One of the great thrills the medias film and DVD give me is the possibility to travel in time. B movies are often very rewarding in this aspect as they reflect the feel of a certain era in a certain place without the slightest pretenses and therefore all the purer. Secret Weapons is a perfect example to illustrate that.
In 1985 the Red Scare still was very real in the Western World. The Soviet Empire seemed to be an intact hostile machinery, its potential of committing evil actions boundless. There were reports of Western men who were put into uncomfortable situations by female baits" and later subjected to blackmail (didn't the West reciprocate in kind?) The script for this movie draws from stories of that sort and basically tells about a bait school" in which innocent Russian girls are turned into Communist femmes fatales in the name of the Motherland.
On the whole the story is not credible. No research at all seems to have been made either into any real case of seduction or into the behavior of people in Russia when they are amongst each other. The movie suggests that all Russian women are (or were then) prudes and had first to be corrupted by the System. I have my doubts about that. Anyway, the actors all come through as Americans who are dressed up as Russians, including a fake Russian accent which in itself has some fascination and charm. The bait school" seems to be fashioned after the FBI Academy in Quantico as we know it from the movies, which is quite amusing.
Morals play quite an important role in Secret Weapons. The teachers of the girls, a married couple who once were on a kind of assignment in the US, have to explain American ethics to them. They tell them that America is a sex crazed nation, screening some innocent TV commercials to them as proof. Basically they learn that in America women are regarded primarily as sex objects which can be used as a secret weapon or a trade advantage. What I my opinion could be considered an arguable universal truth is reduced here to a US specialty which tells more about the makers of the movie than about reality. The main character certainly becomes aware of the basically self demeaning character of her job" and the doubtful results of her actions, but unfortunately these doubts (which are also expressed in a very American kind of way) are not really explored.
Back to the aspect of time travel. This movie is a joy to watch just for the set design, the wardrobe and the hairdos and the pasting of some Cyrillic posters on the walls of Quebec (where the location shots were done). Its great how the portraits of those two geezers look down on the youngster who just have been ordered to get acquainted and have (taped) sexual intercourse, while they are starting a kind of a disco in the Quantico like place did you recognize them, the geezers? I did. It was Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko. Chernenko looks flushed even in the heavily doctored black and white Soviet icon, he ruled the Soviet Empire for circa 13 months in a state of half mummification a sure sign that not all was well there, even then.
