Thoughts on Gotcha!

via IMDB

"Jonathan. You are okay? I know you're upset, but now I can explain everything."

"Upset? You think I'm upset? You drag me to East Berlin. A lady gets shot in my arms. I'm getting chased by people who kill people. My parents think I'm a junkie. And you're hanging out with the CIA. Why should I be upset?"

Romantic thrillers can be lavish and complicated, taking the characters to the ends of the Earth while keeping at least one of the leads in the dark for as long as possible. They can be funny, like
Romancing the Stone, or more action-packed, like a James Bond movie. But for all the trimmings, a romantic thriller is made or broken by one question: Would you go to this much trouble for a hookup?

Then again, if she's the woman you lose your virginity to, you might be a little more accommodating of certain quirks. Jonathan Moore (Anthony Edwards), a UCLA student vacationing in Paris, is seduced by Sasha Banicek (Linda Fiorentino), a supposed Czechoslovakian graduate student. Après-amour, Jonathan is convinced to go behind the Iron Curtain with Sasha. He receives a strudel, roll of film and reluctant desertion from Sasha, along with several attempts on his life from Vlad (Klaus Löwitsch). Unlike champion "Gotcha!" player, Vlad is an actual assassin. And Sasha's a spy.

Can this relationship be saved?

"Told her my name was Carlos, man, and I just got back from Algeria. She thinks I'm a terrorist. Swedish chicks go crazy for that shit. So, give me two hours before you head back to the hotel."

Gotcha! feels like a quintessential 1980s comedy. The soundtrack is overpowering, the attitude toward the world scene is both cynical and naive and everything's worth it because of thrills and/or good sex. A beautiful looking movie, Gotcha! nevertheless fails to justify its genre juggling.

We care about things getting resolved between Jonathan and Sasha, but it feels like less because of how right the characters are for each other and more to justify the time spent before the intrigue kicks into high gear. Speaking of which, Vlad and his fellow baddies are too generic*. And even by MacGuffin standards, the roll of film fails to impress.
*For that matter, so are Jonathan's roommate Manolo (Jsu Garcia) and father Al (Alex Rocco).

Directed by Jeff Kanew, Gotcha! was written by Dan Gordon, who shares story credit with Paul G. Hensler. While it may sound like I didn't like the movie, I actually found a good amount to enjoy. Edwards is likable, Fiorentino is beguiling and they do an admirable job of carrying the movie. Gotcha! might be messy, but its excesses kinda work in contrast with the quirky but maturing leads. 

"There's nothing to be sorry about. I learned a lot from you. I should be grateful."

"Grateful? I don't want you to be grateful."

"What do you want?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah."

"You."

"You don't want me. I'm not your type. Not a 'wirgen.' Not a little boy anymore."

"I know."

Recommended with reservations.

Thoughts:

-- Box Office: Grossing $10.8 million on a $12.5 million budget, this opened at No. 5 and came in at No. 76 for 1985.

-- Critic's Corner: "About as devoid of personality as it's possible for a narrative movie to be," Vincent Canby wrote. "There's no real heat between them," Paul Attanasio wrote about Edwards and Fiorentino. "They've made the movie about its less interesting major character," Roger Ebert felt.

-- Memorable Music: The score's 17-13 in favor of songs presumably written for movies. We've got two entries, the title song by Thereza Bazar and "Never Too Late" by Giuffria, which plays during the montage of Jonathan and Sasha in love. I almost gave points for the use of "Relax" and "Two Tribes," but they weren't that memorable. And I totally forgot that "Smalltown Boy" played at some point.

-- Hey, It's the Mid-Eighties!: If the music didn't put us firmly in the pre-Gorbachev era, the German glam rockers' dialogue does. Their frames of reference for American/Californian culture are "I Love L.A.," Bo Derek, Dallas and Joan Collins. Also of note: while the movie's taking place over Spring Break, Jonathan's issue of Playboy is actually from October 1984.

-- Fanservice Junction: In addition to Jonathan and Sasha's sex scenes, we also get them separately strip-searched. Fiorentino's boob briefly appears, while Edwards rocks a pair of Jockey shorts.

-- "It's the one film where my kids really make fun of me now," Edwards said during his Random Roles interview at the old country. "All that blonde hair ..."

-- Castmember Connections: In addition to Edwards and Kanew, this movie also shares actor David Wohl with Revenge of the Nerds. Wohl plays the veterinary professor who loads Chekhov's Tranquilizer Gun. He'll show up in our next movie.

-- Next: Brewster's Millions. On deck: Rambo: First Blood Part II.