Russkies (1987) New Century/Drama-Adventure RT: 99 minutes Rated PG (language, some violence) Director: Rick Rosenthal Screenplay: Alan Jay Glueckman, Sheldon Lettich and Michael Nankin Music: James Newton Howard Cinematography: Reed Smoot Release date: November 6, 1987 (US) Cast: Whip Hubley, Leaf (Joaquin) Phoenix, Peter Billingsley, Stephan DeSalle, Susan Walters, Patrick Kilpatrick, Vic Polizos, Charles Frank, Susan Blanchard, Benjamin Hendrickson, Carole King, Vojo Goric, Al White, Patrick Mickler, Summer Phoenix, Leo Rossi. Box Office: $2.1M (US)
Rating: ***
The silly part of me kept hoping that the stranded Russian sailor in Russkies would say “Mischa phone home”- or in Russian, “Mischa telefon domoy”- at some point. He doesn’t, of course, but it wouldn’t have surprised me in the least if he did. The boys’ adventure Russkies borrows heavily from E.T. with its plot about three preteen boys trying to help an alien get back home after being left behind on a strange planet. Only in this case, the alien is a Soviet sailor, home is the USSR and the strange planet is the good old USA. Now throw in elements of Stand by Me and a healthy dose of jingoism. That should give you some idea of what to expect from Russkies.
I was there so I remember the political climate of the 80s. The Cold War was in full swing. Americans, youths in particular, were conditioned to hate Russia through movies, TV, comic books and other forms of media. The Russians were almost always the bad guys, evil Communists looking to destroy the American way of life. At the very least, they were spies. In short, they weren’t to be trusted. That was the prevailing attitude in the Reagan era.
Russkies opens with three 12YOs, Danny (Phoenix, SpaceCamp), Adam (Billingsley, A Christmas Story) and Jason (DeSalle), reading a comic book starring their hero, the Soviet-smashing Sgt. Slammer. These kids are military brats who spend their days playing soldier. They think they know a lot about heroism and foreign policy, but they’re about to get a real education on both when they find Mischa (Hubley, Top Gun) hiding out in their secret hideout. A Soviet Navy radio operator forced to take part in a mission to obtain some piece of surveillance equipment from an American traitor (Rossi, The Accused), he gets separated from his two comrades after their raft capsizes in a storm and he washes ashore in Key West, FL. When the boys find him, their first instinct is to hold him at gunpoint and interrogate him. Their attitudes begin to change when they realize he’s not out to do them or their country harm. They eventually become friends over lunch at McDonald’s (OBLIGATORY PRODUCT PLUG!).
Of course, not everybody in Russkies possesses the same capacity for change. Namely, most of the adults the boys and Mischa come into contact with. Once they realize there’s a big bad Russian in their midst, the military goes on high alert and the boys’ parents go out looking for them. They’re out for blood, especially Raimy (Kilpatrick, Death Warrant), a gung-ho soldier who had an earlier run-in with Mischa on the docks. Realizing their new friend is in extreme danger, the boys concoct a plan to take him to Cuba (it’s only 86 miles by boat) so he can go home from there. What they don’t realize until too late is that Mischa’s two comrades survived and plan to sneak onto the base to steal what they came here for.
By way of balancing out the kiddie stuff, director Rick Rosenthal (Halloween II) adds a subplot concerning Danny’s father (Hendrickson, Manhunter), a Hungarian immigrant with an intense hatred of Russians. As a boy, he witnessed his father’s murder at the hands of a Russian soldier. Now he’s a bitter drunk who just finalized his divorce from Danny’s mother (singer King). You know without me even telling you that the dad will have a change of heart by movie’s end. It’s as predictable as Adam’s older sister Diane (Walters), depressed over a recent break-up, finding love again when she meets Mischa. These things are practically written in stone. Fortunately, it adds a nice dose of drama to the adventure that will ultimately impact how the young protagonists look at the world. BTW, you know what else is a foregone conclusion? The jetpack worn by the actor playing Sgt. Slammer in the town’s upcoming 4th of July celebration will be used by one of the young heroes in the climax.
Oddly enough, I didn’t see Russkies at the movies. I wanted to, but it came and went in a week. I caught it on home video the following May. The odd thing about it is that it opened in mid-fall as opposed to summer. It feels like a summer movie to me. It’s the kind of movie I’d enjoy seeing in 80+ degree weather. I’ve also heard debate over whether or not it’s suitable for children with the frequent swearing by its young characters. They do say “s***“ a lot. May I remind you that they hear it and worse a hundred times a day at school? This is how kids talk when adults aren’t around. It’s no worse than The Bad News Bears (the original, of course).
In watching Russkies for the first time in over 30 years, I was rather impressed with the performances. Like his (late) older brother River, Leaf Phoenix is a natural. He’s believable as a preteen whose xenophobia dissipates as he comes to understand Russians are people just like us. They have families that they miss and the same desire to go home again. Although it’s hard to NOT see Billingsley as Ralphie Parker, he does a good job as the more idealistic member of the group who first realizes their prisoner isn’t such a bad guy. LaSalle’s character, I assume, is supposed to be the Data (as in The Goonies) of the group. Early on, we see one of his inventions, an automatic bed maker. Actually, it’s the only invention we see. This aspect of his character appears to be forgotten by the writers. I guess they figured it was enough to make him black. Hubley projects sweetness as Mischa, a fellow far removed from the stereotypical image of Soviet villain.
I’ll grant that Russkies isn’t perfect. The screenplay relies too much on certain clichés and the ending feels a bit drawn out. The subplot about the Russian intelligence baddie and the device, a total McGuffin, goes underdeveloped. Looking at it today, it’s totally dated. At the same time, it feels relevant in how it addresses the media’s contribution to jingoism and xenophobia. It’s not a deep dive; it’s more of a nudge-and-point, but you get the idea. Overall, it’s a neat boys’ adventure with a lot of heart. It’s an entertaining cinematic relic from the 80s worth digging up.
