{"id":92583,"date":"2023-10-19T10:24:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T17:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=92583"},"modified":"2023-10-19T10:24:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T17:24:04","slug":"lost-in-america-1985","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=92583","title":{"rendered":"Lost in America (1985)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s a very sacred thing, the nest egg.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Poster-190x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"190\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-92584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Poster-190x300.png 190w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Poster-81x128.png 81w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Poster-171x270.png 171w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Poster.png 599w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen an overly confident ad man (Albert Brooks) is denied a promotion he believes he deserves, he convinces his wife (Julie Hagerty) to quit her job and join him on a life-altering RV road trip akin to <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=60491\"><em>Easy Rider<\/em><\/a> &#8212; but will life on the road be as liberating as they believe, especially given Haggerty&#8217;s unknown gambling issues?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Albert Brooks Films<\/li>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Gambling<\/li>\n<li>Living Nightmare<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<li>Midlife Crisis<\/li>\n<li>Road Trip<\/li>\n<li>Unemployment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary writes, &#8220;In his third comedy as director-star&#8221; &#8212; after <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=34433\"><em>Real Life<\/em> (1979)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2397\"><em>Modern Romance<\/em> (1981)<\/a> &#8212; &#8220;Albert Brooks again plays his familiar semi-obnoxious, semi-forgivable, self-absorbed young American&#8221; (a character-type I&#8217;ll fully admit to disliking). He adds that while Brooks&#8217;s David Howard is &#8220;not abrasive as we&#8217;ve seen him&#8221; in previous iterations, &#8220;he becomes just as aggravated when his schemes for the easy life go awry and his world crumbles around him.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Aggravated.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Aggravated-1024x556.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"348\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92586\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Aggravated-1024x556.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Aggravated-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Aggravated-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Aggravated-768x417.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Aggravated-498x270.png 498w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Aggravated.png 1290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, &#8220;he still thinks himself clever enough to talk himself out of every difficulty &#8212; only to find out that no one goes along with what he says so convincingly.&#8221; (To that end, Garry Marshall is perfectly cast &#8220;as the humorless Vegas casino operator whom Brooks tries to convince to return Haggerty&#8217;s [gambling] losses in order to get good publicity for the hotel.&#8221;) <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-American-Bargaining.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-American-Bargaining-1024x569.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"356\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92588\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-American-Bargaining-1024x569.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-American-Bargaining-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-American-Bargaining-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-American-Bargaining-768x427.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-American-Bargaining-486x270.png 486w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-American-Bargaining-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-American-Bargaining.png 1290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Peary argues that while &#8220;this is not the masterpiece that Brooks is capable of,&#8221; &#8220;it has several extremely funny scenes (particularly Brooks&#8217;s one-on-one dialogues with people in authority positions) and again Brooks reveals his unique perception of American characters.&#8221; However, he takes issue with the fact that &#8220;Brooks eventually forgives Haggerty for her gambling stupidity&#8221; given that &#8220;our opinion of her never becomes high again&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Haggerty-Gambling.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Haggerty-Gambling-1024x565.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"353\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Haggerty-Gambling-1024x565.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Haggerty-Gambling-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Haggerty-Gambling-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Haggerty-Gambling-768x424.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Haggerty-Gambling-489x270.png 489w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Haggerty-Gambling.png 1289w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; though I would point out that Brooks is far from admirable, and my opinion of him was <em>never<\/em> high. These boomers may be realistic in their self-absorbed foibles, but are not necessarily individuals we want to watch for an hour-and-a-half. You can skip this one.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A few drolly amusing sequences<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Brooks-Fester.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Brooks-Fester-1024x550.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"344\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Brooks-Fester-1024x550.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Brooks-Fester-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Brooks-Fester-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Brooks-Fester-768x413.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Brooks-Fester-502x270.png 502w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Lost-in-America-Brooks-Fester.png 1297w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though Brooks fans will of course want to see it &#8212; and I&#8217;m fully aware I&#8217;m in the minority on how I feel about his movies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0089504\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=13358&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s226america.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1985\/02\/15\/movies\/screen-lost-in-america-yuppie-s-midlife-crisis.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/lost-in-america\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a very sacred thing, the nest egg.&#8221; Synopsis: When an overly confident ad man (Albert Brooks) is denied a promotion he believes he deserves, he convinces his wife (Julie Hagerty) to quit her job and join him on a life-altering RV road trip akin to Easy Rider &#8212; but will life on the road be as liberating as they believe, especially given Haggerty&#8217;s unknown gambling issues? Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Albert Brooks Films Comedy Gambling Living Nightmare Marital&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=92583\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92583"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92600,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92583\/revisions\/92600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}