Houdini's Magic Movie Ticket

Awesome movie! Starring Anthony Edwards (Goose in "Top Gun") and Linda Fiorentino (Dr. Laurel Weaver and Agent L (Elle) in the first "Men In Black").

Linda looks so different in "Gotcha!" that I didn't recognize her. Anthony Edwards looks so young too.

Edwards is a college student. He's a pro at the '80's version of "Assassins," a college spy game where students try to "kill" their fellow student targets using a specified (fake) weapon. Some people nowadays use marshmallows. In the movie they used black paintball pistols, with red paint for authentic "deaths." The first few minutes of the film depict Edwards' prowess at the game. He racks up a decent score.

Then the movie strays from action and sets up future events. It's nice, but if you're impatient for some adrenaline-pumping, you might get bored. What happens is Edwards and a buddy go to Paris. The friend gives him advice on picking up women. Then the guy ditches Edwards so he can hook up with a lady who thinks he's a terrorist. Yes, that's right. His gimmick in a foreign land is to pretend he's a terrorist. He says Swedish chicks dig that sort of thing. This, combined with the use of realistic weaponry at school proves that this movie was made when the world was different.

Anyway, Edwards is on his own, and tries to use some of his friend's advice to pick up an attractive woman at a restaurant. Crash and burn. But then she comes over to him and introduces herself. Their relationship snowballs until they become a couple. Then she drags him into her spy game. Finally, some action!

They go to Berlin, then to East Berlin, complete with machine guns and barbed wire. Things get really interesting from there. The action picks up, and follows Edwards all the way back to America! He tries to tell his parents, but they think he's on drugs! KGB's are everywhere trying to kill him! CIA is against him!! Who did his girlfriend work for?! Wait, didn't he just see her? Here??!! In AMERICA???!!!

Yes, it's a really awesome film. It build up to a pretty great pace in the end, and it's still got points with some light '80's humor. "We love it!"

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