Spinning Boris is a Showtime production about the political campaign that brought Boris Yeltsin to victory in the 1996 Russian presidential elections. If that sounds a little too boring for a DVD rental, add to that story that the three advisors hired to give a boost to Yeltsin’s rather non-existing popularity level were three American political spin-doctors (one of whom went on to work for Arnold Schwarzenegger throughout his run for California governor).

Spinning Boris is based on the true story of George Gorton (Jeff Goldblum), Dick Dresner (Anthony LaPaglia) and Joe Shumate (Liev Schreiber), who embarked on the trip to Russia for said political campaign. Excited about the idea of being the first Americans to advise a Russian politician, they accept the job offer and head for Russia, only to find out that they are supposed to hide behind the scenes and never let anyone find out about their work. So much for the hopes for a book deal afterwards.

As frequently mentioned throughout the film, it was the first democratic election in Russian and Yeltsin was trailing even the most questionable communist candidates in popularity in the polls. That in itself provides plenty of comedic material for the film; the second, and main source of humor for Spinning Boris is the “fish out of water” theme of 3 Americans used to fast-talking a completely different audience suddenly facing a much darker, less light-hearted clientele.

Once arrived, the three quickly learn that their job is actually made impossible by the very same people that hired them – over and over. Each person they are introduced to hires them, then takes them to another person for introduction; that next person then hires them, and takes them to the next person; and so on. When they finally make it to the closest they’ll ever get to their candidate, Yeltsin’s daughter Tatiana, they find out that the very methods they were hired for are actually not liked in Russia. Time is wasting and the three realize that succeeding with this campaign may be just as dangerous to their health as losing it, depending on which organization gets to you first.

This film may not even be as entertaining as it is if it had less able actors in it: Anthony LaPaglia, mostly known as the FBI agent Jack Malone on Without a Trace starts out as the most matter-of-factly of the three, but eventually is the first to barricade the doors “just in case” Liev Schreiber, an actor I previously never paid much attention to, actually had such a presence that I since revisited his former films such as RKO 281, Jakob the Liar and Walk on the Moon (and a few less thespian masterpieces such as Scream 2 and Kate & Leopold); and last not least, there’s Jeff Goldblum who hardly needs introduction or a lengthy listing of his previous film achievements.

Of course, the film occasionally drips with what one would suspect to be some spinning of it’s own: a scene in which the three advisors gallantly refuse the free prostitutes offered to them on the grounds that two of the are happily married and the third never pays, even made my 79-year-old landlady roll her eyes while watching the movie. Other times, it’s a little much to hear it over and over that Russia didn’t stand a chance if it was for these three men.

The film is fun and interesting enough, even without the attempt of tacking a hook onto the first few minutes of it by letting Goldblum’s character run around Moscow in a frenzy, calling his own answering machine to announce that he ‘may be killed’. While the threat of various interest groups is frequently inserted into the film, there’s never a level of immediate danger that warrants that opening scene.

The movie does lack any good footage of the city of Moscow itself. Once checked on IMDB, it’s obvious why: the movie was shot in Canada and other than some boring stock footage of a few buildings, there’s little that really conveys the feeling of Russia unless someone wears a uniform or sports a Russian accent. In the end, the film does live off of the performances of Goldblum, LaPaglia and Schreiber, but that alone makes it worth watching.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD