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, Mark Stewart

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Stewart	...	Ace Tomato Courier
Sean Daniel	...	Ace Tomato Driver
Bruce Davison	...	Mr. Ruby
William Prince	...	Mr. Keyes
Steve Forrest	...	General Sline
Tom Hatten	...	General Miegs
Chevy Chase	...	Emmett Fitz-Hume
Ronald Reagan	...	The President of the United States (archive footage)
Jeff Harding	...	Fitz-Hume's Associate
Heidi Sorenson	...	Fitz-Hume's Supervisor
Stephen Hoye	...	Captain Hefling
Dan Aykroyd	...	Austin Millbarge
Margo Random	...	Reporter
Douglas Lambert	...	Reporter
Frank Oz	...	Test Monitor

Storyline

Two low-level government employees, Emmitt Fitz-Hume (played by Chevy Chase) and Austin Milbarge (Dan Aykroyd), are chosen for a top-secret CIA mission. They are unsuitable as CIA agents but are deliberately chosen for this reason, as their mission is a decoy one and they are expendable. After being fast-tracked through training they are parachuted into Pakistan where all manner of adventures await them.

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Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | missile | laser | decoy | spy | 

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Taglines:

With spies like these who needs enemies?

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Genres:

Adventure | 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:

1308 5th St NE Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,614,039, 8 December 1985

Gross USA:

$60,088,980

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

The movie that Emmett Fitz-Hume (Chevy Chase) watches, while at his desk at the State Department, is the musical She's Working Her Way Through College (1952), starring Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, and Ronald Reagan. The scene watched, features the song "I'll be Loving You" by Vernon Duke and Sammy Cahn - and Reagan sings.

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Goofs

When the cabin explodes, the final long shot shows no-one behind the wood pile where the spies were located earlier.

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Quotes

General Sline: When we commissioned the Schmectel Corporation to research this precise event sequence scenario, it was determined that the continual stockpiling and development of our nuclear arsenal was becoming self-defeating. A weapon unused is a useless weapon.

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Crazy Credits

The President of the United States - Ronald Reagan

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Bang Theory: The Griffin Equivalency (2008)

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Soundtracks

SOUL FINGER
Written by Jimmy King, Ben Cauley, Carl Cunningham, James Alexander and Ronnie Caldwell
Performed by The Bar-Kays
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Comedians like Us

Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd were at the height of their professional careers with the 80's "masterpiece" Spies Like Us. The cast alone makes this movie a triumph the 80's comedy. Although the same cast today would find itself on the video shelf and not the movie theaters, for the mid 80's this was a GIANT of a Hollywood cast. Second to only Doctor Strangelove, what other comedy is funnier when dealing with American / Russian relations during the cold war? Chevy and Aykroyd have terrific chemistry together that has been molded to perfection from their success on Saturday Night Live. The physical comedy in the first half of the movie is as funny as any Marx Brother film of its time. The comical situations that occur in the second half are as funny as any Blake Edwards production. Together, the movie is as funny as it gets for the 1980's.