The Experts 1989

On the eve of Perestroika, a Soviet town is staged to pass for Indian Springs, Nebraska, where groups of potential spies are trained by a system that makes them blend in as Americans. The operation is overseen by KGB agent Cameron Smith Charles Martin Smith, who grows increasingly frustrated that the town has stalled culturally, clinging to a 1950s vibe rather than evolving with the times. To shake things up and prove the tactic workable, Smith hires two New York City club-goers and aspiring nightclub owners, Travis John Travolta and Wendell Arye Gross, to teach modern sensibilities to the residents under the pretense of opening a nightclub.

Drugged and waking far from home, Travis and Wendell discover they are not in America at all but in a Soviet setting that looks oddly familiar. They set out to revitalize the town by remodeling the crumbling, 50s-style tiki lounge into something that feels more up-to-date for the 1980s, all while they navigate a culture that’s both quaint and suspiciously staged. As they begin to make friends and spark curiosity, they court two locals who are trainees, Bonnie Kelly Preston and Jill Deborah Foreman, with the former developing genuine feelings for Travis and the latter bringing a conflicted loyalty to the situation.

In their bid to modernize, Smith brings in a shipment of top-tier gear and entertainment to push the town forward. This initiative ruffles the feathers of town leader Jones Brian Doyle-Murray and the town’s minister Sparks Rick Ducommun, who worry about losing control and the community’s identity. A Fourth of July celebration by a lakeside party becomes a turning point when the young people—trainees and locals alike—wander off and accidentally stumble onto a secret military base, the realization sinking in that they are actually in the Soviet Union.

Back in the town’s confines, Travis and Wendell are captured and brought before the local leadership. Under threat of death, they are pressured to renounce democracy, but they refuse, choosing instead to extol life in the United States. Their steadfast commitment inspires the townspeople, including Cameron Smith and Bonnie, to question authority and rise up. A tense sequence follows—a shootout and a dangerous plane chase in which Yuri, the pilot who delivered the modern contraptions, must go out on the wing as the aircraft taxis along the runway—before the group escapes and makes headlines by defecting to America.

The story then shifts to life after defection, with the ex-pats enjoying moments of success in New York City. Yet the experience leaves Travis unsettled, as he wonders if they’ve left behind the essence of their old lives. Believing there might be a genuine American town elsewhere that mirrors the one they left behind, the group ultimately contemplates a real-life return to Nebraska to live as true Americans. In the end, Travis and Bonnie, joined by Wendell, embark on a path that leads them back toward New York, while the idea of finding a true home in the heartland lingers as a quiet possibility.