Lost in America (1985)

A husband and wife in their 30s decide to quit their jobs, live as free spirits and cruise America in a Winnebago.

Director:

Albert Brooks

Writers:

Albert Brooks, Monica Mcgowan Johnson (as Monica Johnson)

Stars:

Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Sylvia Farrel

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Albert Brooks	...	David Howard
Julie Hagerty	...	Linda Howard
Sylvia Farrel	...	Receptionist
Tina Kincaid	...	Model
Candy Ann Brown	...	David's Secretary
Maggie Roswell	...	Patty
Hans Wagner	...	Hans (voice)
Brandy Rubin	...	Paul Dunn's Secretary
Michael Greene	...	Paul Dunn
Tom Tarpey	...	Brad Tooley
Robert Hughes	...	Security Guard
Raynold Gideon	...	Ray
John Di Fusco	...	Motorcyclist
Michael Cornelison	...	Front Desk Clerk
Radu Gavor	...	Bellman

Storyline

David and Linda Howard are successful yuppies from LA. When he gets a job disappointment, David convinces Linda that they should quit their jobs, liquidate their assets, and emulate the movie Easy Rider, spending the rest of their lives travelling around America...in a Winnebago! (This is a kind of large, luxurious mobile home which suits a 1980's yuppie more than the counterculture dropout approach of Easy Rider.) His idealized, unrealistic plans soon begin to go spectacularly wrong.

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Plot Keywords:

crossing guard | travelling | journey | married couple | location in title | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 August 1985 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Perdidos en América

Filming Locations:

13400 Kismet Ave, Sylmar, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$10,179,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Geffen Company,Marty Katz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Albert Brooks's manager and the film's producer, Herb Nanas, went along on the cross-country trip. At one point, in New Orleans or somewhere in Louisiana, Brooks recalled, Nanas asked to be given a chance to pilot the RV and was allowed to back one of them out of where it was parked, tearing the awning off the side. He was not allowed to drive again for the rest of the trip.

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Goofs

During the cross country trip headed east entering Texas the Visitors Center is on the wrong side of the state. I-10 starts at mile marker 1 in West Texas. Mile maker 879 Visitors Center is near the border with Louisiana as you head west into Texas from Louisiana.

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Quotes

Pharmacist in Safford AZ: I don't believe an older man in a motor home would work out.

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Connections

References The Electric Horseman (1979)

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Soundtracks

It's You Alone
Performed by Gail Davies
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

One of Brooks' funniest films; the ultimate road trip!

LOST IN AMERICA (1985) ***1/2 Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Garry Marshall. Hysterically funny film by Brooks about his character, David Howard, a yuppie who loses his job after his dream of a promotion falls through as an ad exec and decides to take his scatter-brained wife (Hagerty) cross country a la "Easy Rider" but in a Winnebago but gets seriously side-tracked in Las Vegas. Brooks has never been finer and gives the ultimate scene in cinema's history of being fired and quitting at the same time!