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LOST IN AMERICA (1985) (***1/2)

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Albert Brooks’ satirical take on hippies becoming yuppies in the 1980s is funny and smart. Brooks (DEFENDING YOUR LIFE) plays 30-something, ad agency creative director David Howard, who is anticipating a big promotion. His wife Linda (Julie Hagerty, AIRPLANE!) is bored with their life, which never seems to change.

Well, things don’t quite work out for the couple the way they planned, so they end up buying a Winnebago and “dropping out of society” like Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda did in EASY RIDER. Their attempts to throw caution to the wind and shed their responsible lifestyles are very funny, because they never quite work and they often have to resort to their old ways to survive.

Brooks is very funny throughout, but some of the segments go on a bit too long. But the highlights of the film are great. David and Linda’s conversation about responsibility in bed, David’s pitch to the casino owner (Garry Marshall, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN), David’s final reaction to Linda and his new jobs are just a handful of laugh out loud funny moments.

The film tackles the rich man’s burden of always wanting more even though they have so much already. I think Brooks’ DEFENDING YOUR LIFE works better as a whole, but LOST IN AMERICA truly captures the 1980s perfectly.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks