One Of Joaquin Phoenix's First Roles Was In A Movie I Haven't Seen Since 1987, But It's Streaming For Free

Joaquin Phoenix’s latest release on the 2025 movie schedule, Eddington, hit streaming this week (you can watch it with an HBO Max subscription), and that reminded me and inspired me to look back on one of his first roles, in 1987’s Russkies. The movie is one of those wild ‘80s movies where kids get up to things they have no business doing. I’ve talked a lot about this movie over the years, because it made a huge impression on me as a kid, but I don’t think I’ve actually seen it since it was in theaters. It’s as wild as I remember

The Plot Is Wonderfully Absurd

The basic plot of the movie is that three kids, played by Phoenix (who was still billed as Leaf Phoenix), Peter Billingsley (Ralphie in A Christmas Story), and Stefan DeSalle (in his only major motion picture), discover a sailor from a Soviet surveillance ship washed up on shore near their home in Key West. It’s a Cold War thriller because, well, almost every movie in the ‘80s seemed to be.

The sailor, played by Whip Hubley, who was coming off a supporting role in 1986’s Top Gun, wants to get back to his ship, and he enlists the boys’ help to hide him. Yep, that’s seriously what happens. Like any great ‘80s movie about kids, the adults are largely incompetent. It turns out, the only ones who could actually help the Soviet Navy man is a trio of kids. They are pretty much on their own, taking on their parents and the U.S. military, you know, like kids did in the ‘80s.

There Are Some Really Classic Moments

There are so many ‘80s stereotypes, cliches, and tropes that it’s hard to keep up, but, like any great ‘80s movie (did I write that already?), there are some classic moments. There’s a montage of the kids teaching the Russian how to be an American, by playing video games and baseball, of course (and eating McDonald's). The showdown at the end, between the parents of the kids and the crew of a Soviet sub, is so over the top, you can’t help by laugh. And there's even a scene that has a jet pack!

In addition to the lead actors, there are some great supporting actors, like legendary singer/songwriter Carole King as Phoenix’s mom, and Summer Phoenix, Joaquin’s sister, as his sister in the movie. Nancy Stephens, who most famously played Nurse Marion Chambers in the Halloween franchise, has a cameo as a nurse in Russkies. And yes, it has a cheesy theme song in true ‘80s style.

The best part about it, however, is that you can stream it for free on YouTube. Sure, it’ll have commercials, but you can watch it commercial-free with a YouTube Premium subscription, which I highly recommend. Overall, it’s one