Spies Like Us (1985)

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Synopsis

An American spy satelite has spotted a large Russian I.C.B.M. on the move. Photos of the missile have been dispatched to Mr. Ruby and Mr. Keyes ( Bruce Davidson and William Prince), top men in the American government. They are hesitant to send more men to intercept the missile since the last two that went were killed. The men decide that they need to have two teams: one with the two real spies and the other pair as a distraction.

Emmett Fitz-Hume ( Chevy Chase) is a conniving worker in the State Department who believes he does not have to study for the foreign service exam since it is in his blood; his grandfather and father were both foreign correspondents for the US. Austin Millbarge ( Dan Aykroyd) is a talented code breaker who is hidden away by his superiors for some unknown reason. He does his work with diligence, but is frustrated when given only one day notice that he will also be taking the foreign service exam. On the day of the test, Emmett goes to great lengths to try and cheat on the exam, though the instructor ( Frank Oz) picks up on him easily. Emmett wrangles Austin into his theatrics and instead of being reprimanded, the two are selected by Mr. Ruby and Mr. Keyes to be their dupe GLG20 (Foreign Service Operatives) for the Defense Intelligence Agency.

The men then go through a series of extreme training by Colonel Rhombus ( Bernie Casey). It is evident that neither men are cut out for the physical nature of the military. Eventually, the Emmett and Austin are sent to Pakistan to begin their assignment. They arrive in flurry of activity and are met by the contacts Rob Hodges and Bud Schnelker ( James Daughton and Jim Staahl), who they believe to be their liaisons. Austin deduces that they are in fact KGB. The pair are able to allude the Russians and make for the US Embassy. They are quickly attacked my militant Pakistani freedom fighters. The men are saved, though, by a doctor Jeffery Hadley ( Charles McKeown) who is leading a medical envoy for the UN with other doctors, including Dr. Karen Boyer ( Donna Dixon). Hadley believes the pair to be highly-trained surgeons that they had been told to expect. Ever the opportunists, Emmett and Austin play along but are soon forced to try and perform an appendectomy on one of the Pakistani soldier, the Kahn's brother. They fail, the man dies, and they are pursued from the camp.

Elsewhere, back in the States Mr. Ruby and Mr. Keyes go to a secret government bunker for W.A.M.P. in Nevada, which is a Star Wars-esque, Black Ops program lead by Generals Sline and Miegs ( Steve Forrest and Tom Hatten). The four men begin to monitor the progress of the spies, including Emmett and Austin, who they are surprised are actually still alive. They tell Emmett and Austin to head for the Soviet border. While traveling by bus, the stumbled upon Drs. Hadley and Moyer from the Freedom Fighter camp. Austin deduces that the too aren't actually doctors and in fact are spies like them. They decide to follow Hadley and Moyer into the desert, hoping they know a way over the border secretly.

Emmett and Austin are eventually found by Russian police, with Emmett being taken into custody while Austin flees. Emmett is interrogated by the Russians who had been pretending to be their liaisons. Austin stumbles upon Boyer, who had just take out a Russian dispatch group who had killed Hadley. He procures her guns and horse in order to save Emmett. The three then team-up to take out the Russian ICBM team ( Vanessa Angel, Svetlana Plotikova, Garrick Dombrovski, Sergei Rousakov, and Bjarne Thomsen) using a scare-tactic of posing as alien beings. They then activate the missile because of the instructions from the military men in the US. They do this without knowing why and figure they have under an hour to live, prompting them all to pair off for some last minute love making.

Make in the states, W.A.M.P. has launched their own weapon that they thought would take out the missile as a show of power. Unfortunately, it fails, but the Generals see the silver lining as bringing the US together through the global destruction. However, a thought comes to Austin and he is able to divert the ICBM, allowing it to detonate out in space. Back at the bunker, the US military has infiltrated W.A.M.P. and arrests the guilty parties.

The movie ends with Emmett and Austin negotiation nuclear disarmament with the Russian ICBM team through a board game blending RISK and Trivial Pursuit.

Reception and Box Office

The movie received mixed reviews, currently holding a 41% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie had grossed just over $60 million domestically in theaters. The highest movie rank it reached was #2 in its opening weekend, which was also its highest grossing weekend at $8.6 million.