Gotcha!

In my book, Gotcha! is another good movie in Anthony Edward's catalog of 80s movies. Edwards is Jonathan, a somewhat wimpy looking college student who's afternoon frat boy fun of tagging his rival classmates with a dart gun as he chases them around campus, is about to come a reality in an arena of gritty international espionage. And Jonathan oughta know, these guys don't f**k around.

Jonathan and his buddy, Manolo (Jsu Garcia) take a trip to Europe during semester vacation. For Jonathan, he'd like to spend times soaking up the local culture with beautiful girls, but he's just too quiet for all of that, unlike Manolo, who's so brazen that his pick up lines are thinly disguised stories about him being a spy and needing an escort to help distract those who are following him. So, of course Manolo gets the girl.

But Jonathan soon get's lucky, too, meeting an elegant, but secretive Russian woman named Sasha (Linda Florentino) who gives him some story about being an exchange student and all of that. He even ditches his friend, Manolo (they were supposed to go to Spain) to go with his girlfriend to Germany, which is not an ideal vacation destination in 1985. But Jonathan, smitten with his new girlfriend, finds out there is more going on, and soon enough, his little games of pretending to be a spy are going to help him get out a real jam, or else he's going to wind up dead. It is actually a really enjoyable movie, seeing this quirky guy stuck in a real life game of cat and mouse.

It's got action, it's got sex, it's got humor, and most of all, it's got a college kid who seems to be able to outsmart highly trained German spies. Everyone loves it when a complete loser, virgin college guy gets duped by his spy girlfriend to be the patsy for a large coup involving other spies, CIA, and the FBI. And what better way to show Anthony Edwards beat all of these people than with a mere animal tranquilizer gun. See it, if just for the "Yes, I am a weergin" line.

Anthony Edwards played an 18 year old college student from Los Angeles, California where he goes to Paris, France on vacation. He meets Sasha, a Czech woman played well by Linda Fiorentino. The film begins with a silly game called Gotcha! I thought the film would be more funny than expected. It has some serious moments. Linda Fiorentino and Anthony Edwards' characters have chemistry onscreen. The adventure abroad in Europe during the last days of the cold war in the eighties were interesting. Alex Rocca and Marla Adams were cast as Jonathan's parents. The film is enjoyable and entertaining. I didn't think it was such as serious film with the title so I was pleasantly surprised. Both stars were getting their career started with films like these. The plot and mystery isn't as predictable to the audience.

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.