Lookin' to Get Out

I thought this film was excellent! I saw the extended version on DVD so uncertain what the clipped version looks like.

Jon Voight is superlative as the annoying wise guy gambler. Burt Young doesn't appear to be acting as the NYC street wise buddy - he is that good or at least well cast. Ann-Margret nails it as the old girl-friend who can't quite get Voight's character Alex out of her system. She is smoldering every time she is on screen and she really keeps the viewer enthralled with all the male actors vying for attention. Her extended kiss as Patti Warner with Alex will jolt male and female viewers alike with its tenderness and anticipation!

Should be required viewing for anyone with, or knows someone with a gambling addiction!

Really combines some of the best elements of Ocean's 11, The Sting and Don Quixote. Don't miss the last 15 minutes to see who is conning who.

The scene with real life father Jon Voight and daughter Angelina Jolie is not to be missed as it came off surreal to me. Watch and see what I mean.

It is a widespread practice: it is enough that a false authority (most entertainment reporters who are no film critics, only regular spectators) dislikes something, for a choir of followers to repeat his opinion and create undeserved bad reputation for a cultural product. Such is the case of (among others) «Born to Win», «The Hotel New Hampshire», and «Lookin' to Get Out», all the three curiously made in the 1980s, a challenging time in the history of the United States, under Ronald Reagan's dominant image.

Respectively directed by Czech Ivan Passer, British Tony Richardson, and American Hal Ashby, the three films had something valuable to say about US individuals, institutions, and customs: be it the disintegration of the couple due to drug abuse, the dysfunction of nuclear families, consumerism, and a certain vulgarity that may describe Las Vegas too well. None of the three films is a masterpiece, but they rise above the low scores and bad opinions that surround them.

In particular, «Lookin' to Get Out» (the director's cut) did not diminish at all the great admiration I have for Ashby, one of the most underrated American filmmakers, with a magnificent body of work that includes «The Landlord», «Harold and Maude», «The Last Detail», «Shampoo», «Bound for Glory», «Coming Home», «Being There», and the documentary «Let's Spend the Night Together», all containing his privileged perception of his fellow Americans and their cultures. Anyone who has ever made any two titles of those, has the liberty to make lesser films as «8 Million Ways to Die» or «Lookin' to Get Out», which are not bad at all.

Written by Al Schwartz and Jon Voight, «Lookin' to Get Out» is a typical American film comedy drama about gambling buddies, prostituted women, exaggerated bad taste, and a peculiar cultural way of reacting to troubles, stuff that has being the basis of dozens of dramatic comedies, much worse than this. Voight and Burt Young play friends who are trying to get out of trouble, when they have to pay 10 thousand dollars in 24 hours, and the only solution they come up with is going to gamble in Las Vegas, where Ann-Margret crosses their path with a different agenda.

The plot, which does not aspire for an award to originality, benefits however from the performances of the central cast (Voight, Young, Ann-Margret, Bert Remsen and Richard Bradford), and the contribution of a group of unknown faces that add weight to the story being told; from maestro Haskell Wexler's cinematography and mainly -in my opinion- from Ashby's hand, from his subtle and affectionate style to capture the fragility of the demented characters, to handle with caution the grotesque and violent, but without suppressing those events and attitudes that offend human dignity, day after day.

If you find a copy of Ashby's cut, do not miss it. You will add another title to the gallery of good performances by Voight, Ann-Margret and Young, your appreciation of Ashby will not be affected a bit (unless you have overrated «Harold and Maude») and, as a bonus, you'll see Angelina Jolie (Voight) at six, playing her talented father's little girl. The extended version edition includes a reunion of the actors, who evoke Ashby's memories and his working method.

Before I get into my critique of "Lookin' To Get Out", I feel I should mention that I saw the original theatrical cut of the movie via finding an old VHS release of the movie. Supposedly, the DVD release of this movie runs 15 extra minutes and supposedly improves the movie. That may be the case, but from what I saw, I can't see any extra footage making a big improvement of the mess that I saw. True, the DVD cut may explain a number of unanswered questions the original cut had, like why one character has bandages over one of his eyes. But the movie would still have a slow and plot less feel - it frequently feels that the actors are making it up as they go along. And while I think Voight and Young are talented actors, they give extremely annoying performances. The only thing that survives intact is the performance by Bert Remsen as the professional gambler - he's colorful, and commands the screen in his scenes. But even he can't save the movie enough to make it worth watching.

Seven stars. A weak seven, but good enough to round up. Hal Ashby had, possibly, the best six-consecutive film run in history from Harold and Maude through Being There. This film clearly does not match that amazing run, but it's still a lot of fun. Jon Voigt, an actor I've been a fan of for 50 years now, turns in an excellent performance as a more-wily-than-smart gambler trying to square a big debt. Ann-Margret does fine as his ex, who figures out he's running a con at the Vegas spot where she now works. But for my money, the show is stolen by Burt Young. He did tons of movie and TV work, and was a tremendous actor. But he was too dumpy looking to be a star. In a career of character parts, this was one of his biggest shots, and he just nailed the loyal, not as dumb as everyone thinks, sidekick.

Ashby's career as a director was pretty short, and he really faded from prominence in the last few years of his life. But he was still making quirky, intelligent, entertaining films. The film from his big six that is closest to this is probably The Last Detail. If you liked that one, take a look a this. 20 September 2022.

Of course, I only purchased this to finish off my Angelina Jolie collection (she had the most adorable chubby knees as a child!) and was prepared for the worst... Yet not prepared enough. Pointless. So pointless, even the characters seemed confused, and with Burt Young garbling all his lines it's a wonder you could even make out the GIST of what the man was saying. The 4-minute AJ appearance at the very end makes this one movie I never intend to rewind.