SnoopyStyle Phil Blackwood (Tom Selleck) is a successful crime mystery writer of Peter Swift novels but he's been blocked for four years. Her publisher Sam (William Daniels) suggests getting a woman. He hangs out at court with the regulars. One day, he comes across Romanian Nina Lonescu (Paulina Porizkova) accused of a stabbing murder. He pretends to be a priest to interview her and offers to be her alibi. The government reluctantly releases her. With agents from the communist Romanian government after her, she decides to stay with Phil in his country home.First, Phil is an idiot. He's the most naive crime writer in the world. Other than being beautiful, he has no reason to assume her innocence. In fact, she doesn't even exert her innocence before he volunteers to be her alibi. The whole premise falls apart right from the start. The rest of the movie struggles to create humor. Tom Selleck is capable but Porizkova is only a model. She has the beauty and the poise. She doesn't have the skills to play in a comedy. She could be a functional actor in something less demanding. This movie is bad right from the start.

Dave from Ottawa Always likable Tom Selleck is well cast as a mediocre mystery writer (VERY mediocre, based on the samples of his writing we get in the voice-over narrations, which are one of the funniest parts of the movie). He's looking for a plot for his next book and finding it in the person of a beautiful Romanian college student (Paulina Porizkova) who seems to be hiding some big secret. The movie plays like the plot of a bad detective book, with perceptions of the female character shifting from dangerous to trustworthy to suspicious and back. The chemistry between the characters works very well romantically as both characters begin to fall in love despite being wary and suspicious of the various goings-on, and the Romanian KGB agents on Paulina's trail make for useful comic villains.

TxMike Maybe Tom Selleck is so popular because he can be liked equally by the gals and the guys. Here he is Phil Blackwood, successful bachelor author of a whole series of mystery novels. But lately he is "stuck" and his agent is pressuring him into writing something good.He happens to be in court with friends one day when beautiful Paulina Porizkova as Nina from Romania is arraigned for murder. It seems that the dead guy had scissors stuck through his chest, into his heart, and she was the accused.Apparently unable to speak English, Nina's court-appointed lawyer asks for and gets a 24-hour continuance. Meanwhile, dresses as a priest, Phil gets into jail to visit her. In short, they agree on a plan, he will claim they are in a relationship and she was with him when the murder was committed. That becomes "Her Alibi."As part of their agreement, Nina goes with Phil, back to his secluded home in Connecticut. He doesn't quite know what to do with her, but is smitten. And, it turns out, she speaks English very well. But she remains mysterious, and won't tell Phil anything about her background or "who she is." Still, Phil uses his everyday experiences with her, including the court case, to write his fictional novel. Most of the movie involves their interactions and her dodging some mysterious Romanians seemingly out to get her. It is a romantic comedy, very enjoyable at barely 90 minutes. We found it very entertaining.A bonus was seeing Patrick Wayne as Phil's brother Gary Blackwood. As the movie was playing I didn't know whom he was, but remarked that he looked a lot like Jim Garner and I wondered if he was Garner's son. John Wayne's son instead! SPOILERS: Nina and her family were Romanian circus performers, planning to defect. The mysterious men were trying to prevent the defection, as it would be an embarrassment to their country.

skottyrock Though not a masterpiece of film-making, HER ALIBI makes for a pleasant change from the violent films that Hollywood keeps on churning out. Tom Selleck and model-cum-actress Paulina Porizkova generate some genuine sparks on-screen in this lighthearted comedy/mystery. Selleck does well in the role of a once-popular mystery writer, while Porizkova, better known for her model-perfect looks, satisfies as the mysterious foreigner who captures the heart of Selleck.