Spinning Boris (2003)

Director:

Roger Spottiswoode

Writers (WGA):

Yuri Zeltser (written by) &
Grace Cary Bickley (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Electing a Russian president the American way.

Plot:

Russian political elite hires American consultants to help with President Yeltsin's re-election campaign when his approval rating is down to single digits.

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jeff Goldblum	...	George Gorton
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Dick Dresner
Liev Schreiber	...	Joe Shumate
Boris Lee Krutonog	...	Felix Braynin (as Boris Krutonog)
Svetlana Efremova	...	Tatiana Dyachenko
Shauna MacDonald	...	Lisa
Gregory Hlady	...	Andrei Lugov
Vladimir Radian	...	Vasso
Ilia Volokh	...	Elvis Impersonator (as Ilia Volok)
Konstantin Kazakov	...	Oleg Soskovets
Judah Katz	...	Michael Kramer
Maria Syrgiannis	...	Female Journalist
Ola Sturik	...	Post Office Clerk
Gillian Vanderburgh	...	Dick Dresner's Wife
Serge Timokhin	...	Hotel Desk Clerk

Also Known As:

The Yeltsin Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

USA:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

UK:12 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Licht/Mueller Film Corporation

Trivia:

The hotel portrayed in the movie where Gorton, Dresner and Shumate stayed and Tatiana ran the campaign was the "President Hotel." This hotel was known as the "Oktiabraskaya" during Soviet Times, and was where the Soviet Politburo stayed when in Moscow. In addition to a Kremlin view and crystal chandeliers, each room was equipped with gas masks, and the hotel compound was said to be secretly linked to the Moscow metro system for occupants to escape or reinforcements to arrive.

Quotes:

George Gorton: You never lie to the press. You just try very hard to mislead them.

Spinning History

This is a nice political comedy. Three American election-consultants are hired to help Boris Jeltsin to win Russia's first free election. Jeltsin's daughter is the campaign leader and speaks for her father. Though the three consultants never meet Jeltsin in person, this gap is nicely filled with archive material of the real election campaign in 1996. The movie begins with the statement 'based on a truth story'. I strongly doubt this story is authentic, but it is plausible though.

Jeff Goldblum is the real star in this movie and some non-hollywood details, like the fact that some Russians don't speak English (so there is a lot of Russian language in the movie), are very nice and make this movie an above-average one. Watch it if you like satire and are not afraid of politics!