Russkies

Russkies is a 1987 film starring Whip Hubley and Joaquin Phoenix (credited in the movie as Leaf Phoenix). It was directed by Rick Rosenthal, with cinematography by Reed Smoot. It is notably similar in plot to the 1975 novel The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall, changing the setting from 1940's England to 1980's America, and the 'enemy' changing from Germany to Russia.

Main cast

• Whip Hubley as Mischa
• Joaquin Phoenix as Danny
• Peter Billingsley as Adam
• Stefan DeSalle as Jason
• Susan Walters as Diane
• Patrick Kilpatrick as Raimy

Plot

A few nights before July 4, three government/military brats (Danny, Adam, and Jason) are gathered in one's Key West bedroom reading about their favorite comic book hero Sgt. Slammer (a parody of G.I. Joe), with no idea that a Soviet warship is anchored just off the coast, and despite the violent storm, gung-ho intelligence officer Sulock ignores the captain and drags radioman Mischa Pushkin and his comrade Boris into a raft to row ashore and accept a prototype surveillance device from an American traitor. The exchange fails when the raft capsizes and Mischa washes ashore. Injured and alone, Mischa shouts out for his missing comrades, then realizing with shock that he's in America.

The next morning, Danny hears from his little sister that their parents are downstairs finalizing their divorce. He sneaks out of the house, rescues Adam from his mother's cooking and Jason from his father's lawnmowing orders, and the three of them set out in their motorboat for their 'hideout', an uninhabited island with an abandoned naval bunker. On the way, they find a Russian codebook from one of the sailors and later the wrecked raft. Fearing that Russians are invading, Adam and Jason head back to the city and leave Danny to secure their bunker. Danny nervously enters the bunker and finds himself held at gunpoint by a frightened Mischa. He'd been in there all night munching their candy bars and reading their Sgt. Slammer comic books, which he calls "American propaganda". Unable to warn anyone of the suspected invasion, Adam and Jason return and overpower Mischa, due to his dislocated shoulder and the fact that his gun hasn't worked since he crawled out of the ocean.

Following Geneva Convention rules, the boys interrogate Mischa, who has no idea why he's here and admits he wound up in their hideout by accident. Danny is dead-set on turning Mischa over to the police, while Adam is more interested in being diplomatic, even trying to fix Mischa's hurt shoulder, but with no medical training, they enlist the help of Adam's nursing-student sister Diane, who falls for Mischa at first sight. After lunch at a local McDonald's, tensions flare over what to do next, but Jason sides with Adam that as he has no anti-American agenda, Mischa should not be turned in. Mischa buys some American clothes and the four spend the Fourth of July messing around at the racetrack, arcade, mini-golf, and batting cages. Later in the day, Adam goes off to maintain his cover story to his father(who has realized too late that Adam's invasion theory may have been right), but before Jason can leave, they run into Raimy, a drunken Army corporal causing trouble on the Key West docks. Mischa impulsively intercedes, and they nearly come to blows before the MP's turn up and haul Raimy back to base. Mischa berates himself, realizing he nearly committed what could be an act of war, and admits to the boys that perhaps he should give himself up after all.

Fearing for Mischa now, Danny concocts a plan for the boys to borrow a pleasurecraft from the marina and deliver their friend to Cuba, where he might find his way home. Getting help from Diane again, they learn that their parents went to their bunker, finding both the interrogation tape, and Mischa's (now dried-out)gun. While the boys make final arrangements, Diane and Mischa share a romantic moment watching the fireworks from the dock, unaware that they're being watched.

Danny's plan goes bust when Raimy and his drunken cronies intercept them on the way to commandeer the boat, and while they defeat the drunks easily, they're delayed long enough for the boat to be taken out without them(by its owner). Thinking Mischa's at a dead end, they are suddenly surprised to be greeted by Sulock and Boris, who survived the capsizing after all, and they have a Russian submarine on the way to pick them up after midnight. But Sulock is hiding something...

Once Adam and Jason leave to borrow another boat for the rendezvous, Sulock pulls a gun on Danny, ordering Mischa and Boris to tie him up, or else. Danny thinks that Mischa has betrayed them because he doesn't understand a word of the Russian being shouted in the scuffle. Sulock shoves Mischa and Boris out of the boathouse at gunpoint, planning to break into the army base(where the traitor returned the stolen device) and steal the surveillance device. This will complete his mission, but could very well frighten the Americans into thinking they're being invaded! Mischa trips an alarm after begging Sulock not to go through with this potential act of war, and flee back to the boathouse with a trigger-happy Raimy and the MP's on their tail. Out searching for the boys, their parents nearly run the Russians down, and Diane inadvertently reveals everything when she recognizes Mischa.

Sulock orders everyone into the borrowed boat, except Danny, who is still tied up. Mischa unties Danny and begs him to find help so no one is killed. Trying to phone the police, Danny witnesses Raimy acting without authority and commandeering the boat of his drinking buddies to chase down and kill the Russians, particularly Mischa. Stumbling across the van of a local performer who often impersonates Sgt. Slammer, Danny takes his jetpack and flies out over the ocean, hoping to reach his friends before Raimy and warn them.

Arriving at the rendezvous point, Adam, Jason and the Russians are quickly in Raimy's drunken gunsights, but the parents arrive, Raimy's CO(and Jason's father) ordering him to hold fire. Raimy soon ignores orders when Danny flies over in the jetpack and shoots him down, then shoots Mischa as he dives into the water to rescue Danny. Free of the jetpack, Danny surfaces and pleads for his father(a Hungarian immigrant who despises Russians) not to take him to the boat, but save the wounded Mischa. Once all three of them are safe on the boat the Russian Alfa surfaces and its sailors draw their guns, fearing their comrades are about to be killed. Sulock cowardly puts his gun to Adam's head to protect no one but himself, but Diane and Danny's father stand in front of Mischa, ready to take Raimy's bullet for him. After a few minutes filled with shouts from all three(and the boys) to lower their guns, the standoff ends peacefully, Raimy having fired the only shots.

Early the next morning, the traitor is arrested by MP's (having been given up by Boris), while out on the water, both Raimy and Sulock are arrested by their respective militaries, each facing a court-martial for nearly triggering World War III(in English and Russian, both hear the same line as they're arrested: "You're in deep trouble, Jack!"). Danny's father and Mischa embrace in mutual gratitude, while Diane receives a romantic farewell. Mischa is the last Russian to enter the submarine, saying goodbye to his young friends and fervently hoping he and the boys will meet again. Danny's voice is heard as the Americans watch the Russian submarine dive away, and the final scene shows Danny in his bedroom, reading War And Peace(Mischa's favorite book) to Adam and Jason.

Availability

Russkies was released on VHS by Lorimar Home Video and on Laserdisc by Image Entertainment in 1988. In 2002, a budget DVD of the film was released by Platinum Disc, but with no bonus features and presented only in full frame.

External links

• Russkies at the Internet Movie Database
• Russkies at Rotten Tomatoes