History Film / MoscowOnTheHudson

* CrazyCulturalComparison

* FauxFluency: Averted - Robin Williams learned conversational Russian (and also to play the saxophone) to do this role. It's then [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] as Vladimir (Williams) and Anatoly (Elya Baskin) practice their English:
-->'''Vladimir''': Hello, Mister, may I buy lamb chop?
-->'''Anatoly''': Sure thing, Mister.
-->'''Vladimir''': Do you read Creator/ErnestHemingway?
-->'''Anatoly''': Every [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] day.
-->'''Vladimir''': Kiss me, beautiful.

-->'''Agent''': I want to keep my comrade from making a big mistake.
-->'''Guard''': I told you to back off! You're in ''my'' jurisdiction, which runs from Style Boutique to Personal Fragrances. So keep your hands off the man!
* MistakenForSpies: "KGB?"...."No.[Gets the picture] G-A-Y."
* MondegreenGag: Vlad tells Lionel, a security guard. "I defect".
-->'''Lionel:''' Not here, you don't. There's a men's room down the hall.[[note]]He thought Vlad meant "defecate".[[/note]]

* {{Mondegreen}}: InUniverse. Vlad tells Lionel, a security guard. "I defect".

-->--'''Lucia Lombardo''' (Creator/MariaConchitaAlonso)

During the visit to New York, however, it is Vladimir who ends up seeking asylum. In legal limbo, he can only find low-paying jobs and has to stay with a family living in the slums. Vladimir must learn to cope in this strange land, see what it holds in store for him, and find out whether or not he can achieve UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_008.jpeg]]

Vladimir Ivanov is a saxophone player for the Moscow circus. Poor and miserable, he endures the long lines and the police breathing down his neck. His friend, Anatoly, lends him his apartment so Ivanov can be alone with his girlfriend. They will be performing in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, and Anatoly wishes to defect. Ivanov is approached by the KGB, who wants him to rat out his friend.

During the visit to New York, however, it is Vladimir who ends up seeking asylum. In legal limbo, he can only find low-paying jobs and has to stay with a family living in the slums. He must learn to cope in this strange land, what it holds in store for him, and whether or not he can achieve UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream.

''Moscow on the Hudson'' is a 1984 comedy-drama film directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Creator/RobinWilliams.

* EarnYourHappyEnding

* BigApplesauce: And the poster art even parodies the famous Saul Steinberg cover for ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'' seen on the trope page.

* {{Mondegreen}}: InUniverse. Vlad tells a security guard "I defect" -- and the guard thinks he meant "defecate", and says, "Not here you don't!"

* UsefulNotes/ColdWar: "I defect!"[[note]]A security guard thinks he said "defecate".[[/note]][[note]]The sales clerk thinks he is saying the jeans he is holding are ''defect''ive. [[/note]]

** PantyShot: When her skirt briefly blows up while she and Vladimir are on a boat at her family's celebration after she has become a U.S. citizen.
*** Also, when they are dancing at the restaurant.

* FunnyForeigner

* AnImmigrantsTale

* [[CaliforniaDoubling Russia Doubling]]: The scenes set in Russia were filmed in Munich.

* VodkaDrunkenski
* WalkingShirtlessScene
* WrongSideOfTheTracks

* BadassGrandpa: In Russia, Vladimir is a buffer between the KGB and his crazy grandfather, who has a dangerous habit of defiantly shouting anti-Soviet invectives out the window.
* BangBangBANG: [[spoiler: Vladimir, shaken up after having being mugged, thinks he hears gunshots. It's Fourth Of July firecrackers.]]

During the visit to New York, however, it is Vladimir who ends up seeking asylum. In legal limbo, he can only find low-paying jobs, and has to stay with a family living in the slums. He must learn to cope in this strange land, what it holds in store for him, and whether or not he can achieve UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream.

** When Boris, the circus troupe's KGB handler for the trip to the US, is listing off places the circus people aren't allowed to visit in New York, he pronounces Greenwich Village as "Greenwich Ilyich". This is an inside joke for Russian speakers, because the name "Ilyich" was used in the USSR to refer to Vladimir Lenin.

* NewscasterCameo: Kaity Tong as an ABC-TV correspondent reports on Vladimir's defection at Bloomingdale's (Tong was a anchor and reporter with WABC-TV in New York at the time).

* Bilingual Bonus: Many of the characters who speak Russian in this movie actually are Russian actors, so much of the spoken Russian is accurately spoken.
** Also, when Boris, the circus troupe's KGB handler for the trip to the US, is listing off places the circus people aren't allowed to go to in New York, he pronounces Greenwich Village as "Greenwich Ilyich". This is an inside joke for Russian speakers, because the name "Ilyich" was used in the USSR to refer to Vladimir Lenin.

* NewscasterCameo: Connie Chung reports on Vladimir's defection at Bloomingdale's.

->"I can do anything I want. Is America."

Vladimir Ivanov is a saxophone player for the Moscow circus. Poor and miserable, he endures the long lines and the police breathing down his neck. His friend, Anatoly, lends him his apartment so Ivanov can be alone with his girlfriend. They will be performing in NewYorkCity, and Anatoly wishes to defect. Ivanov is approached by the KGB, who wants him to rat out his friend.

* CulturalPostoring: Lucia when she tells the TokenBlack guy that her people "hired Michelangelo while his people still lived in straw huts".

* BigApplesauce

* HarsherInHindsight: Vladimir shrugging off being hit on by a gay man seems like a ''very'' generous depiction of a Russian, given how Russia's incredibly homophobic domestic policies have made the news in more recent years, or gay-bashing caused by Slavic immigrants to the US.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: Good luck finding a transistor radio like the one at Lucia's family's celebration today.

* FakeNationality: In addition to Williams' obvious example, Cuban-Venezuelan actress Creator/MariaConchitaAlonso plays Vladimir's Italian girlfriend.