Relax

We have all wanted to do it.At one time or another we have all wanted to flee our drab,bottomless pit lives to see and discover the world.It's a very tempting idea.Fortunately,what we learn from films like Lost in America is that Winnebagos don't run on faith.Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty teach us this lesson well,making us laugh at them,as well as ourselves when we picture ourselves in their position.When it comes to comedies,I tend to lean more toward the slapstick side of things.It's the way I have always been,but Lost in America gives us laughs and teaches us a lesson at the same time,making it worth seeing again.

David Howard (played by Albert Brooks) and his wife, Linda Howard (played by Julie Hagerty) have the good life and everything that goes with it and are just about to move into their California dream house. However, they begin to wonder if their lives have become too responsible and controlled. Escape for them presents itself when David doesn't get the long awaited corporate promotion to senior vice president and he quits his job- or is fired, you be the judge. David then convinces his wife that "they have been on the road to no where- you know the road," and she quits her job. Now they're free to head for open spaces and purse their dream to "just touch Indians."

Quickly they sell everything and escape from yuppiedom with their "nest egg" intact. They. get the motor runnin'. in their new motor home and. head out on the highway. a la Easy Rider. At that moment life is wonderful and toasted cheese never tasted better. One quick stop in Las Vegas and they will be on their way to touch Indians. But in less time than it takes to say "22", their "nest egg" is depleted, their marriage in peril, and they are hopelessly lost in America.

Not to fear, while temporarily lost they rediscover their love for each other, get a good dose of small town life, and decide to rejoin the "rat race".

"Lost in America" should strike a chord with especially those that saw "Easy Rider" and repressed the impulse to drop out of society. Great, great, writing by Albert Brooks and Monica Johnson. Brooks and Hagerty are successful in creating the same type of zany marital chemistry and intensity which existed in "I Love Lucy", "The Honeymooners", and "All in the Family". This movie is great therapy!

Mild chucklefest about a bored ad exec approaching 40 who talks his wife into abandoning their jobs for life on the road. Your typical Albert Brooks offering, which of course, is not for all tastes. Some can take to his light style of humor like addicts to coke, while others will scream how mediocre this film is to be held up as an example at screen-writing classes.

Most of Brooks' humor in his films come from his characters being utterly flummoxed by life or his grinny observations about everyday people. You get that usual array here, but unlike some of his other efforts, this Brooks screenplay seemed oddly malnourished. He gets caught up in this whole "Easy Rider" nonsense and places the film's more humorous and intriguing moments at the front. The business with Hagerty and the casino happens so quickly, that it a) uses the best device too fast, and b) seems too out of character for her. Brooks needed more time spent on the road meeting goofy locals and emptying his RV's chemical toilet that would eventually prompt Hagerty to do what she does early. And therein lies the film's bigger problem: they only really have one predicament. Once they hit their financial nadir, they look for jobs, work them for one day, and the film ends with a cop-out minutes later.

Sorry to forward-project, but I was a GREAT admirer of Brooks' "Defending Your Life". It had his usual breezy, near lulling atmosphere on display, but with the life-after-death exploration as a great backdrop, that filmed worked better. "Lost in America" just sort of coasts along with random vignettes before breaking down at the side of the road.

LOST IN AMERICA (1985) ***1/2 Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Garry Marshall. Hysterically funny film by Brooks about his character, David Howard, a yuppie who loses his job after his dream of a promotion falls through as an ad exec and decides to take his scatter-brained wife (Hagerty) cross country a la "Easy Rider" but in a Winnebago but gets seriously side-tracked in Las Vegas. Brooks has never been finer and gives the ultimate scene in cinema's history of being fired and quitting at the same time!

Lost In America is one of those movies that I always meant to see, but never remembered to rent. A few weeks ago, I finally got a chance to see it, and I loved it.

Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty are perfect as the classic yuppie couple that decide to set out on the open road after a series of strange circumstances. Brooks' rave-out on his boss at the beginning of the film is priceless, as is his interaction with the unemployment office worker in the midwest... "I'll just check my $100,000 a year job file." Brooks is also great when he tries to reason with the casino owner, and arguing with Hagerty over her inability to use the words "nest" and "egg". "From now on, birds live in ROUND STICKS!!!, for breakfast, you will have THINGS over easy!!!!"

Most of the best dialogue and scenes are delivered from Brooks, but Hagerty is quite good as well, as the timid wife whos honest, yet HUGE blunder sets the tone for the rest of the film.

My only complaint is that it seemed about a half hour too short. When they decide to return to New York, I would've allowed one more wacky situation on the way back home, but it was not to be. It left me feeling that the ending was a bit rushed. But this is a minor complaint from a great film that deserves to be seen over and over.