Gotcha!

Quite an appealing and quirky, if dated (with its politics) mid-eighties teen romantic comedy-thriller set mainly in Europe and starring a young Anthony Edwards as a college sophomore who's simply an ace at a campus assassination game known as Gotcha, although he can't seem to score with the girls. He hopes that this would change when he travels to Europe for a summer vacation and things do turn out for him when he meets a young lady Sasha. Everything is going well, until they travel to East Berlin where he learns she is not all that she seems. She disappears and he finds himself on the run from some Russian spies who believe he has something they want. "Gotcha!" starts off like your typical simple minded teen comedy, before slowly setting the situation up (dangerous spy games) and then having the novelty (our hero being a pro with a paint gun) ending in an ironically smart manner. Director Jeff Kanew (who was behind "Revenge of the Nerds") does a workable job blending its romantic shades (which familiarly plays out its message) with the lethal action in some amusingly funny exchanges (like those scenes involving the worried parents; "You had to let him go to Europe"!) and thrilling on-the-run scenarios. The script is sharply penned with its dialogues. A likable Edwards is perfectly cast in lead role as the naïve hero who actually becomes a target for real and Linda Fiorentino is ravishingly mysterious as the lady who he falls for. Gotta love the title song too… it has a catchy hook and also showing up in the cast is Alex Rocco.

"It's just a game."

What can I say, but this is one of those "eighties movies" featuring Anthony Edwards before he was "Goose" and Linda Fiorentino before she was that chick in M.I.B.

Plot Summary: A paintball enthusiast utilizes his finely tuned skill at hiding behind things when he gets involved with a CIA courier working behind the Iron Curtain. East Germany meets West L.A. with some really funny stereo-types that weren't all that tired when this movie came out in '85.

This film is primarily aimed at entertaining young men with a 007 lust. Still, there are so many one-liners and funny bits that my sister and I still make references to this movie when joking around, e.g. "I thought he was KGB from Russia." ~ "He's a CPA from Encino! Are you outta your mind?"

The utilization of various on-location landmarks make it fun and almost like a travelogue movie. There's a German fortress, the Louvre (pre-pyramid entrance), the eiffel tower, the UCLA campus, Olvera Street in Downtown L.A., and the Bonnaventure Hotel.

I also love this movie for introducing me to Pernod, and the scene in which it is introduced is so funny I can still remember it line for line!! I love this movie!!

Reteaming with director Jeff Kanew one year after "Revenge of the Nerds", the amiable Anthony Edwards plays another socially awkward college student. Jonathan Moore (Edwards), master of a campus paintball game called "Gotcha!", travels to Europe with his friend / roommate Manolo (Jsu Garcia). In Paris he meets an alluring Czech woman named Sasha (Linda Fiorentino) who ends his days as a virgin. But she also draws him into danger by involving him in espionage; they are soon pursued by a ferocious-looking Russian goon (played by German actor Klaus Lowitsch).

Although interest did wane for this viewer at times, he found this to be a fairly engaging Cold War era movie overall. Kanew manages a fairly light tone at first, and prevents the movie from ever getting *too* grim by coming up with some funny comic bits of business. (Such as Jonathan disguising himself as a punk rocker to avoid detection by the bad guys.). The pacing and the action scenes are reasonably well handled, but what really perks up a lot of scenes are the international locales used.

The tantalizingly sexy Fiorentino is effective as the stranger whom we automatically suspect isn't playing it completely straight with Jonathan. She and the boyish Edwards do have good chemistry, and he also seems to get on well with Garcia (whom you'll recognize as Rod Lane from the previous years' horror classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street"). Alex Rocco and Marla Adams do fine as the well-off parents who refuse to believe their sons' outlandish story, and assume that he's on drugs. Lowitsch is a decent if underdeveloped villain.

The story isn't fleshed out all that much; for one thing, we never do find out the full importance of the object of everyones' interest. Still, the movie does build towards a pretty bright finish, and is basically slick, decent entertainment for fans of the two stars.

Seven out of 10.

This is superb. There is nothing else to say about it. You know the premise and I'm not about to reveal anymore. Is it somewhat silly? Yes - but aren't they all in this genre? But does it have a good story line and good characters? Does it ever.

I don't think Linda Fiorentino ever looked (or acted) better. This is a romp - and it's filmed across half the world, and it isn't only the second unit that gets to travel, unless there's been some very clever scheduling going on.

This one is a total keeper. Edwards is simply good, Fiorentino is convincing - just don't expect a Picasso. This isn't big like that - but it's bound to cheer you up on an otherwise easy afternoon.

Oh - Alex Rocco and Marla Adams are great as the parents. This is not supposed to be a belly laugh movie, but that just shows what depth and breadth it has. You may not like it - we sure did.

Sharp action-comedy with Edwards starring as an American college student in East Germany who undergoes a strange sequence of events which lead to his involvement with the C.I.A. Fine mix of humor and suspense, plus sexy Fiorentino as Edwards' love interest is worth the watch.