Lost in America (1985)
Lost in America is a movie that follows David and Linda Howard’s adventure across the United States, exploiting every aspect of American life. David plays an advertising executive who realizes that his entire life is about him being a responsible person. He wants to be free from his typical life style that he and his wife are living. David quits his job, convinces his wife into quitting her job as well, and they decide to leave everything behind, sell everything they own, and travel in a motor home for the rest of their lives.
One morning during his last day at work, David is convinced he is getting a promotion. He has a great telephone scene with a Mercedes dealer where he asks how much the car and licensing will cost. In fact, he inquiries about everything there is to know about the vehicle. The scene captures his tone and interest in buying that Mercedes in a perfect way. It focuses on David’s questions about the car. It is obvious that he wants that car badly, but he is acting as if he did not in the scene. David’s body language shows his confidence, as if he knows the car is his. A few minutes later, David finds out he is not receiving the promotion. He quits, and a few scenes later, he and his wife decide to go to Las Vegas in their new home.
Throughout the scenes, David’s reaction to everything is truly funny and exactly in the right moment. Not only is this movie funny, but it also shows David and Linda’s real acting skills. I was fascinated by Linda in this scene with David like Jason Bailey states it, “We really can do anything we want, can’t we?” she asks, teary-eyed – a dazzlingly double-edged moment, because the newfound freedom she’s so moved by is only enabled by a life ensnared by capitalism.” In that scene, I believed her. I even believed that she wanted this more than David.
In addition, there is a scene where David is looking for Linda in the casino. The fact that he is wearing a bathrobe shows that his main goal is to find Linda, and when he finds her, he seems calm at first, and Linda looks exactly as if she is truly addicted to gambling. The way her hair looks, and her eyes are wide opened,the lighting was the main element that made Linda seem as if she was by the roulette tables gambling all night. She looked exhausted in that scene. The shots are captured the right way. Then, when David learns that they have no money left, his reaction is consistent with his dialog. It is like both David and Linda’s expressions says it all.
There are other great scenes in the movie, such as when David tries to use his advertising skills to make the casino owner give him and Linda back their money. However, it does not work. I also think that dialog is perfect for the scene.Then, the couple tries to find work since they lost all their money. Eventfully, they then realize that they had a good life. Maybe going to New York was better than not going at all.
What makes this movie quite funny is that we can compare it to real life. People always seem to want more than what they have. For example, David makes a lot of money, but not enough, he lives in a big house, but not big enough, he has an expensive car but not a Mercedes. Also, everybody has a dream of being free from all responsibilities and liabilities in life just as David and Linda’s characters. However, realistically, people do not just quit their jobs, and decide to travel and live in a big RV. When movie characters leave their jobs, it is usually because they are fired, or the economy is slow, and the company has gone broke. Only in this movie, we see David’s character taking a stand because he wants to stay in Los Angeles, he also thinks he should be named the vice president and he does not like traffic in New York.
In the end, I truly feel I learned few things from this movie. For instance, not to take things for granted. David and Linda’s characters realized that too and that is why they decided to go back to their old lifestyle. I also think that at the end of the movie, it seems as if the final closing scenes were missing. We did not see how their lives turned out to be. But I feel like we were giving clues all along that they will go back to their old ways of living, after learning hard lessons and live happily ever after.
References:
http://flavorwire.com/608466/was-albert-brooks-lost-in-america-the-quintessential-80s-comedy https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4760-lost-in-america-the-100-000-box |
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