Gotcha! (1985)

Gotcha! (1985)

Gotcha! movie storyline. Jonathan plays a game called Gotcha in which he hunts and is hunted by other students with paint guns. After a big win, he goes off for a vacation in France where he meets the sexy Sasha who says she is only interested in him because he is a virgin. She takes him with her to East Germany where they are separated and he has to escape back to the west on his own, all the while being trailed by East German spies. He arrives home only to find the game is still going on, and a canister of film is in his backpack. Then Sasha re-appears.

Gotcha! is a 1985 comedy-action film, starring Anthony Edwards, Linda Fiorentino, Jsu Garcia, Alex Rocco, Marla Adams, Klaus Löwitsch, Christie Claridge, Irene Olga López and directed by Jeff Kanew, who also directed Anthony Edwards in Revenge of the Nerds in 1984.

About the Story

UCLA college student Jonathan Moore (Anthony Edwards) is playing a game called “Gotcha” (popular on mid-1980s college campuses as “Assassin” or “Tag”), wherein the players are all assigned a mock “hit” on another player by use of a harmless paintball gun. Moore and his apartment roommate Manolo go on a vacation to Paris, France. After touring some of Paris, in a cafe Moore meets Sasha Banicek (Linda Fiorentino), a Czechoslovakian girl. Eventually, Jonathan has intercourse with Sasha, losing his virginity.

Gotcha! (1985)

Jonathan decides to leave Manolo (who is heading to Spain) and go with Sasha to West Berlin to spend more time with her. Jonathan believes that he is in love with Sasha. There, Jonathan and Sasha continue to have sex and even go to an Oktoberfest beer gathering. One night, Sasha tells Jonathan that she has to go to East Berlin to pick up a package. One night after arriving in East Berlin, Sasha leaves their hotel room and walks to dark street corner. There, Sasha meets a German man who tells her the location of the pickup of her package.

Meanwhile, Sasha was being monitored by a Soviet agent, who was sitting in a car at a distance. During the day, Sasha tells Jonathan that if she gives him a certain message, it means that he has to leave East Berlin immediately. At a cafe, Sasha gives Jonathan a package and says that a strudel is inside. A little later, Sasha tells Jonathan to meet her at the butcher shop near their hotel. All of a sudden, a Soviet agent begins to chase after Sasha. Sasha decides to use Jonathan (who is holding her package) to unknowingly get the package over to West Berlin. Meanwhile, Sasha is taken by the Soviet agent and East German secret police.

Jonathan goes to Checkpoint Charlie to cross the heavily fortified border into West Berlin. At the East German customs search, Jonathan is stripped of his clothes and given a cavity search. Meanwhile, Sasha is stripped and searched for possible espionage evidence. Vlad arrives at the border crossing to search for Jonathan, however Jonathan passes the border safely before he can be captured. Once in West Berlin, Jonathan feels liberated by the Westernized society.

In the hotel, Jonathan receives a message from Sasha to meet him at a specified location. Jonathan finds out that his hotel room was broken into and robbed of his traveler’s checks. Soviet agents eventually find Jonathan in West Berlin and chase him throughout a public park. Jonathan jumps into a water canal and manages to escape from the Soviets and stumbles upon a German rock group headed for Hamburg, who offer him a ride to the airport.

Gotcha! Movie Poster (1985)

Gotcha! (1985)

Directed by: Jeff Kanew
Starring: Anthony Edwards, Linda Fiorentino, Jsu Garcia, Alex Rocco, Marla Adams, Klaus Löwitsch, Christie Claridge, Irene Olga López, Tiina Maria
Screenplay by: Paul G. Hensler, Dan Gordon
Production Design by: Albrecht Konrad
Cinematography by: King Baggot
Film Editing by: Michael A. Stevenson
Costume Design by: April Ferry
Set Decoration by: Mary Ann Biddle
Art Direction by: Norman Newberry
Music by: Bill Conti
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: May 3, 1985

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