Gotcha! (1985)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

The setup: Jonathan plays a game called Gotcha in which he hunts and is hunted by other students with paint guns. After a big win, he goes off for a vacation in France where he meets the sexy Sasha who says she is only interested in him because he is a virgin. She takes him with her to East Germany where they are separated and he has to escape back to the west on his own, all the while being trailed by East German spies. He arrives home only to find the game is still going on, and a canister of film is in his backpack. Then Sasha re-appears.The verdict: Awesome fun! I refuse to totally dismiss this, because I find it quite engaging, in a guilty pleasure sense.

A very hairy Anthony Edwards stars as a teenager caught up in Cold War espionage in GOTCHA. He meets and falls hard for a femme fatale (Linda F.) on a European vacation and ends up following her into Russian-held East Berlin (this was 1985, remember). She slips an item in his backpack and he's off and running, and returning to the western world does nothing to stop KGB thugs from coming after him. Edwards is in almost every scene and does a fine job portraying a naive nebbish. Linda F. is her usually sexy self, and in th end has a couple of surprises for our very young and very stupid hero. But the movie is at best a throwaway, and probably was from the day it first appeared. The music is typical awful '80s era schlock. You may safely skip this one.

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!!

This movie was soo sweet, funny and gripping. I really loved Anthony in this one, and thought he was adorable. The story was simple but interesting and I thought the movie carried itself well. A must-see for any Anthony Edwards lover...like me!!