JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

janeiz OK everybody is so enthused by this film I hardly dare add a negative review but I just did not enjoy this movie.I have to say first I saw the film in Russian language overdub so I will have missed some dialog, but not much.Nice things first. There are some hilarious moments (the Elvis impersonator for instance). Actors seem well casted, also the Russians. Efremova is great and Goldblum is very good. Which brings us to the downsides of this movie. First of all. There is hardly any story and the end we know already: Yeltsin wins. So no drama or suspense. They tried to solve this problem with an emerging affair between the actors mentioned above, but that story kind of evaporates.More importantly, the film does not represent reality. The Russians at the level of politics and society portrayed in this movie are not funny, they are a serious and dangerous lot. I am willing to believe that flying in some spin-doctors from the states helped Yeltsin win his campaign, but the real interesting questions that should be addressed are: who financed the campaign, what did they get in return, how was the opposition handled apart from airing some commercials?So what we have here is a film, loosely based on reality (but strangely avoiding anything that could make the film either historically relevant or just a very good political thriller) without plot or subplot.

jacksflicks Can't believe I haven't caught this flick until now. Glad the Europeans seem to like it (except one, but he doesn't like anything).Spinning Boris certainly rates a higher score than 7. The production values - photography, sets, locations, sound - are faultless, as are the pacing, the length, the script, the casting and the direction. And believe me, I was watching for gaffs.It's been a long time since I've laughed out loud so many times in a movie. Of course, it's impossible not to be amused by Jeff Goldblum - even when he's serious, he's possessed of an irresistible archness. And I never tired of Anthony LaPaglia and Liev Schreiber, with their quick shifts between resourcefulness and panic.It's difficult to say which of the plot points take dramatic license and which are documentary, because the whole story is believable. I don't think the Russians are patronized nor the Americans built up - they all have their virtues and foibles. In fact, the story makes it plain that it is the Americans who are introducing guile into the process on the (ironically Leninist) thesis that the ends justify the means.I should liked to have seen if the little flirtation between Goldblum and Tatiana led to anything. Likewise, I should like to have known the other characters better: Felix, the go-between, who had a touching moment pondering the fate of World War II veterans selling their medals to make ends meet; Lugov, the mysterious Mafioso; and the Elvis impersonator who became a drinking buddy. And, of course, Tatiana, Yeltsin's daughter, who rates her own biopic. Lots of potential spinoffs here.Can't wait for the video!

henrikc Caught this one on New Years eve, and was fortunate to hang on to it. I wasn't sure if it was somehow documentary or not - and the beauty of it is that it doesn't matter :) This movie is credible from the first to the last minute. It's creepy because this could be entirely true - and we'll probably never know.The American spindoctors playing dirty? I don't think they are, they're not having anyone arrested or killed or anything, they're introducing western style campaigns to the Russians for the first time, and the playing field is wide open. It's not unlike how Tony Blair gets promoted, nothing unusual about this. Interesting to see how getting out to people to listen to their concerns plays a large role, as does digging up what the communists are up to - that's how it should be. The Americans happen to find themselves in a pivotal (to say the least) election, and they're hired (several times :) to the job. Suddenly these three find themselves spearheading the fight for democracy vs. regression, and they happen to do a good job with everything at stake. People happen to land in essential situations once in a while where a little effort can make a huge difference. I hope it turns out to be largely a true story. Anyone checked up that Time issue, BTW?

j-bouwmeester 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!