Lost in America (1985)

 Hello and welcome back for the back end of another month for the Criterion Challenge.

As I'd said last time, this month kind of went with a bit of a broader theme. I'd toyed with a few ideas before I decided to try and do a spin on the 4th of July (my first planned theme was moved to next month.)

I toyed with a few angles before settling on two movies that play to the idea of the American Dream, with an emphasis on the 'dream' part.

Albert Brooks's Lost in America was an immediate lock from there. The wonderfully sarcastic comedy, with its story of Brooks and Julie Hagerty as David and Linda Howard, a well off couple who decide to pitch their life of comfort to get away from it all has been hailed by many as one of the ultimate cinematic critiques of the Baby Boomer generation.

 

 
Watching it in 2021, I find myself both agreeing and feeling like that doesn't quite go far enough. In the context of the movie, the comedy of errors is definitely a riff on David and Linda's boomer sensibilities - they base their entire new life plan around the movie Easy Rider, then invest in a fancy RV, for example. 

That Easy Rider point especially sticks out to me now - the idea that these two uproot themselves and ultimately financially hobble themselves in the pursuit of a lifestyle they saw in a movie feels like an idea that has aged perhaps too well. 

This isn't to say that the movie isn't funny anymore. In fact, there are still several parts of this that get a solid laugh from me. Rather, the idea of seeing people commit themselves, often to their detriment, to actions born of an idea that never actually existed has become a much darker joke in the cold light of 2021.

I do have to say as far as the humor goes.
As famous as the Gary Marshall scene is,
the roulette table might be one of the funniest
scenes Julie Hagerty has done to date.
And yes, I say this as a fan of Airplane!

I do feel a bit like I'm underselling it here, because again, this is a very funny, biting satire. Rather, like Do the Right Thing earlier this year, it's a movie that has, through no fault of its own, gained a darker shadow from the fact that we learned nothing from it.

If anything, more people could probably stand to learn from David and Linda and recognize when it's time to hang the fantasy up, even if it means you have to eat some shit.

(Not literally - I already reviewed Salo once. Once was enough.)

Okay, tasteless joke aside, that about wraps it up for this entry.

Sorry this one was a bit shorter. Mix of technical issues this month and several attempts to flesh this angle out getting exceedingly pessimistic.

We have one more for this month coming up.

I'd say we're going to be less dark next time, but, well, I'd be lying.

Till then.

Virus-free. www.avast.com