The script is just *fantastic*. We begin with an unhappy yuppie speaking in hypothetics, searching for a way to change his life. The plans that he based the rest of his yuppie-hood are quickly sullied, and this springboards him into a new way of life (which is justified by the "success" of fictional characters in his favorite movie). He takes his suppressed wife along with him, and just like that, without anyone really noticing, "Lost In America" is off to the races.
Since every one of Albert Brooks' films are damn near perfect(with the exception of his 1999 clunker, "The Muse"), it is silly to call this his best film. But it certainly is his most focused. The subplots are a little more than quick, sketch-like detours, leaving the central story of what actually happens when responsible people drop out to fill the screen for all ninety-one minutes of neurotic bliss.
The smartest thing Brooks could have done was to make it appear as if this was a movie about two people with a lot of money and a Winnebago travelling across country, encountering hijinks along the way. In fact, this movie is about reality. This movie's about two people who liquidate their assets, buy a Winnie, set out for the rest of their lives, and then LOSE EVERYTHING. The comedy of "Lost In America" is imbedded in the "what now?" expression that the star and director carries in his eyebrows. What could be angled for heavy dramatic purposes is turned into situational comedy (the main character's wife leaving him, going off with an ex-convict, who then beats up the main character is FUNNY?) beautifully by the writers (Brooks and frequent co-conspirator Monica Johnson).
Albert Brooks is NOT a West Coast Woody Allen. Woody Allen, as much as I love him, isn't this funny in his best movie.
******
Since every one of Albert Brooks' films are damn near perfect(with the exception of his 1999 clunker, "The Muse"), it is silly to call this his best film. But it certainly is his most focused. The subplots are a little more than quick, sketch-like detours, leaving the central story of what actually happens when responsible people drop out to fill the screen for all ninety-one minutes of neurotic bliss.
The smartest thing Brooks could have done was to make it appear as if this was a movie about two people with a lot of money and a Winnebago travelling across country, encountering hijinks along the way. In fact, this movie is about reality. This movie's about two people who liquidate their assets, buy a Winnie, set out for the rest of their lives, and then LOSE EVERYTHING. The comedy of "Lost In America" is imbedded in the "what now?" expression that the star and director carries in his eyebrows. What could be angled for heavy dramatic purposes is turned into situational comedy (the main character's wife leaving him, going off with an ex-convict, who then beats up the main character is FUNNY?) beautifully by the writers (Brooks and frequent co-conspirator Monica Johnson).
Albert Brooks is NOT a West Coast Woody Allen. Woody Allen, as much as I love him, isn't this funny in his best movie.
******