Physical Evidence (1989)

Physical Evidence (1989) *** (out of 4)Joe Paris (Burt Reynolds) is a disgraced detective who is picked up on a murder charge. Clear evidence is in his room that he committed the murder but he was so drunk that he can't remember a thing. Public defender Jenny Hudson (Theresa Russell) fights to get the case thinking she can save the man but before long her life is in danger as there's much more going on than she originally thought.If you're looking for a hard-hitting courtroom drama then I'd highly recommend INHERIT THE WIND. If you're looking for an "A" quality Reynolds film then I'd recommend DELIVERANCE. If you're looking for any of those things or any sort of art then you're not going to find it here but at the same time as long as you don't take the film too seriously you could get some mild entertainment out of this. There's no question that by this time Reynolds wasn't a "A" list star anymore and this is the perfect example of a "B" movie.I call this a "B" movie because the material isn't very strong. I mean, everything pretty much falls into place without too much logic and the ending seems more like something from Scooby-Doo more than anything else. The entire murder rap has countless bad guys brought into it and any of them could have been guilty so this too works against any sort of logic. I'd even argue that by the film presenting Reynolds as being innocent, it takes away possible drama because it would have played out better if the viewer didn't know if he was guilty or not.With that said, I still found myself enjoying PHYSICAL EVIDENCE thanks in large part to the cast. I wouldn't say Reynolds gives a great performance here but he's at least entertaining and this fits well with the "aftermath" of some of the rough cops he played earlier in his career. He's certainly believable in the role and I thought it was a good fit for him. Russell is good in her role as the woman trying to get him off, although the screenplay doesn't do much with her character and the forced attempted love story is trash. Ned Beatty is always good and he adds some nice entertainment value as does Kay Lenz, Kenneth Welsh and Tom O'Brien. Married With Children... fans will enjoy seeing Ted McGinley here, although his character is yet another weak one.As you can tell, there's a lot of negative things about this picture but it still kept me entertained throughout. I think it's best that you turn your brain off and just watch this on a boring day whenever you just want some light entertainment. This certainly isn't a masterpiece or a very good picture but if you're a fan of Reynolds then you should enjoy it.

***SPOILERS*** Just one of the string of bombs that Burt Reynolds made in the late 1980's that dropped him from being one the top 3 Hollywood macho man, behind Stallone & Schwarzenegger, actors to the point where he was regulated to doing gust appearances, to get cash, on local TV talk shows about grooming one's mustache as well as his or her dogs & cats. In here Reynolds as the disgraced and on suspension Boston police detective Joe Paris is in hot water in being framed in the murder of one of his stoolies Jake Farley, Tom O'Brien, who's dead body ended up hanging or being grabbed by a local suicide jumper who's death plunge he interrupted. It was Farley who was found dead by Kenny Bates that prevented his attempt to jump , with a rope tied around his neck, to his death off Boston's Tobin Bridge. Already in deep trouble for punching out a police captain and with a score of police brutally charges against him it looks like an open and shut case to pin a murder charge, incredibly his first, against Paris.It's Paris' court appointed attorney Jenny Hudson, Theresa Russell, who takes his case even though Paris, in not impressed in having a woman defend him, is dead set against it. As it soon turns out Jenny does come up with a number of suspects in Farley's murder that can prove her client's innocence. As for Paris who seemed to have lost interest, in how badly the movie is going for him, in if he's found guilty or innocent yet is let out, on good behavior, on the street tracking down and working or beating up suspects as well as carrying a gun that could easily have his bail revoked. There's a number of murders on the side in the film including a star witness in Paris's defense his secret lover Deborah Quinn,Kay Lenz, and her mob connected husband Vincent,Don Grnberry,shows that the late Jake Farley's blackmailing created far more people then Paris who were out to ice him!***SPOILERS*** Confusing final with Paris, to his relief, shot and wounded as well as out of the picture and his lawyer Jenny Hudson being confronted by Farley's as well as some half dozen other people's murderer in a life and death struggle on a deserted and dark staircase. Even though the killer had no trouble at all taking care of a number of people, including 6 foot tall and 200 pounds policemen, he had far more difficulty taking care or killing the 5 foot 5 inch 120 pound Jenny Hudson who must have been practicing beside law judo and Kung Fu on the side! P.S Strange coincident in the film has the man Kenny Bates trying to kill himself by jumping off the Tobin Bridge and failed where almost a year to the date after the movie was released on January 27 1989 real life wife murderer Charles "Chuck" Stewart did-on Januaruy 4, 1990- and succeeded in him trying to avoid capture by the police!

Jagged edge was a real bad movie but this is not. Wonderful one-liners and new words like "His Gucciness" referring to your everyday yuppie, played by Mr. Darcy from "Married with Children" (Al Bundy's sidekick).I would have like to give this 10 stars to compensate for all the bad reviews given but that would not have been quite fair. It's still a solid 7 stars and that's not bad (jagged edge could maximally deserve 2 stars).The villain is also well chosen. He's rich and arrogant, like all real villains.In short: a decent movie.

I got a kick out of Reynolds saying to his attorney, "look,I've done a lot of shi%ty thing in my life, but I never killed anyone." Obviously he forgot about his career which slid down hill after he started making stupid movies like 'Cannonball Run.' Physical Evidence was originally supposed to be a sequel to 'The Jagged Edge' that Glen Close sanely rejected. The verdict is in, avoid Physical Evidence.