Circus saxophonist Vladimir Ivanoff (Robin Williams) suddenly defects from his touring troupe in that "temple of Western decadence" Bloomingdale's. Fleeing the K.G.B., Vladimir wins asylum and moves into the crowded Harlem flat of black security guard Lionel Witherspoon (Cleavant Derricks). Soon he has found both a voluptuous Italian lover Lucia Lombardo (Maria Conchita Alonso), and a shrewd Cuban lawyer Orlando Ramirez (Alejandro Rey). Though Vladimir learns that life in America can be cold and even painful, he grows to love this strange and wondrous new land.

Lincoln Center, Columbus Avenue (btw West 63rd and 64th Streets) Manhattan.

Bloomingdale's, 1000 3rd Avenue and East 59th Street, Manhattan.

Grand Army Plaza and West 58th Street, Manhattan.   Grand Army Plaza The hotel's main entrance faces the southern portion of Grand Army Plaza; commemorating the Union Army in the Civil War. The section in front of the Plaza Hotel is centered by the Pulitzer Fountain, of Abundance by Karl Bitter, funded by the will of the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer: the statue in the fountain is specifically Pomona, Roman goddess of orchards. The statue was posed for by Doris Doscher, also famous for posing for the Standing Liberty Quarter.

St. Marks Cinema, 133 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place, Manhattan.