Spies Like Us (1985)

Two bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for Nuclear War.

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Dan Aykroyd (story), Dave Thomas (story),

Stars:

Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chevy Chase	...	Emmett Fitz-Hume
Dan Aykroyd	...	Austin Millbarge
Steve Forrest	...	General Sline
Donna Dixon	...	Karen Boyer
Bruce Davison	...	Ruby
Bernie Casey	...	Colonel Rhumbus
William Prince	...	Keyes
Tom Hatten	...	General Miegs
Frank Oz	...	Test Monitor
Charles McKeown	...	Jerry Hadley
James Daughton	...	Bob Hodges
Jim Staahl	...	Bud Schnelker
Vanessa Angel	...	Russian Rocket Crewperson
Svetlana Plotnikova	...	Russian Rocket Crewperson
Bjarne Thomsen	...	Russian Rocket Crewperson

Storyline

Two totally incompetent applicants, Emmett Fitzhume and Austin Millbarge, are chosen from a CIA recruitment program. They are parachuted into Pakistan and eventually end up in Afghanistan, chased by the Russians, where they learn they are being used as decoys to draw out the Sovet defenses. Two real spies are sent in. Their mission is to Hijack a soviet Missile launcher, launch the Soviet missile and test the new US orbital defence laser. The missile is fired and while heading for an American City, the laser system misses it's target. The contingency plan for this scenario, as set out by the Pentagon Nuts who planned it from deep within a secret underground bunker, is to let the 3rd World War happen anyway.

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Plot Keywords:

Missile | Spy | Pentagon | Cia | Afghanistan | 

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Taglines:

With spies like these who needs enemies?

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

6 December 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Drôles d'espions

Filming Locations:

Lancaster, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$60,100,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, AAR Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Landis:  [SYNW]  on the recruitment poster behind the desk of the commander of the army training post.

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Goofs

End Credits acknowledge Eddie Bauer sportswear for their contributions. They are in "Redmond, Washington" but the end credits say "Redman, Washington".

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Quotes

General Sline: When we commissioned the Schmectel Corporation to research this precise event sequence scenario, it was determined that the continual stockpiling and development of our nuclear arsenal was becoming self-defeating. A weapon unused is a useless weapon.

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Crazy Credits

The President of the United States - Ronald Reagan

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Connections

Referenced in Family Guy: Spies Reminiscent of Us (2009)
title reference

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Soundtracks

"SOUL FINGER"
Written by Jimmy King, Ben Cauley, Carl Cunningham, James Alexander and Ronnie Caldwell
Performed by The Bar-Kays
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

With Spies Like Chevy Chase And Dan Aykroyd,who needs enemies.

Spies Like Us is a very funny comedy movie with two fantastic comedy actors and writers,Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd who are very funny with each other and you can tell from the chemistry between each other that they are great friends on and off screen.I found the movie hilarious and very underrated by critics,I think it should be considered as classic as Trading Places and Ghostbusters,while not actually as good as those two,still just as funny.I also enjoyed the celebrity cameos from actors such as Frank Oz,which was a very funny scene.

Emmet Fitz-Hume (Chevy Chase) and Austin Millbarge (Dan Aykroyd),are recruited by the US Government as spies,however they are unaware that they are actually being used as decoys for a Nuclear War and are shipped to Pakistan,pretending to be doctors.