Back in the U.S.S.R.

Nothing works in this absolutely witless teen fantasy, a lame Hitchcock rip-off about a stolen Russian icon and the plucky young American tourist who has to find it, pursued all the while by Soviet cops, Mafia killers, American embassy stooges, the Russian Orthodox Church, evil art dealers, assorted black marketeers (including a presumably desperate Roman Polanski), and the lovely Natalya Negoda, doing a somewhat sanitized variation of her delinquent character role from 'Little Vera'. Why travel all the way to Russia to make such a bone-headed, embarrassing movie, when even the local actors are so unconvincing? The answer is obvious: the film looks as if it was produced by the Moscow Tourist Council, with the full support of a government anxious for western currency, and eager to cash in on the promotional value of a slick, action-packed comedy caper filmed in their backyard. Ship this one to a distant Gulag.

On his last day on vacation in Moscow, a young American's (Frank Whaley) attempts to get laid are sidetracked by a search for a stolen icon with the most preposterous set of plot twists imaginable. Worth watching (perhaps) as the first U.S. production to be filmed entirely in Russia, and much of the visual tour of Moscow is very impressive. Also, many of the performances by the Russian cast, especially co-star Natalya Negoda, are excellent. The film is fast moving, and the motivation and twists, especially the premise, are so ridiculous that one doesn't need to stop and wonder if they're believable -- they quite obviously aren't. Painless to watch if you're not too demanding.

So this cool Whaley guy has young Jenny as partner in 1991 and the next year, he goes to Moscow to shoot with Natalya, the best Russian actress ever! I would be him i would consider my career as a winning one just for those 2 productions! Sure this movie may not have the best story for a thriller but it has the unique opportunity to have been shot entirely on Moscow and just after the collapse of CCCP! So every single minute of it is worthy the watching because you really discover a totally different country : streets, buildings, homes, fashion, everything is familiar but strange… How many American movies can offer you so much new stuff ?? As for Natalya, she was totally great : dynamic, smiling, careful and full of life ! So at the end, it may not be the movie of the century but i rank it among my best because we don't see anymore like this today, especially as Natalya nearly stops doing movies after

Why is everybody describing this movie as a thriller ? It isn't at all , this is a comedy and a rather good one. I really loved it. If you ever have been there at that time (1992) you will recognize it. And mostly visitors of Russio in general love it of they never will go back. Beside this I loved the camera-work, careful lightning and the vivid editing of the film. The difficult language exercise is acceptable realized and for the music : the Russian version of the Beatle-song Back in the USSR was as an extra for me with a good cup of coffee. I can see that movie again and again. It will never get an Oscar or whatever other price, but it should have some for his smooth entertaining character with a little bit spirit for the connoisseurs. Comedy's are not my cup of tea, but this one has stolen my heart.

While on a Russian tour, Archer; a young American tourist's experience takes an unexpected turn when he meets a mysterious woman named Lena. She has accidentally stolen a priceless work of art, and as events spin out of control Archer finds himself without a passport, accused of murder, hunted by the police, and pursued by a ruthless smuggler.

The main reason I saw this movie was to see Roman Polanski's performance as an actor. He was great in The Fearless Vampire Killers, The Tenant, and A Pure Formality. Like in A Generation, Polanski has a small role in this movie as well; nevertheless he proves he is a very talented yet overlooked thespian. As for the movie itself it's rather poor. It has the elements of making this a good thriller but the director aims for the Hollywood approach and it simply doesn't work. The use of young actors was a mistake in my opinion, if the protagonists would have been a little older the style of the film might have been more mature and we might have gotten a completely different movie. Instead we get a ridiculous film that doesn't really have any substance at all, and proper organization. The film leaves a great deal of questions unanswered; I can't even begin to explain how many holes were left uncovered. Basically it's just a sloppy movie. The only reason to see this is for Polanski. If he wasn't in it, trust me I would never have seen this movie.