The Experts (1989 movie)
The Experts is a 1989 American Cold War comedy movie starring John Travolta, Arye Gross and Kelly Preston. It was written by Steven Greene, Eric Alter, and Nick Thiel and directed by Dave Thomas. The movie was distributed by Paramount Pictures.
| The Experts | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Dave Thomas |
| Produced by | Marylin Black Diana Greenwood Jack Grossberg James Keach Jonathan D. Kraine |
| Written by | Nick Thiel Steven Greene Eric Alter (screenplay) Steven Greene Eric Alter (story) |
| Starring | John Travolta Arye Gross Kelly Preston |
| Music by | Marvin Hamlisch |
| Cinematography | Ronnie Taylor |
| Edited by | Bud Molin |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language |
|
| Budget | $3 million |
| Box office | $169,203 |
Plot
Two American nightclub owners from New York City, Travis (John Travolta) and Wendell (Arye Gross) are drugged and kidnapped while on their way to opening a nightclub in rural Nebraska. The KGB spy Cameron Smith (Charles Martin Smith) takes them to the Soviet Union, as "experts" on the "American lifestyle" with the intention of teaching KGB spies to be like Americans. And under the influence of drugs they think they have arrived in "Nebraska" to open the nightclub. Travis and Wendell are brought to the phony town of "Indian Springs", which is populated by Russians who speak perfect American English and act like Americans. KGB spies go there to study "American people" and "American culture", but is stuck in the 1950s. The KGB spy Smith is in charge of the "typical American town" built for espionage-training purposes and hopes that his fellow spies will learn real American culture. But things get out of control when Travis and Wendell introduce their fellow "American" neighbors current pop culture, turn a bar into a rock music club and teach the townsfolk to dance. Both also flirt with local women. Travis and Wendell increasingly become suspicious, but when they get lost in a forest and stumble upon a military base where everyone is speaking Russian, they realize that they are actually in the Soviet Union. Things also get dangerous when the townsfolk taste freedom, and the KGB decides to stop the experiment and kill the American "guests", who have to find ways to flee the country.
Cast
- John Travolta as Travis
- Arye Gross as Wendell
- Kelly Preston as Bonnie
- Deborah Foreman as Jill
- James Keach as Yuri
- Jan Rubeš as Illyich
- Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Jones
- Charles Martin Smith as Mr. Cameron Smith
- Mimi Maynard as Betty Smith
- Eve Brent as Aunt Thelma
- Rick Ducommun as Sparks
- Steve Levitt as Gil
- Tony Edwards as Nathan
- David Mcalpine as Farmboy
Reception
The Experts did very badly at the box office (it was a massive "box office bomb"); its budget was estimated at $3 million and the box office was only $169,203.[1] The film was also badly criticized by the film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a positive rating of only 26% from the audience.[2]
References
- ↑ "The Experts". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- ↑ "THE EXPERTS (1989)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 July 2017.