By Trent Lakey
Easy Rider became a cultural landmark of the ’60s by portraying characters who refused to conduct their lives by the standards of society. This was a fresh perspective following the three-decade rule of the Hays production code in Hollywood. Watching that film, you get the sense that it is possible to live your life on a bike, under a different sky every night, without the responsibilities of a mortgage to pay off. It depicted a different America from what mainstream culture had worshiped up to that point. So, too, does Lost in America, if you swap the poetry of the counter culture for the pragmatic, irony-laden perspective of a great humorist.
Albert Brooks’ 1985 classic — which starts screening at IPH on Friday, July 18 — follows a couple who decide to quit their jobs in Manhattan and tour the country, effectively dropping out of society, like the characters of Easy Rider (which Brooks’ character consistently references). But instead of hopping on a couple of bikes to cross the vast American land, the couple cruise around in a Winnebago. Our two characters, who are deeply enmeshed in the “yuppie” culture of the ’80s, set out in pursuit of societal freedom. Of course, nothing happens as they imagined it would.
Brooks’ films are a master class in parody; what is funny is often a mix of the true and the absurd, which grow to the point of being indistinguishable from each other. His films bear premises that could be rendered as drama, but through the lens of Albert Brooks, they are subverted into sharp-edged satires. He is one of the finest examples of the merit a true artistic voice brings to a film. If directed by a lesser talent, these films could easily have been reduced to cheap satires and unimaginative comedies led by big stars who would eat up half the budget. With Brooks as both the face and the voice of his films, they feel truly authored by a great comedic mind.
Lost in America is as shrewd a portrait of America as Easy Rider; it’s just that you’re too occupied with laughing to notice. His other films, particularly Real Life, Modern Romance and Defending Your Life, are also funny and wonderful. Yet Lost in America stands out as a jewel among jewels for turning the thirst for American spiritualism into one of the great American comedies.