“How This 1989 Box-Office Flop Altered Tom Selleck’s Movie Career”

After Tom Selleck was famously passed over for the role of Indiana Jones in the blockbuster 1981 action-adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark, he made his feature film debut with High Road to China (1983), a Raiders-inspired adventure that, while not a major hit, demonstrated his undeniable screen presence.

Selleck’s natural charisma was further highlighted in the 1984 spy thriller Lassiter, where his suave and witty performance suggested he might have been a compelling choice for James Bond. However, Lassiter and his subsequent film, the 1984 sci-fi thriller Runaway, both underperformed at the box office. By late 1987, as Magnum, P.I. approached its final season, Selleck’s prospects in cinema appeared bleak. Then came the 1987 comedy Three Men and a Baby, which became the highest-grossing domestic film of that year. Selleck, in particular, received critical acclaim for his role, drawing comparisons to Cary Grant for his sensitive performance.

Selleck’s next major film was the 1989 romantic comedy Her Alibi, in which he played a mystery novelist who falls for a mysterious woman suspected of murder. Despite being directed by the acclaimed Bruce Beresford—known for films like Driving Miss Daisy and Tender Mercies—Her Alibi was a commercial and critical disappointment. The film’s failure was not immediately damaging to Selleck’s career momentum, but it was a troubling sign for his future in leading roles, which would largely dissipate within four years.

In Her Alibi, Selleck portrays Phil Blackwood, a novelist struggling for inspiration. He becomes captivated by Nina, a Romanian murder suspect played by model Paulina Porizkova, and decides to provide her with a fake alibi to win her freedom. The plot hinges on the belief that Phil’s intense attraction to Nina could lead him to such reckless actions. However, the film falters due to a lack of convincing romantic chemistry between Selleck and Porizkova, who appears disinterested rather than romantically engaged with Selleck. This casting mismatch and the film’s shaky premise result in a lack of suspense or tension, leaving audiences indifferent to the characters and their fates.