''Russkies'' is a 1987 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film starring Whip Hubley and Leaf Phoenix, directed by

Rick Rosenthal Richard L. Rosenthal, Jr. (born June 15, 1949) is an American film instructor and director, known for directing '' Halloween II'' and '' Halloween: Resurrection''. Early life, family and education Rosenthal was born in New York City, the son o ...

with cinematography by

Reed Smoot Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). First elected by the Utah State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1902, he serv ...

Plot

A few nights before

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Many ...

, three 12-year old

military brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revis ...

s (Danny, Adam, and Jason) gather in a

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

bedroom reading their favorite comic book, Sgt. Slammer. Meanwhile, a Soviet warship is anchored just off the coast. Intelligence officer Sulock ignores the captain and drags Mischa Pushkin and Boris into a raft to row ashore and accept a prototype surveillance device from a U.S. turncoat. The raft capsizes, and Mischa washes ashore. The next morning, Danny, Adam, and Jason set out in their motorboat for their hideout. Along the way, they find a Russian-language

codebook A codebook is a type of document used for gathering and storing cryptography codes. Originally codebooks were often literally , but today codebook is a byword for the complete record of a series of codes, regardless of physical format. Cryptog ...

and the wrecked raft with Russian lettering. Adam and Jason head back to the city and leave Danny to secure their bunker. Danny enters the bunker and finds himself held at gunpoint by Mischa. Unable to warn anyone of the suspected invasion, Adam and Jason return and overpower Mischa. The boys interrogate Mischa, with Danny set on turning Mischa over to the police. Adam is more interested in being diplomatic. With no medical training, they enlist Adam's nursing-student sister Diane. After lunch, tensions flare over what to do next, with Jason siding with Adam not to turn Mischa over to the authorities. Mischa buys clothes, and the four play at the racetrack, arcade, mini-golf, and batting cages. Later in the day, Adam goes off to maintain his cover story to his father, who has realized that Adam's invasion theory may have been right. Still, before Jason can leave, they encounter Raimy, a drunken

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

corporal causing trouble on the docks. Mischa intercedes and nearly come to blows before the

military policemen Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

turn up and return Raimy to base. Mischa berates himself, realizing he almost committed what could be an act of war, and says that perhaps he should give himself up after all. Danny devises a plan for the boys to borrow a

pleasure craft Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

from the marina and deliver their friend to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

, where he might find his way home. Getting help from Diane again, they learn that their parents went to their bunker. Raimy intercepts Mischa and the boys on the way to commandeer a boat. The encounter with Raimy causes a delay long enough for the ship to leave the dock by its owner. Thinking Mischa's at a dead end, they are greeted by Sulock and Boris, who communicate the Soviet submarine is on the way to pick them up after midnight. Once Adam and Jason leave to borrow another boat for the rendezvous, Sulock pulls a gun on Danny, ordering Mischa and Boris to tie him up. Sulock shoves Mischa and Boris out of the boathouse at gunpoint, planning to break into the army base and steal the surveillance device. After begging Sulock not to go through with this potential act of war, Mischa trips an alarm and retreats to the boathouse with Raimy and the military police on their tail. The boy's parents nearly run the Russians down, and Diane inadvertently reveals everything when she recognizes Mischa. After Sulock orders everyone into the boat, Mischa unties Danny and begs him to find help. Trying to call the police, Danny witnesses Raimy commandeering his drinking buddies' ship to chase down the Russians. Danny stumbles across the van of a local performer who impersonates Sgt. Slammer and takes his

jetpack A jet pack, rocket belt, or rocket pack is a device worn on the back which uses jets of gas or liquid to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and became widespread in the 1960s. ...

to fly out over the ocean. The parents arrive at the rendezvous point. Danny flies over in the jetpack. Raimy shoots him down and shoots Mischa as he dives into the water to rescue Danny. Free of the jetpack, Danny surfaces and pleads for his father to save Mischa. Once all three of them are safe on the ship, the Soviet submarine surfaces, and its sailors draw their guns. Fearing their comrades are about to be killed, Sulock puts his gun to Adam's head. Diane and Danny's father stand in front of Mischa, ready to take Raimy's bullet for him. After a few tense minutes, the standoff ends peacefully. The next morning, Raimy and Sulock get arrested by their respective militaries. Danny's father and Mischa embrace in mutual gratitude. Mischa is the last Russian to enter the submarine, saying goodbye to his young friends and fervently hoping he and the boys will meet again. The final scene shows Danny in his bedroom reading Mischa's favorite book, ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'', to Adam and Jason dressed in civilian clothing, thereby indicating they've abandoned their military personalities.

Main cast

* Whip Hubley as Mischa * Leaf Phoenix as Danny * Peter Billingsley as Adam * Stefan DeSalle as Jason *

Susan Walters Susan Walters, is an American actress and former model, best known for her roles as Lorna Forbes on the ABC daytime soap opera ''Loving'' from 1983 to late 1986 and as Diane Jenkins on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' from 2001 ...

as Diane *

Patrick Kilpatrick Patrick Kilpatrick (born August 20, 1949), is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, journalist, international entertainment speaker and teacher. He has appeared in over 180 films and television series. Kilpatrick ran for Governor ...

as Raimy

Production

The comic books and technical manuals seen in ''Russkies'' were all props crafted for the film by

Blackthorne Publishing Blackthorne Publishing, Inc. was a comic book publisher that flourished from 1986–1989. They were notable for the ''Blackthorne 3-D Series'', their reprint titles of classic comic strips like Dick Tracy, and their licensed products. Blackthorne ...

Home media

Russkies was released on VHS by Lorimar Home Video and on Laserdisc by

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

in 1988. In 2002, a budget DVD of the film was released by

Platinum Disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

, but with no bonus features and presented only in full frame.

References

External links