I've got a theory that says that the chances of a film starring someone and his/her significant other turning out good is about the same as the chances of a Stephen King film turning out good. In other words, it could happen, but it's not bloody likely. For proof of my theory, one need look no farther than films starring both Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. Their latest, "Flesh and Bone", was a major miscalculation. And does anyone even remember their unfortunate pairing in the Disney remake of "D.O.A."? Okay, okay, they appeared together in the moderately entertaining "Innerspace", but that was before they became an item. The exception proves the rule.
The last time Alec Baldwin and his now-wife Kim Basinger got together to make a film ("The Marrying Man"), it was a blunder of epic proportions. This attractive duo is now starring in "The Getaway", a thriller about a pair thieves who have evaded the law but who can't seem to escape the clutches of their fellow criminals.
Doc McCoy (Baldwin) is a master thief. He can break someone out of jail or crack a safe with equal skill and finesse. When a double-cross lands him in a Mexican jail, however, he is ill-prepared to do a thing about it. He pleads with his wife Carol (Basinger), also an accomplished crook, to talk to Jack Benyon (James Woods) about getting him released. Jack is a very powerful, if somewhat disreputable, businessman who has more than enough clout to spring Doc. Carol goes to Jack with an offer of cash and the promise of Doc participating in Jack's next shady caper, but he wants something more and that something is Carol herself.
Doc, recently sprung but as yet unaware of the deal Carol had to make, takes part in the theft of millions from a dog racetrack. An honorable thief, he takes the haul to Jack's remote residence so that it can be divided between all participants. It is then that Doc learns of Carol's infidelity and bullets begin to fly. Carol shoots Jack to death and then she and her hubby immediately take flight towards the Mexican border. Unfortunately, the stop-off they plan to make in Texas to pick up fake passports is known about by Jack's former cronies. They, and the racetrack-crime accomplice that Doc thought he had shot dead, are hot the trail of the McCoy's and their substantial ill-gotten booty.
"The Getaway" is a flashy, violent thriller with a persistent immoral streak. The film's anti-heroes don't prove to be this generation's answer to Bonnie and Clyde; instead they come off as just a couple of unapologetically ruthless miscreants. It's hard enough to root for main characters who are corrupt, but it's harder still when they are self-centered and remorseless.
Occasionally the action is exciting, but these moments don't last long. The intermingling of "The Fugitive"-type suspense and an "Indecent Proposal"-ish subplot doesn't work terribly well. Although a reference to Utah had the audience howling, there just isn't much to recommend about "The Getaway". It's a mediocre entry into a genre that's already overflowing with unexceptional fare.