Gotcha

He and his best friend and roommate, Manolo (Jsu Garcia), are heading to France and Spain over spring break. Manolo is an experienced ladies man, while Jonathon doesn't do well with women, at least until he meets Linda Fiorentino in a cafe. She seduces him, and talks him into going to Germany with her to pick up something she is couriering to pay her tuition. She neglects to mention that it is East Germany she is taking him to. Things go wrong, a Russian agent is after them, and Jonathon, after having a woman murdered in his arms, manages to escape and returns home. The bad guys come after him, and he learns that Fiorentino wasn't exactly truthful with him

... but now he has them on his turf.

NUDITY REPORT

Linda Fiorentino shows most of a her breasts in bed with Jonathon, and both breasts while being strip-searched in the DDR.

NOTE: more of Fiorentino's breasts can be seen in the full-frame VHS version than in the widescreen DVD.

DVD info from Amazon

widescreen anamorphic 1.85:1

The film is packed with humor, most of which isn't necessary to the plot, but some of which establishes logically what would otherwise be a very implausible story. For example, the only way Jonathon could have successfully taken on professional spies was his experience in the Gotcha game, and being on his home turf.

The new DVD is very welcome. The transfer is very nice, adding to what I have always found a very entertaining film.

The Critics Vote

no major reviews on line

The People Vote ...

IMDB summary. IMDb voters score it 5.6/10

The film grossed only $9 million, but has had a significant afterlife on cable and video tape.

The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. (C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by genre fans, while C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie although genre addicts find it watchable). D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-.

Based on this description, this is a strong C+. If you like the youth-oriented escapist films that were so popular in the 80s, this is one of the most entertaining.