Her Alibi (1989)
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15% of critics liked it
(20 reviews) -
39% of users liked it
(6,813 ratings)
A frustrated writer helps save a woman being railroaded by the law -- or is she? -- in this comic mystery with romantic overtones. Phil Blackwood (Tom Selleck) is a best-selling mystery novelist who has run into a bad case of writer's block. Hoping to find inspiration for his next book, Phil… More A frustrated writer helps save a woman being railroaded by the law -- or is she? -- in this comic mystery with romantic overtones. Phil Blackwood (Tom Selleck) is a best-selling mystery novelist who has run into a bad case of writer's block. Hoping to find inspiration for his next book, Phil goes to the city courthouse and witnesses the arraignment of Nina Ionescu (Paulina Porizkova), a beautiful Romanian immigrant who is accused of killing a man with a pair of scissors. For Phil, it's love at first sight, and after sneaking into jail disguised as a priest, he makes her an offer. Phil offers to let her stay at his house, and he provides her with an alibi -- she can claim that she couldn't have committed the crime, because she was with him at the time of the attack. Nina agrees, but after Phil encounters a handful of dangerous foreign agents, Nina's acrobatic parents, and a highly suspicious district attorney, he begins to wonder if Nina might have committed the murder after all. Her Alibi also features William Daniels as Sam, and James Farentino as Frank Polito; the song "Falling In Love" was written and recorded for the film by Randy Newman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Bruce Beresford
- Written By
- Charlie Peters
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
PG,
- In Theaters
- Feb 3, 1989 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
He's a mystery writer, she's a mystery; and it's also a mystery how TV fodder like this manages to get the high-gloss, top-talent treatment at studios.
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, Time Out
The plot is ludicrous, which in itself would be perfectly acceptable given sharper handling, but both script and direction devote so much time to romantic undercurrents that the central intrigue is further divested of credibility.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
A romantic melodrama of a boringness to make your average tooth extraction seem preferable.
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Rita Kempley, Washington Post
Screenwriter Charlie Peters is the predictable piggy whose arrested pubescence informs Her Alibi. When it comes to imagination, he has much in common with his hero.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
You know a movie is in trouble when you start looking at your watch. You know it's in bad trouble when you start shaking your watch because you think it might have stopped.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Tom Selleck
as Phil Blackwood
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Paulina Porizkova
as Nina Ionescu
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William Daniels
as Sam
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James Farentino
as Frank Polito
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Hurd Hatfield
as Troppa
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Ronald Guttman
as "Lucy" Camanescu
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Patrick Wayne
as Gary Blackwood
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Victor Argo
as Avram
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Tess Harper
as Sally Blackwood
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Nat Benchley
as Prosecutor
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Joan Copeland
as Audrey
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Joann Havrilla
as Woman at Lecture
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Austin Hay
as Oliver
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Liliana Komorowska
as Laura
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Bobo Lewis
as Rose
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William Shaw
as Clown
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Vivienne Shub
as Cocktail Lady
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Bill Smitrovich
as Lt. Farrell
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Mark Stolzenberg
as Clown
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Lucia Vincent
as Cocktail Lady
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Jane Welch
as Millie
- Ossie Davis
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John Russell
as Clown
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Corazon Adams
as Consuela
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Leonard Auclair
as Jack the Author
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William Aylward
as Greg
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John Badila
as Defender
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Marlene Bryan
as Laurie
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Barbara Caruso
as Nina's Mother
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Brian Costantini
as Cop
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T.J. Edwards
as Defender
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Joseph Eubanks
as Cocktail Man
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Norman Fitz
as Judge
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Allen Fitzpatrick
as Federal Agent
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Kathleen Goldpaugh
as Cocktail Lady
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Bill Grimmett
as Cop
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Dick Harrington
as Henry the Neighbor
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Alan Mixon
as Nina's Father
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Lisa Nicholas
as Waitress
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Sara E. Pfaff
as Heather Blackwood
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Dick Rizzo
as Knife Clerk
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Trevor Soponis
as Tony Blackwood
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Ted Sutton
as Cop
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Pankaj Talwar
as Dr. Singh
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Benson W. Terry
as FX
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Hank de Luca
as Ian the Editor
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Joey Perillo
as Clown
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David Chandler
as Eugene Mason
