The Experts
Travis and Wendell are two down-on-their-luck New Yorkers who think they're relocating to a small town in Nebraska to open a nightclub. What they don't know is they've actually been abducted by a KGB operative and flown to the Soviet Union, where they'll unwittingly serve as "experts" on all things cool in America. The town, created expressly for KGB spies-in-training, is meant to serve as a training ground for Soviet agents. What can these two hapless Americans possibly teach the Soviet spies, and will they ever learn they are not actually in Nebraska?
-
- Cast:
- John Travolta , Arye Gross , Kelly Preston , Deborah Foreman , James Keach , Jan Rubeš , Brian Doyle-Murray
Similar titles
Reviews
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
The acting in this movie is really good.
Two young New Yorkers Travis and Wendell are offered the chance to open-up a night-club in a small Nebraska town, well that's what they think. As unknowingly to them they're in the USSR, in which the inhabitants are Russian spies in a replica of an American town that seems to be caught in a time slump of 1950s. They were brought in to instill the current US pop culture / true modernistic outlook.I wouldn't say it's a laugh out loud or timeless comedy classic, but "The Experts" is an endearing and perfectly pitched zinger with a whole bunch of fun performances. John Travolta and Arye Gross (looking good in mullets) are agreeably candid and work off each other well. They can find themselves really tearing each other apart, but they can't stay mad at each other for too long. A plucky Kelly Preston is unforgettably smoking and Deborah Foreman is likable too. James Keach is quite comical in his short role. Inoffensively light-headed and throwaway screwball comedy that wholesomely plays up its irony-laced one-idea gag of the materialistic appreciation of the American way of life and the acceptance of others. The messages might be heavy-handed, but the breezy script and evocatively original screenplay never over does it. Director Dave Thomas (a recognizable comedian actor) keeps it bright and carefree stringing together random activities with a hip soundtrack to back it up. Silly, but one of kind shenanigans.
This is one of those silly movies that you can enjoy without too much concentration. I've always thought that Ayre Gross is under-recognized, so that's part of my reason for liking this. I thought it was kind of fun; light and fluffy. Maybe you shouldn't seek it out, but if it shows up on TBS one night, try it. You may just like it. It appeals to the fantasist in me. It requires the same suspension of disbelief that made Footloose such a hit; the entire premise is ridiculous, but who cares? This is the reason people see movies - pure entertainment, no education, no controversy, nothing to discuss later. Just get comfy on the couch with a snack and relax for ninety minutes or so.
The movie is good albeit stupid, and it features the real life hook-up of Kelly Preston and John Travolta. I have this movie on VHS because I don't think it is even released on DVD yet. It sits on my shelf 364 days a year, but about once a year, it gets pulled off and watched. If you like this movie, you probably like The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Baseketball, and most of Kevin Smith's movies. It is funny to see what was "hip" in the late eighties. Travolta's snakeskin cowboy boots with the stainless steel tip, and Gross's bandana and vanilla ice pants. And need we forget, MULLETS GALORE. And GREASY MULLETS, at that! No real chemistry between the two main stars, although laughably Gross was a star on the rise here, and Travolta's career hadn't hit its second wind yet.
Everyone always says, "It's a fun movie, but don't expect Oscar material" about these silly little movies. If you are expecting a silly movie about two dim-witted New Yorkers who think they are going to Nebraska to start a nightclub, but have really been abducted by the KGB to inject a little late '80's cachet to a Soviet Operative training town trapped in the '50's, who then fall in love with the wholesome, caring "townspeople" (two of them in particular), and learn the formula late '80's message of understanding and communication, you'll have a great afternoon. If you are expecting Oscar material, I'm afraid you may have been living in a Soviet training camp. This movie is fun, funny and as good as the genre gets. Nice performances turned in all around, and the dance scene everyone is drooling over really is kind of hot.