Spies Like Us (1985)

Two bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for Nuclear War.

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Dan Aykroyd (story), Dave Thomas (story),

Stars:

Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chevy Chase	...	Emmett Fitz-Hume
Dan Aykroyd	...	Austin Millbarge
Steve Forrest	...	General Sline
Donna Dixon	...	Karen Boyer
Bruce Davison	...	Ruby
Bernie Casey	...	Colonel Rhumbus
William Prince	...	Keyes
Tom Hatten	...	General Miegs
Frank Oz	...	Test Monitor
Charles McKeown	...	Jerry Hadley
James Daughton	...	Bob Hodges
Jim Staahl	...	Bud Schnelker
Vanessa Angel	...	Russian Rocket Crewperson
Svetlana Plotnikova	...	Russian Rocket Crewperson
Bjarne Thomsen	...	Russian Rocket Crewperson

Storyline

Two totally incompetent applicants, Emmett Fitzhume and Austin Millbarge, are chosen from a CIA recruitment program. They are parachuted into Pakistan and eventually end up in Afghanistan, chased by the Russians, where they learn they are being used as decoys to draw out the Sovet defenses. Two real spies are sent in. Their mission is to Hijack a soviet Missile launcher, launch the Soviet missile and test the new US orbital defence laser. The missile is fired and while heading for an American City, the laser system misses it's target. The contingency plan for this scenario, as set out by the Pentagon Nuts who planned it from deep within a secret underground bunker, is to let the 3rd World War happen anyway.

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Plot Keywords:

missile | spy | pentagon | cia | afghanistan | 

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Taglines:

With spies like these who needs enemies?

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

6 December 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Drôles d'espions

Filming Locations:

Lancaster, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$60,100,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, AAR Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview on The Today Show (a.k.a. Today) (included on the Saturday Night Live: The Best of John Belushi), Dan Aykroyd stated that the movie that would eventually become Spies Like Us was intended to star Aykroyd and John Belushi. Belushi's death shortly after the interview obviously prevented his participation.

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Goofs

During the "negotiation" scene all Russians are shown as awarded two times Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union which is a highest Soviet award. Assuming they all where awarded by one for "saving the world" it's unlikely to believe they all committed another deed of the same scale before.

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Quotes

Col. Rhumbus: Boys, it would be a shame to have to kill you now.

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Crazy Credits

The President of the United States - Ronald Reagan

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Connections

Referenced in Psych: One, Maybe Two, Ways Out (2010)

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Soundtracks

"I'LL BE LOVING YOU"
Written by Sammy Cahn and Vernon Duke

User Reviews

good ol' Cold War comedy

Comedies like "Dr. Strangelove" and "Spies Like Us" make one long for the Cold War, when they could actually make such comedies. In the latter, government employees Emmett Fitzhume (Chevy Chase) and Austin Milbarge (Dan Aykroyd) are recruited for something. They think that they're going to be spies, but they're really decoys for some saber-rattling between the US and USSR. They finally have to take action when the threat of a nuclear holocaust becomes real. Chevy Chase does his usual goofy things, and Dan Aykroyd is his usual uptight-but-silly self. There's some interesting guest appearances: Bob Hope chasing his golf ball, and Greg from "Animal House" as a very shady character. A great comedy.