IMDb RATING
4.9/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
Two NYC guys get jobs starting a nightclub in Smalltown, USA. They don't know it's a spy training model town in USSR .Two NYC guys get jobs starting a nightclub in Smalltown, USA. They don't know it's a spy training model town in USSR .Two NYC guys get jobs starting a nightclub in Smalltown, USA. They don't know it's a spy training model town in USSR .
Brian Doyle-Murray
- Jones
- (as Brian Doyle Murray)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Paramount Pictures studio wanted director Dave Thomas to go back and re-shoot some scenes before its limited release in 1989, but in the intervening two years, star John Travolta had gained over thirty pounds in weight, which prevented any new scenes being shot.
- GoofsYuri states the town is about 80 miles from the Sea of Japan. The coordinates he gives (61°N, 130°E) is roughly 195 miles from the Sea of Okhotsk and nearly 1,000 miles from the Sea of Japan.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: UHF/Valentino Returns/Shag (1989)
- SoundtracksBack In The U.S.S.R.
By John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Performed by Jack Mack and the Heart Attack (as Jack Mack & The Heart Attack)
Produced by Steve Cropper
Featured review
Mild pre-Truman Show comedy (spoilers).
Ever wanted to see John Travolta with a fierce mullet and a bad fashion sense? Check out 'The Experts,' a cold-war influenced, pre-Truman Show comedy that was a good idea, but should've developed into something more.
This is the story of KGB agents who have developed an isolated town which will emulate a sleepy Midwestern American town. The purpose is to fully assimilate it's agents into American culture so that they may go undetected when they infiltrate the states (although some of the residents had been there their whole lives and seemed unlikely of doing anything in the actual America for which it serves as a template). But, sensing that the training ground is out-of-touch with modern America, one of the executives of the agency hires to bumbling New Yorkers to be their guide to what's hip in 1989 America. They lure them to the town under the guise that they're developing a night club and want those two to advise them.
Unaware of what is going on, their "experts" stick out like a sore thumb in the 50's Midwest style neighborhood, before others catch on and emulate the two newcomers' love of dirty dancing, club music, and mass materialism of electronic consumer goods in the same way that the modern teenagers in Pleasantville effected their surroundings. Only, the other agents disapprove of the changes in their people who seem wholly unaware of their artificial surroundings (much like "the experts") and don't want the Experts to stay. Meanwhile, it is only a matter of time before the Experts figure out what is really going on as they tend to rub some of the higher-up executives the wrong way with their presence.
The idea was fun, and deserved a lot more quirkiness and less family-friendly appeal in order to make one of those really funky late 80s comedies that celebrate that modern American city culture. The movie, however, by mid-state tends to drag on in repetition and by the end, becomes completely balled up in corniness as the town becomes chaotic and the filmmakers struggle for a perfect resolution in which American culture prevails over the perceived stuffiness of then-Communist Russia. It is instead a more moderate comedy with some funny moments, but overall is more or less droll. Not that hilarious, not that different. But there is some appeal, especially if you're searching out lost titles of the 80s, no matter how mild they may be.
Worth a shot, if for nothing else, than to see Arye Gross and John Travolta in ridiculous 80s garb.
This is the story of KGB agents who have developed an isolated town which will emulate a sleepy Midwestern American town. The purpose is to fully assimilate it's agents into American culture so that they may go undetected when they infiltrate the states (although some of the residents had been there their whole lives and seemed unlikely of doing anything in the actual America for which it serves as a template). But, sensing that the training ground is out-of-touch with modern America, one of the executives of the agency hires to bumbling New Yorkers to be their guide to what's hip in 1989 America. They lure them to the town under the guise that they're developing a night club and want those two to advise them.
Unaware of what is going on, their "experts" stick out like a sore thumb in the 50's Midwest style neighborhood, before others catch on and emulate the two newcomers' love of dirty dancing, club music, and mass materialism of electronic consumer goods in the same way that the modern teenagers in Pleasantville effected their surroundings. Only, the other agents disapprove of the changes in their people who seem wholly unaware of their artificial surroundings (much like "the experts") and don't want the Experts to stay. Meanwhile, it is only a matter of time before the Experts figure out what is really going on as they tend to rub some of the higher-up executives the wrong way with their presence.
The idea was fun, and deserved a lot more quirkiness and less family-friendly appeal in order to make one of those really funky late 80s comedies that celebrate that modern American city culture. The movie, however, by mid-state tends to drag on in repetition and by the end, becomes completely balled up in corniness as the town becomes chaotic and the filmmakers struggle for a perfect resolution in which American culture prevails over the perceived stuffiness of then-Communist Russia. It is instead a more moderate comedy with some funny moments, but overall is more or less droll. Not that hilarious, not that different. But there is some appeal, especially if you're searching out lost titles of the 80s, no matter how mild they may be.
Worth a shot, if for nothing else, than to see Arye Gross and John Travolta in ridiculous 80s garb.
helpful•47
- vertigo_14
- Jul 28, 2005
- How long is The Experts?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $13,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $169,203
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $169,203
- Jan 15, 1989
- Gross worldwide
- $169,203
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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