Gotcha!

The 80's was no doubt a time of teen sex romp movies. However, this was a very overlooked film that truly does stand out from the rest. ER's Anthony Edwards reteams with "Revenge of the Nerds" director, Jeff Kanew in this teen romantic spy thriller.

Jonathan Moore (Edwards) plays "Gotcha!" It's a cat and mouse pre-paintball game where UCLA students hunt each other down with dart guns. The game was based on a real game called "Assassins" that was a big hit on college campus's in the early 80's. Quick witted Jonathan is the best in the school but doesn't have such luck when it comes to females.

He takes a trip with his best buddy, Garcia, (Nick Corri), to Paris where his luck finally changes when he meets seductive, husky-voiced courier Sasha (Fiorentino), the woman who eventually takes his virginity.

However, a trip into East Germany causes the couple to become separated and Jonathan becomes the target of KGB spies and attempts to get back to the west. Fortunately (and rather predictably), the well armed Communist agents are not as adept at the game of Gotcha! as Jonathan.

Unfortunately, with a mysterious can of film in his bag, the game reaches as far as home and once he runs back into Sasha, all truths are uncovered and he must once again play the game of Gotcha! to survive, but this time on his own turf...

Gotcha! is a very likeable teen-espionage that is masquerading in the advertising as a teen sex romp. It neatly avoids being like so many of those needless flesh fests with a minimum of that kind of silliness coupled with a witty and entertaining script and likeable, enjoyable characters.

This really was Linda Fiorentino's year and she was eminently suitable for the role of a more experienced woman to play against a naiive leading man, having done so well doing precisely that in "Vision Quest", her previous role.