Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

SnoopyStyle Former cop Joe Paris (Burt Reynolds) was suspended for pushing his partner through a window after he shot an unarmed suspect. When criminal Jake Farley is founded murdered, Joe is arrested after finding evidence at his apartment. He's bloody, hungover, and can't remember the night before. Jennifer Hudson (Theresa Russell) is his eager new public defender who spent five years in the Peace Corps. James Nicks (Ned Beatty) is the prosecutor. Deborah Quinn (Kay Lenz) claims to be with Joe that night. She had contracted Farley to kill her powerful husband but changed her mind. He refused to pay her back but Joe somehow got the money for her. Jenny wants her to be Joe's alibi but Joe objects.Michael Crichton as an IP generator is beyond reproach but as a director, he is average at best. This does not raise his average. The narrative flow is lacking. Burt Reynolds is cold which is good for his possible guilt. His innocence is not really in doubt but twists are expected in this type of movies. Russell overacts in a couple of scenes. The pairing is not that appealing. None of the characters are rooting interest material. This is a forgettable thriller.

Michael_Elliott 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.

cartman_1337 A suspended cop (Reynolds) gets arrested, suspected for murder. He has no money and settles for a public defender. At the Public Defenders Office a young female lawyer (Russell) fights off a few other lawyers to get the case, hoping a high profile case like this can make her career.I'm not going to go into the story much more than that, other than to say that the evidence against the cop is mostly circumstantial. As a plot, this could be taken anywhere. Corrupt cops, the defense's feeling of conspiracy against an easy target, suspect lawyers from the district attorney's office; it's all there, and more, and if played out right it could make for a really entertaining trial movie.But there's a problem in the movie, and her name is Theresa Russell. From the moment she open her mouth she stood out....in the worst possible way. I've seen thousands of movies, but I can seriously never remember seeing a worse acting performance than what she delivers here. EVER! It makes Vampira and Tor Johnson in Plan 9 From Outer Space look like Meryl Streep and James Stewart by comparison! Every time she opens her mouth I shrugged at her amazing ability to make even the easiest line come off completely wrong! There isn't even a hint of credibility about her, and her very presence in the movie - where she's really the main character - ruins everything. Every scene she's in is the worse for it, she is truly the most destructive force I've ever seen in an otherwise decent movie. And she's acting against a string of B- and C- grade actors, most delivering below-par performances, yet they still seem Oscar-worthy next to her.I'm giving the movie a couple of extra stars for the idea of a story that could've been entertaining if it had a real actress delivering the main female part, and for a couple of decent scenes without her presence, but really; this movie should be avoided at all cost!

Poseidon-3 "Jagged Edge" was quite a success in its day and created a thirst for sexy, mysterious courtroom thrillers, which soon was sated to the nth degree by many imitators. This film first began as a sequel to "Jagged Edge", but when that film's stars Glenn Close and Robert Loggia wisely took a hike, it was reworked with different characters. Reynolds plays a suspended police detective with many brawls in his past and many enemies who is accused of murdering a shady character he'd been tangling with previously. Russell is the public defender assigned to him who is trying to make a name for herself in the boy's club, though Reynolds is often more of a problem to her case than a help. She comes up against various roadblocks and red herrings as she tried to unravel what happened with Reynolds (he blacked out and can't even remember the night in question!) Meanwhile, prosecutor Beatty plays any dirty trick he can and her yuppie boyfriend McGinley whines about how little time she is spending with him. Reynolds was, at this time, in the midst of a string of unsuccessful films which portrayed him as a tough guy despite the fact that his health was failing somewhat and he was no longer able to bring his trademark sparkle to the screen as effectively as he had before. Fortunately for him, the TV series "Evening Shade" would soon rescue him and give him a steady – and award-winning – job for about five years until he made a comeback in supporting roles in feature films a few years after that. If he'd been playing opposite someone more appropriate in age and demeanor than Russell, his performance here probably would have come off better. As it is, he waffles between faint-hearted antagonism and near narcolepsy, battling a preposterous script that wouldn't be worth anyone's effort anyway. Russell is profanely wrong for her role and is often unintentionally funny. Not aided by a severe, all grey and black wardrobe, ugly, over-sized jewelry, tightly-knotted hair and pallid, ghostly make-up, she flounders helplessly as she tries to deliver her lines with anything other than a flat monotone. She seems out of place and shares virtually no chemistry with Reynolds. Beatty (whose "Boston" accent comes and goes) tries to steal every scene he's in and usually succeeds thanks to the lack of opposition on that front. Lenz appears as an ex-love of Reynolds and manages to inject some emotion into her few moments (one of which includes an uproarious Jazzercise get-up.) Gorgeous McGinley is both intentionally and unintentionally funny as the uppity, persnickety jerk with whom Russell lives. His blink-and-miss-it scene walking to their hot tub in some skimpy briefs is about the best thing the film has to offer. Baker, O'Brien and Welsh appear as other potential suspects in the murder (which is revealed in a wacky, tacky prelude involving a suicide attempt.) It's a mind-blowingly idiotic affair that wavers between dullness and jaw-dropping amusement. Though it was routine and inconsequential upon release, at least now it offers up some laughs as McGinley (decked out in the designer gear of the day) and Russell debate the merits of a "cellular phone" and Welsh speaks into one the size of a small Kleenex box! The convoluted plot at least keeps viewers guessing, though it probably left the screenwriters guessing almost as much!