Her Alibi (1989)

Her Alibi is the kind of breezy, slightly mischievous late-’80s caper that wins you over on charm rather than perfection, a romantic whodunit that knows it’s flirting with silliness and leans in. Tom Selleck plays a blocked, second-rate mystery writer who suddenly finds “research” in the form of a glamorous suspect—and the movie has real fun watching his everyday confidence crumble as her talents get stranger and the danger feels just plausible enough. The vibe is light, affectionate, and comfortably escapist, with little sparks of suspense and flirtation that keep the pace buoyant even when the logic gets wobbly. It’s not for viewers craving airtight crime plotting, but if you want a playful, easygoing blend of romance and intrigue, this one goes down like comfort food.

Her Alibi wants to be a breezy, self-aware mashup of romantic comedy and light murder mystery, built around a blocked writer stumbling into real-life “research.” The problem is that the plot plays more like a string of contrived setups than a clever whodunit, and the humor rarely lands with the snap you’d want from this kind of premise. Performances are serviceable and the leads have some charm, but the movie often feels oddly flat and low-stakes when it should be playful or suspenseful. If you’re craving sharp banter or a genuinely twisty crime story, you’ll likely be bored; if you can tolerate a silly, thinly written late-’80s romp for the occasional cute moment, you might get by.