Thoughts on Lost in America

via IMDB

"God, this is a great kitchen. *offers sandwich* Melted cheese."

"Oh, boy. *takes a bite and it's yummy* Microwave?"

"Yeah."

"*yummy sound* How long'd this take?"

"Twenty-eight seconds."

"Including the browning time?"

"Everything. Isn't that great?"

"Good browning element. I've never really tasted melted cheese until now. I mean, really tasted it. Tastes good."

"I love our new kitchen."

"The further we get from L.A., the better it tastes."

It's cliché to talk about watching an accident in slow motion, but I feel like that's one of the better ways to describe Lost in America. From the moment David Howard (Albert Brooks) doesn't react well to his wife Linda (Julie Hagerty) describing themselves as too controlled, and he becomes fixated by the allure of irresponsibility, only to find himself way out of his comfort zone when Linda is genuinely irresponsible, the movie is akin to watching a funny game of chicken and its aftermath.

Brooks starred in, directed and co-wrote Lost in America with Monica Johnson. It takes a special kind of genius to create and play David, a mid-level winner who can't appreciate it and ends up an unmistakable loser. I admire Brooks and Hagerty for playing their characters straight, pretty well resisting any situation where either is more clever, resilient or sympathetic than the other. I normally dislike movies or TV that's proud to tell me, "... and they're assholes!," but this is a happy exception.

"What was your, uh, previous salary?"

"Uh, $80,000 was the base salary, and then I was in a bonus situation, which would give me anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000, depending on, well, the year that we had. And, uh, generally, $100,000."

"$100,000? Over what period of time are we talking about?"

"A year."

"A year? *starts laughing*"

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. That's very good. What brings you around these parts? Trying to double up on that income? *laughs again*"

"Well, I've come here to live. I'm trying to change my life."

"You couldn't change your life on $100,000?"

Lost in America features some truly amazing acting from Brooks and Hagerty. David and Linda spend the movie alternating the titles of responsible spouse and irresponsible spouse. I didn't doubt their love, but I also laughed at how easily the Howards could be cruel to each other. It makes the moments when they're more or less in sync, like when Linda invokes Easy Rider to keep the couple from getting a speeding ticket, or when they know it's time to get out of Arizona, all the sweeter.

The satire is guillotine sharp, but Lost in America isn't an especially off-putting film. I found a lot to love in it. The funny concept of two people in over their heads. The great performances all around, not just from Brooks and Hagerty, but people like Garry Marshall. As I mentioned before, I love the "Desert Inn has heart" scene, because both Brooks and Marshall get the opportunity to be straight man and comedian. Finally, this is a movie with some amazing insights on people.

"Why don't we make this like a real old-fashioned honeymoon? Let's go to the best hotel, get a honeymoon suite and just celebrate our heads off."

"We don't want to stay in Las Vegas. This represents everything we left. This is the worst money-grubbing place in the world!"

"Yeah, I know. But, just tonight. Wouldn't it be fun to have room service, make love in a big bed, and watch porno movies? Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Porno movies? We want to touch Indians."

Recommended.

Thoughts:

-- "Children, I take no responsibility for your safety."

-- Box Office: Grossing just over $10 million on a $13 million budget, this came in at No. 83 for 1985.

-- Awards Watch: This won Best Screenplay from the National Society of Film Critics, beating The Purple Rose of Cairo, Prizzi's Honor and Brazil. The screenplay was also nominated by the New York Film Critics Circle, losing to The Purple Rose of Cairo.

-- Critic's Corner: "Equally potent as a satire of the road movie and of the American dream of endless mobility and escape," Nathan Rabin wrote in 2011. "Too often, things are simply too painfully accurate to be particularly funny," Kirk Ellis wrote in The Hollywood Reporter when the movie premiered. David Denby: "(Brooks) must know he's getting things down on film that no one else has touched." Some critics were baffled by the resolution. Roger Ebert: "It just sort of ends in midstream, as if the final scenes were never shot." Pauline Kael: "It lacks the fullness of a major comedy."

-- Shortly after watching Lost in America, I wondered what a spiritual remake would look like. Another movie where someone tries and fails to emulate a movie that tapped into the idealized zeitgeist of their youth. Thinking of 2004-2005, I could only come up with Sideways (except those guys were already older) and Elizabethtown (a woman trying to reinvent herself as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl?). TV offers a few more options, like Friends or Sex and the City. 

-- Memorable Music: The score's 11-6 for songs not written for the movies they're in. Lost in America's two selections are "Born to Be Wild" and "New York, New York."

-- The sad thing is, I can see a Ford commercial using modified lyrics to "New York, New York." And like I said after seeing this movie, I have been the Skippy. I have been the Linda. I have been the customer eating uncooked french fries.

-- Next: The Last Dragon. On deck: Desperately Seeking Susan.