Lost in America
| Lost in America | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Albert Brooks |
| Produced by | Marty Katz |
| Written by | Albert Brooks Monica Johnson |
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| Music by | Arthur B. Rubinstein |
| Cinematography | Eric Saarinen |
| Edited by | David Finfer |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $10,179,000 |
Lost in America is a 1985 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.
David and Linda Howard are typical 1980s 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 instead asked to transfer to the firm's New York office, 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 sell their house, liquidate their assets, drop out of society, "like in Easy Rider", and travel the country in a Winnebago recreational vehicle. They leave L.A. with a "nest egg" of a hundred thousand dollars, but do not get very far. The plan goes awry when Linda loses all their savings playing roulette at the Desert Inn Casino in Las Vegas, where a desperate David tries in vain to persuade a casino manager to give the money back.
With nowhere to go, the couple quarrels at the Hoover Dam, then 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, finds employment as the assistant manager at the local Der Wienerschnitzel, working under a kid half her age.
Only a few days after beginning their pursuit of the dream of dropping out of society, David and Linda are living in a trailer park, almost broke, working dead end jobs and accountable to brats. They decide that it is better to get back to their old lifestyle as soon as possible. They point the Winnebago toward New York, where David begs for his old job back.
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Wikipedia