'Swedish chicks dig terrorists'
TODAY'S RETRO-REVIEW: 1985's "Gotcha," starring Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino. Directed by Jeff Kanew, who also directed Edwards in "Revenge of the Nerds."
TAGLINE: "Meet Jonathan. A college student who loves girls, games & gunplay. This year, on vacation in Paris, he's going to find out about all three. For real!"
THE PLOT: Nerdy Jonathan (Edwards), fresh from winning an ongoing paintball game called Gotcha, goes to France on vacation where he is befriended and bedded by the mysterious Sasha. Suddenly Jonathan's on the way to East Berlin with his new lover, and his life is never the same.
MAYBE YOU REMEMBER: Nintendo would later introduce a game, featuring a light gun, called "Gotcha! The Sport!"
SURELY YOU CAN'T FORGET: Jsu Garcia played the part of Edward's best friend. Garcia would play the role of the locker-bending "Cerulo" in Wildcats in 1986. You see him more recently playing Jennifer Aniston's gay dancing partner in "Along Came Polly."
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID: "Edwards actually makes a surprisingly competent and intelligent leading man. It's too bad the plotting of this Cold-War/spy/fantasy/action/comedy never really gives him the chance to prove it." -- Crazy For Cinema
WHY WE LOVE IT ANYWAY: Despite his more studly roles in The Sure Thing and Top Gun, Anthony Edwards was the king of the lovable nerds in the 80s. And if that's good enough to have sex with Linda Fiorentino, then bravo!
TOP 5 LINES FROM GOTCHA:
5. "You're right, I'm on drugs. I'm a junkie, you know, I mainline, I freebase, I put cocaine on my cornflakes..."
4. "Mon crayon est large."
3. "I'm not your type. I'm not a weirgin."
2. "I would kill or die to make love to you."
1. "Swedish chicks dig terrorists."
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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Anytime Linda Fiorentino is mentioned I think of Sean doing his impression of her on the 'Visionquest' podcast.
"Class" is OnDemand for anyone who has Comcast cable. I watched it this morning. Well, it was on while I was doing other things.
Posted by: Marissa | January 05, 2008 at 08:33 AM
Gotcha! What a good movie I wouldnt say its on my list of favorites or anything but ive seen it several times. If i walk threw the video store and see it well yeah i'll grab it up. Jus not a film i was to crazy about.
Posted by: Jake Grimme From Indiana | January 05, 2008 at 09:40 AM
I love this movie! Thanks for a great dip into nostalgia yet again.
Posted by: Anne | January 05, 2008 at 09:43 AM
Gotcha! Well I would say this is a pretty good movie Not one I would watch all the time. But if I was walking threw the video store and saw it sure id grab it. I really cant recall any other movie that was similar like this. Does anybody else?
Jake
Posted by: Jake Grimme From Indiana | January 05, 2008 at 09:43 AM
Oopps sorry posted it twice
Posted by: Jake Grimme From Indiana | January 05, 2008 at 09:44 AM
This movie was okay. Anthony Edwards was very good in it, but I remember the whole East Germany part to be very convoluted. I might have to check it out again.
Posted by: Bassnote | January 05, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Oh sure, basically half the movie is convoluted. Actually, my favorite scene happens early on -- when Anthony Edwards and the French waiter get into a language dispute. I used to ape that scene all the time ... before I realized I was the only person who ever saw the movie.
Posted by: Spears | January 05, 2008 at 03:16 PM
Okay gang,
Here's where we tie it all together for some good old fashioned kismet, 80's style! Anthony Edwards is not the first nerd to play a role like this. That honor goes to his costar Keith Carradine in 1982's TAG: The Assassination Game. Remember that old game where a group of people would get assignments to hunt down and "assassinate" each other...usually with dart guns or ping pong balls or the like. We played it in my High School until we got busted by the administration. Not really a spy comedy, but a low rate thriller when one of the players starts taking the game to seriously and really kills his opponents. Notable also for a pre-Terminator Linda Hamilton and the screen debut of Forrest Whitaker.
Joe Bob says check it out!
Posted by: Douglas Arthur | January 05, 2008 at 04:30 PM
I love IMDB! Making his diectorial debut on TAG was Nick Castle. Besides later directing such gems as Major Payne, Mr. Wrong and
The Boy Who Could Fly, he wrote Escape From New York and played Micheal Myers in the original 1978 Halloween! Talk about diverse!
Posted by: Douglas Arthur | January 05, 2008 at 04:47 PM
I love this movie, when I flip through and find it I will stop every time. Not to mention how much I adore strudel.
Posted by: MrMatt | January 06, 2008 at 11:34 AM
I loved this movie. This was part of the reason that I started playing paintball in high school.
I think quote number six should be the professor telling Jonathan "that every dog has his day."
Posted by: rock_vbrg | January 07, 2008 at 01:25 AM
This movie was great because it was one of the few roles starring Anthony Edwards' hair. It retired soon after this film.
http://www.theniftynerd.com
Posted by: Mat N. | April 17, 2008 at 12:29 PM