Spinning Boris (2004)
Bekkah:
I am really just over politics? And Russia? And Russian politics? And movies that are alllllll dudes? From the beginning, Danya and I were like “This movie does not age well” and boy howdy, Russian politics have only gotten weirder since (SPOILERS) Boris was reelected. We also chose this movie because it was free with Amazon Prime and I had no idea what we were getting into. The titular Boris was, in fact, Boris Yeltsin, and this movie was based on facts, possibly from Jeff’s (George’s) little tape recorder? My attention was pretty low with this one, but fortunately Jeff showed up shirtless in like every other scene, so that helped. And his Jeff-ness was ON POINT. He was really acting as himself, which I obviously love, but also am wondering what his character was actually like in real life? (I just looked him up, and wow, Jeff was one hell of a step up.)
Danya:
You know what makes democracy even MORE attractive? A 2000s era Jeff without his shirt on. Jeff’s Nipples for President 2024. (too soon?) George Gorton (played by Jeff) is an overly confident political consultant who thinks its cool to to try to bluff the Russian PARTY OF WAR. Is that real? It says based on a true story. I bet in 2004 it would be obvious that free elections were the right idea and would just happen, but in 2020 it’s way too easy to see how the veneer of democracy is rubbing off. Oh well, Jeff is allergic to shirts.
6/10 Goldniks
Russian political elite hires American consultants to help with President Yeltsin's re-election campaign when his approval rating is down to single digits.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Writers: Yuri Zeltser, Grace Cary Bickley (as Cary Bickley)
Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Anthony LaPaglia, Liev Schreiber
