Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Is My #1 Favorite Comedy Of All Time!, March 18, 1999
By A Customer
Albert Brooks is the thinking man's comedian. And he proves it with "Lost In America". This movie is written, acted and directed with impeccable precision. The casting is perfect. Somehow this dated 80's yuppie film is just smart enough and just down to earth enough to entertain almost everyone. Albert Brooks has a whimsical intelligent paranoia about life, Julie Haggerty is his invincibly sweet wife, and every other character in this film is tangibly interesting. This movie is full of sarcasm, human honesty, and laughter for the mind. "Lost in America" is full of subtle humor and interesting ideas. If you have a brain and if you like to laugh, this is the movie for you. Albert Brooks deserves some kind of an Oscar for this one. Please get lost in America!
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic From the Master, March 19, 2000
Without question, Albert Brooks is the absolute master of subtle humor. In "Lost In America," the writer-director-star weaves an hilarious tapestry that is no less than a paean to an entire generation of Yuppies. When David Howard (Brooks), the creative director for one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, fails to get the promotion he's "waited his whole life for," he quits his job ("Well, I got fired, but it's the same thing-"), then convinces his wife, Linda (Julie Hagerty), to do the same. They then proceed to sell their house, liquidate all their assets ("We got a ride on the inflation train you would not believe,"), buy a thirty-foot motor home and drop out of society in order to "find" themselves. Patterning himself after the guys in "Easy Rider," David's plan is for them to set off across America, to "Touch Indians, see the mountains and the prairies and all the rest of that song," and they leave Los Angeles with a new motor home, a substantial nest egg and an anxious sense of adventure. It all soon goes awry, of course, and what follows are some of the funniest scenes you'll ever see in an intelligent comedy. Among the most memorable are the ones with Michael Greene (As David's boss), when he informs David that instead of a promotion he's being transferred to New York to work on their latest acquisition, Ford ("We got trucks, too."); one with Garry Marshall (As a casino manager in Las Vegas); and finally, the scene in which David explains the concept of the "nest egg" to Linda, which has to be, historically, one of the classic comedy scenes of all time. The solid supporting cast includes Tom Tarpey (Brad Tooey, the "bald-headed man from New York"), Ernie Brown, Art Frankel, Charles Boswell and Joey Coleman. Written by Brooks and Monica Johnson, "Lost In America" is a timeless comedy classic that can be enjoyed over and over again.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All Time Classic Comedy About Yuppie Life, March 7, 1999
Albert Brooks came of age in this 1985 comedy about a Advertising Executive and Human Resource wife who decide that corporate america is not the place for them and by liqidating all their assests, can start a "nest egg" and just live off the land. Fun begins with Albert not getting the promotion he thinks he deserves and talks his wife (played by Airplane's Julie Haggerty) into not moving into a new house- rather, buy a Winebago and "touch Indians" for the rest of their lives. A stop in Las Vegas to renew wedding vows turns the dream life into a disatster, as Haggerty blows there savings at the roulette table ("22") What follows is how they come to terms with this event and how they try to piece their life together in a trailor park in the Southwest- the only place they have enough money to buy gas to get to. A scene when Brooks confronts Haggerty on "breaking the nest egg" is certainly one of the funniest exchanges in movie history. Brooks is blessed with a keen perceptual sense and his "high brow" humor is not to be missed. His ties to producer Janes Brooks (co-creator of "The Simpsons" and cameo role in Brooks' "Modern Romance") reflect that. This is a must for any video library. I also recommend the current feature "Office Space" for anyone who likes to have to "think" before laughing.
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