I remember greatly enjoying Gotcha! when I rented it on video back in the day. And though it’s always been floating round in the back of my mind, I haven’t watched it since… until now.

And let me tell you, this one stands up. There’s a couple of things that don’t stand the test of time, the tag before the end credits roll is out of place, but the rest of it works. It also tells you that the 80s were a different time.

Jonathan (Anthony Edwards) is a college student, and he’s engaged in the game Gotcha! on his campus – which entails being assigned a target, and running around with a paintball gun to eliminate his targets. That would not fly today.

But it’s still a lot of fun, and sets up that Jonathan is good at the game, but it is just a game.

When he and his pal, Manolo (Jsu Garcia) head to Paris for a European vacation, Jonathan is hoping, maybe to lose his virginity. And see some art.

When he meets Sasha (Linda Fiorentino), who is obviously an agent, and seduces him to recruit him as an asset. She tells him she’s a courier, and that she has to go to East Germany, and he wants to believe that’s all she is, but soon she’s captured, and the CIA and the KGB are after him.

With no one to trust, he’s eager just to get home and put it all behind him, but this is just the beginning of Jonathan’s troubles.

Frequently, genuinely funny, the story is really well-done, Edwards and Fiorentino are excellent, and hey! there’s a score by Bill Conti, and some great 80s tunes filling out the soundtrack.

This is a damned fun film. There’s some nice pacing, some great location work, Edwards has a real sense of charm and presence on screen, and Fiorentino has always been engaging, no matter what she’s in.

This is a spy thriller trapped in a teen film, and it’s done incredibly well. Sure, I admit not everything is going to work today, but it’s a really fin ride. And oh my god, there’s Alex Rocco as Jonathan’s dad! And the stuff with Jonathan’s parents and housekeeper is priceless!

Funny, thrilling and some nice action beats, this one works. It works well, and should definitely not fool people into thinking its some goofy 80s teen comedy. Those are just the trappings. There’s a bit of The Man Who Knew Too Much in this one.

I’m glad to say I picked this one up on physical media, and I will not be waiting almost forty years to watch this one again. It rocks!