Lost in America (1985)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Lost in America (1985) – A. Brooks

Albert Brooks excels at using the neurotic and pathetic rant for comedic purposes.  It’s the comedy of pain, I guess – not slapstick but emotional pain.  And it’s all the more excruciating because the character Brooks plays almost always brings the pain on himself through his own actions.  Except in Lost in America, Julie Hagerty, playing his wife, also contributes to the pain (and Brooks can’t handle it).  The film basically moves from comedic set-piece – a social interaction gone so wrong (forcing your boss to fire you), for example – to comedic set-piece, another social interaction gone wrong (e.g., punched in the face by a murderous ex-convict – funnier than it sounds).  You watch these interactions unfold and they keep going until you almost can’t stand it anymore (but Brooks doesn’t know when to stop).  But, oh yes, the plot:  Brooks loses his job as a highly-paid advertising executive and, with his wife, decides to drop out of society a la Easy Rider (to the strains of “Born to be Wild”). Being yuppies they cash in all their assets, buy a giant RV, and set off to find themselves and the real America.  But first they hit Las Vegas to get re-married and it all goes downhill from there.  Director Garry Marshall has a great cameo as a casino boss.  Music and editing are used expertly to keep things perfectly paced (and also to bring on the laughs) across a swift 90 minutes shot mostly on location.  If only Brooks would return to making films like this.