Lost in America
Encyclopedia
Lost in America is a 1985 comedy
film
directed by Albert Brooks
that was co-written by Brooks with Monica McGowan Johnson. Brooks stars alongside Julie Hagerty
.
yuppies in Los Angeles
who are fed up with their lifestyle. He works in an advertising agency and she for a department store. But after he fails to receive a promotion he was counting on and is asked to transfer to the firm's New York office instead, David angrily insults his boss and is fired. He coaxes his wife to quit her job as well and seek a new adventure.
The Howards decide to liquidate their assets and drop out, "like in Easy Rider
", heading out to see the country in a Winnebago
recreational vehicle
. They leave L.A. with "nest egg", but don't get very far. The plan goes awry when Linda loses nearly all their cash playing roulette
at the Desert Inn
Casino
in Las Vegas
.
Out of money and with nowhere to go, the couple ends up in Safford, Arizona
. David unsuccessfully applies for a delivery job at a local pharmacy and resorts to an employment agency. Obnoxiously reminded by a counselor about being fired from his high-paying job in advertising, David accepts the best position available -- as a crossing guard, taunted by local school kids.
Linda, meanwhile, has found employment as the assistant manager at the local Der Wienerschnitzel
, working under a kid half her age. She and David are living in a trailer park, almost broke and now accountable to brats.
Only a few days after beginning their pursuit of the dream of dropping out of society, they decide that it is better to get back their old lifestyle as soon as possible. They point the Winnebago toward New York
, where David begs for his old job back.
based on 25 reviews. The film was also a commercial success, though not a blockbuster. The film's script won the National Society of Film Critics
award for Best Screenplay.
This film is number 80 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".
American Film Institute
recognition
initially released the film onto VHS
and Laserdisc
in 1985 and reissued it twice on video in 1991 and 1997. The film made its DVD
debut on April 3, 2001.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks
Albert Lawrence Brooks is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News...
that was co-written by Brooks with Monica McGowan Johnson. Brooks stars alongside Julie Hagerty
Julie Hagerty
Julie Hagerty is an American actress and former model.-Early life:Hagerty was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Harriet Yuellig, a model and singer, and Jerry Hagerty, a musician. Her brother Michael Hagerty was also an actor. Her parents later divorced. Hagerty attended Indian Hill High...
.
Plot
David and Linda Howard are typical 1980s1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
yuppies in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
who are fed up with their lifestyle. He works in an advertising agency and she for a department store. But after he fails to receive a promotion he was counting on and is asked to transfer to the firm's New York office instead, David angrily insults his boss and is fired. He coaxes his wife to quit her job as well and seek a new adventure.
The Howards decide to liquidate their assets and drop out, "like in Easy Rider
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
", heading out to see the country in a Winnebago
Winnebago Industries
Winnebago Industries Inc., , is a manufacturer of motor homes, a type of recreational vehicle or RV, in the United States. It is based in Forest City, Iowa.-Corporate history:...
recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...
. They leave L.A. with "nest egg", but don't get very far. The plan goes awry when Linda loses nearly all their cash playing roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
at the Desert Inn
Desert Inn
The Desert Inn was a Paradise, Nevada, hotel/casino that operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by noted New York architect Jac Lessman, it was the fifth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The property included an 18-hole golf course. Locals nicknamed the resort "The D.I."...
Casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
Out of money and with nowhere to go, the couple ends up in Safford, Arizona
Safford, Arizona
- History :Safford was founded by Joshua Eaton Bailey, Hiram Kennedy and Edward Tuttle, who came from Gila Bend, in southwestern Arizona. They left Gila Bend in the winter of 1873-74; their work on canals and dams having been destroyed by high water the previous summer...
. David unsuccessfully applies for a delivery job at a local pharmacy and resorts to an employment agency. Obnoxiously reminded by a counselor about being fired from his high-paying job in advertising, David accepts the best position available -- as a crossing guard, taunted by local school kids.
Linda, meanwhile, has found employment as the assistant manager at the local Der Wienerschnitzel
Wienerschnitzel
Wienerschnitzel is an American fast food chain founded in 1961 that specializes in hot dogs, but is currently expanding to other items. Wienerschnitzel locations are found almost exclusively in California and Texas, though others are located in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico,...
, working under a kid half her age. She and David are living in a trailer park, almost broke and now accountable to brats.
Only a few days after beginning their pursuit of the dream of dropping out of society, they decide that it is better to get back their old lifestyle as soon as possible. They point the Winnebago toward New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where David begs for his old job back.
Reception and awards
Lost In America received mostly positive reviews from critics and currently holds a 96 percent rating on review aggragator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 25 reviews. The film was also a commercial success, though not a blockbuster. The film's script won the National Society of Film Critics
National Society of Film Critics
The National Society of Film Critics is an American film critic organization. As of December 2007 the NSFC had approximately 60 members who wrote for a variety of weekly and daily newspapers.-History:...
award for Best Screenplay.
This film is number 80 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".
American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsAFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs is a list of the top 100 funniest movies in American cinema. A wide variety of comedies were nominated for the distinction that included slapstick comedy, screwball comedy, romantic comedy, satire, black comedy, musical comedy, comedy of...
#84
Home video releases
Warner Home VideoWarner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
initially released the film onto VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
in 1985 and reissued it twice on video in 1991 and 1997. The film made its DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
debut on April 3, 2001.