Lost in America is a 1985 American satirical road comedy film directed by Albert Brooks and co-written by Brooks with Monica Johnson. The film stars Brooks alongside Julie Hagerty as a married couple who decide to quit their jobs and travel across America.
Plot
David and Linda Howard are typical 1980s yuppies in Los Angeles, dissatisfied with their bourgeois lifestyle. He works in an advertising agency and she for a department store, but after failing to receive an expected promotion and instead being asked to transfer to the firm's office in New York City, David angrily insults his boss, and he is fired. David coaxes his wife to quit her job as well and seek a new adventure.
The Howards decide to sell their house, liquidate their assets, drop out of society, "like in Easy Rider", and travel the country in a Winnebago recreational vehicle
Eventually they arrive in small-town Safford, Arizona.
Albert Brooks is also heard as the voice of Hans, the Mercedes dealer on the phone. Brooks credited himself for this role as "Hans Wagner". James L. Brooks (no relation to Albert, and who had substantive roles in Brooks's previous two films) can be seen as part of the crowd at the Howards' farewell party, but has no lines.
Reception and awards
Lost In America received mostly positive reviews from critics and holds a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 39 reviews. The site's consensus states: "A satire of the American fantasy of leaving it all behind, Lost in America features some of Albert Brooks' best, most consistent writing and cultural jabs." The film was a commercial success, though not a blockbuster. The film's script won the National Society of Film Critics award for Best Screenplay.
Roger Ebert gave it 4 out of 4 stars, calling it observant and very funny.
The film is #80 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies, and was listed at #84 on American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs in 2000.
Home media
Warner Home Video initially released the film on Betamax, VHS, and LaserDisc in 1985 and reissued it twice on videotape, in 1991 and 1997. The film made its DVD debut on April 3, 2001, and was made available for streaming on Netflix on July 1, 2016. The Criterion Collection selected Lost in America as their first Albert Brooks film in the collection, releasing the Blu-ray on July 25, 2017.
See also
- List of films set in Las Vegas