia, Canada. The title refers to the Leonard Cohen song "Bird on the Wire". The alley motorcycle chase scene was filmed in Victoria, BC's Chinatown, in Fan Tan Alley.

Plot

Rick Jarmin (Mel Gibson) helped convict a drug-dealing FBI agent named Eugene Sorenson (David Carradine) and was placed in the witness protection program. Fifteen years later his former fiancée Marianne Graves (Goldie Hawn) crosses paths with him at a gas station in Detroit, Michigan. Rick refuses to recognize Marianne as the witness protection program does not allow contact with people from the witness' previous life. If she recognizes him it may lead to Sorenson finding and killing him.

Sorenson has been let out of jail after serving his sentence, and with his partner Albert Diggs (Bill Duke) they are out to kill Rick in order to smooth the passage of their latest deal with some Columbian drug dealers. Marianne has blown Rick's cover and he makes a frantic call to his relocation officer for a new identity, only to discover that his old contact has retired.

His new contact, Joe Weyburn (Stephen Tobolowsky), is in league with Diggs and Sorenson. Just as Marianne prepares to confront Rick they are surprised by Sorenson and Diggs, who show up at the gas station with guns blazing.

They kill Rick's kindly old boss at the gas station, pinning the murder on Rick and Marianne who are forced to go on the run. The climax of the film takes place at a zoo, where Sorenson and his men get killed by different animals. Meanwhile, Rick, who suffered a gunshot wound, makes a promise to Marianne that he wants to marry her. In the end, he does and the two of them enjoy a vacation in the Caribbean.

Cast

• Mel Gibson as Rick Jarmin
• Goldie Hawn as Marianne Graves
• David Carradine as Eugene Sorenson
• Bill Duke as Albert Diggs
• Stephen Tobolowsky as Joe Weyburn
• Joan Severance as Rachel Varney
• Jeff Corey as Lou Baird

Reception

The movie gained a mixed to negative reception. Bird on a Wire currently holds a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews.

Box office

Bird on a Wire debuted at #1 at the box office. The film went on to gross over $138.6 million worldwide.