Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Sylvia Farrel

It seems to lack something on first viewing--where's the third act, anyway?--but Albert Brooks's Lost in America is one of those movies that people keep quoting to each other long after they've...( read more  read more... ) seen it. And no one has come up with a more incisive look at the phenomenon of the '80s yuppie, a figure toward whom Brooks manages to aim both his satire and his sympathy. The bushy-haired, tightly-wound actor plays a well-paid L.A. executive who quits his job in a fit of pique when he fails to land a promotion. Armed with their savings, he and the wife (Julie Hagerty) buy a Winnebago and hit the road; they're going to search for America and find themselves. Right. They get as far as Las Vegas, where Hagerty has a little problem at the gaming tables. Brooks's rant on the concept of "the nest-egg" goes right into the comedy hall of fame, and his scene with a casino manager (Garry Marshall, underplaying beautifully) is a masterpiece of wheedling desperation. Somehow amidst the comedy, Brooks captures the panic beneath the upwardly-mobile go-go American guy, circa 1985. The open road will never be the same. --Robert Horton

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73% liked it

3,196 ratings

Critics

96% liked it

24 critics

R, 91 min.

Directed by: Albert Brooks

Release Date: February 15, 1985

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DVD Release Date: April 3, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (142)


  • April 10, 2009
    Seemed very short, but then again I watched this while I was on an RV trip and it was only on in the background at first. I wasn't fully paying attention to some of the early parts. I didn't find it as funny as I expected it to be. The movie should be called Lost in Las Vegas ...( read more)because that is the only major destination the couple has. The couple stays in a casino hotel though the point of RVing is that it is a home on wheels with a bed and kitchen and everything. She loses most of their money and they try for awhile to find entry level jobs in a small town. They then quickly decide to go beg for their old jobs back in New York. There is a cheap shortcut music montage film trick to cover all the time it takes for them to drive back to New York. They don't live free on the road. They don't see America. Disappointing!
  • August 27, 2008
    David Howard: He'll buy that boat from that stupid boat catalog he's been making me look at for the last two months, and he will crash that boat off Catalina Island, and he will drown and die and seals will eat him.

    I'm a big Albert Brooks fan. From his little parts in movies l...( read more)ike Out of Sight to a turn to voice acting in Finding Nemo and his various Simpsons characters, I find his comic sense hilarious. The movies he has written and directed himself I always seem to find to hit the right note.

    David Howard: Shut up Brad! Your song stunk, I hate your suit and I could hurt you!

    Here Brooks plays David, a yuppie living in LA making a lot of money as an Advertising Exec. For reasons only he could justify, David leaves his job and convinces his wife Linda, played by Julie Hagerty, to quit hers.

    They develop a plan to liquidate all of their assets, giving them a large nest egg of money, buy a Winnebago and hit the road to find themselves and live off the road for the rest of their lives. However, this plan is almost immediately thwarted when Linda gambles away all of the nest egg in one night in Las Vegas.

    David Howard: Why didn't you tell me when we got married that you were this horrible gambling addict? It's like when you have a venereal disease - you tell somebody!
    Linda Howard: I've only gambled twice in my life... This was the second time.

    With very, very few options, David and Linda must figure out what to do.

    The plot certainly isn't taken to its fullest by the time it reaches the end, but the movie is very funny throughout. It once again comes down to Brooks' presentation of his comedic sense. It also helps that Hagerty is a great foil to Brooks' character, as well as a great scene between Brooks and Gary Marshall.

    The movie is very funny throughout and a good look at a twist on 80s yuppie life.

    [at Hoover Dam]
    David Howard: Nice dam, huh? Do you want to go first, or should I?
  • April 6, 2006
    This looks a lot funnier than it really is. Brooks is very hit or miss in his films. He missed here.
  • January 11, 2008
    Not nearly as annoying as I was kind of expecting. It goes by like a breeze, with a laugh-a-minute it seems. Lots of chuckles to be had, and a few priceless scenes. : ) Albert Brooks gets at middle aged anxiety quite gracefully, here.
  • July 1, 2008
    Albert ends up in some funny situations..a bit mild..but entertains and will make you laugh in places...
  • September 11, 2009
    Goodbye nest egg, hello hilarity. Just thought I was going to watch another boring film until I found this film title OK for me. And it's also funny - so yes, I did like what Albert Brooks made here. As I watch out for a few references to Easy Rider, I find the acting perf...( read more)ormances very good, including that of a Julie Hagerty in another memorable role besides Airplane! Stalled in his company's pecking order, ad man David Howard quits his job as he and his wife Linda sell their house and get Lost In America in a Winnebago. In their first road stop in Las Vegas, they accidentally lost their $145,000 nest egg. Real sad but humorous, and good luck finding that kind of a story element in a good comedy like this.
  • April 8, 2009
    A winner of a movie. Love it.
  • October 17, 2008
    No thankyou - Not interested
  • August 30, 2008
    thought it would be better
  • August 28, 2008
    Lost in America R
    David Howard: He'll buy that boat from that stupid boat catalog he's been making me look at for the last two months, and he will crash that boat off Catalina Island, and he will drown and die and seals will eat him.

    I'm a big Albert Brooks fan. From his li...( read more)ttle parts in movies like Out of Sight to a turn to voice acting in Finding Nemo and his various Simpsons characters, I find his comic sense hilarious. The movies he has written and directed himself I always seem to find to hit the right note.

    David Howard: Shut up Brad! Your song stunk, I hate your suit and I could hurt you!

    Here Brooks plays David, a yuppie living in LA making a lot of money as an Advertising Exec. For reasons only he could justify, David leaves his job and convinces his wife Linda, played by Julie Hagerty, to quit hers.

    They develop a plan to liquidate all of their assets, giving them a large nest egg of money, buy a Winnebago and hit the road to find themselves and live off the road for the rest of their lives. However, this plan is almost immediately thwarted when Linda gambles away all of the nest egg in one night in Las Vegas.

    David Howard: Why didn't you tell me when we got married that you were this horrible gambling addict? It's like when you have a venereal disease - you tell somebody!
    Linda Howard: I've only gambled twice in my life... This was the second time.

    With very, very few options, David and Linda must figure out what to do.

    The plot certainly isn't taken to its fullest by the time it reaches the end, but the movie is very funny throughout. It once again comes down to Brooks' presentation of his comedic sense. It also helps that Hagerty is a great foil to Brooks' character, as well as a great scene between Brooks and Gary Marshall.

    The movie is very funny throughout and a good look at a twist on 80s yuppie life.

    [at Hoover Dam]
    David Howard: Nice dam, huh? Do you want to go first, or should I?

Critic Reviews


May 4, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

An amusingly bumpy ride. full review

View more Lost in America reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Lost in America Trivia


  • Name this movie?  Answer »
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