Lookin' to Get Out

Of course, I only purchased this to finish off my Angelina Jolie collection (she had the most adorable chubby knees as a child!) and was prepared for the worst... Yet not prepared enough. Pointless. So pointless, even the characters seemed confused, and with Burt Young garbling all his lines it's a wonder you could even make out the GIST of what the man was saying. The 4-minute AJ appearance at the very end makes this one movie I never intend to rewind.

My review was written in September 1982 after a Columbus Circle screening.

Hal Ashby's "Lookin' to Get Out" is an ill-conceived vehicle for actor (and co-writer) Jon Voight to showcase his character comedy talents in a loose, semi-improvised environment. Harking back uncomfortably to the buddy pictures of a decade ago (particularly the Elaine May flop for Paramount "Mikey and Nicky"), the film only gels intermittently and despite its star names faces a grim commercial future.

Its tortuous production history saw "Lookin'" enter principal photography in May 1980 as a Lorimar production for United Artists release, later acquired in a package deal by Paramount. Five months of shooting was interrupted by the actors' strike, with reshooting and re-editing to follow. End product reflects little of the $17,000,000-plus negative cost on screen in this intimate tale of two vagabond gamblers.

Akex (Jon Voight) and Jerry (Burt Young) are the central figures, who flee New York to Las Vegas to escape thugs Harry (Jude Farese) and Joey (Alan Keller) whose $10,000 Alex has dropped in a poker game. In an increasingly contrived and unconvincing series of coincidence and turns of luck, duo set up shop in the "Dr. Zhivago" suite of the MGM Grand Hotel and use a false identity to obtain unlimited credit from the casino.

Return of casino owner Bernie Gold (Richard Bradford) ends their free-loading, but not before they have staked an ex-gambler (now a waiter at the hotel) Smitty (Bert Remsen) to a high-stakes blackjack game with ironic results.

Occasionally amusing, picture often has the feel of being improvised, with director Ashby giving Voight a loose rein to inject physical business and odd dialog into a scene. Interplay between Voight and Young is the film's raison d'etre, with each return to functional plot development or "surprise" twist coming off as artificial and annoying.

For example -star-billed Ann-Margret is injected (and written out at will) into the film as Alex's ex-girlfriend who just happens to be Gold's current flame, and in a preposterous curtain revelation by Gold, the mother of Alex's daughter which Alex has never met. Instead of farcical, this scene is irritating since, as usual, the viewer is way ahead of the screenplay. Oft-underlined theme of the joys and perils of acting upon impulse is negated by the unconvincing workings of fate.

Sporting a distracting no-bra look Ann-Margret is decorative but has no character to play. Remsen is effective, though his presence recalls an earlier (and far better) film he made in the same gambling milieu, Robert Altman's "California Split". Stars Voight and Young are an entertaining team, but presented in an untenable vehicle.

Tech credits are fine, including shameless plugging for the MGM leisure palace and its entertainment shows (particularly Siegfried and Roy's magic acts). Johnny Mandel's electronic rock score covers the awkward lapses between scenes, but without that bare musical bridge the film seems like out-takes of actors "winging it".

ctitus924 states in the previous review that you can see the MGM Grand in Cher's Believe DVD - that is not true - the MGM Grand in this film was involved in a major fatal fire in 1980 and was then sold - it is now Bally's hotel and casino in Vegas. The MGM Grand in Cher's video is newer - it was built later and is farther down the strip. As for the movie- I am watching it now as I type and while it is great to see old Vegas locations, so far I am finding it a little slow moving...but interesting to see Vegas in the late 70's when this was filmed. There are some great clips of various Vegas acts and the cast of recognizable actors in the film is impressive.

Seven stars. A weak seven, but good enough to round up. Hal Ashby had, possibly, the best six-consecutive film run in history from Harold and Maude through Being There. This film clearly does not match that amazing run, but it's still a lot of fun. Jon Voigt, an actor I've been a fan of for 50 years now, turns in an excellent performance as a more-wily-than-smart gambler trying to square a big debt. Ann-Margret does fine as his ex, who figures out he's running a con at the Vegas spot where she now works. But for my money, the show is stolen by Burt Young. He did tons of movie and TV work, and was a tremendous actor. But he was too dumpy looking to be a star. In a career of character parts, this was one of his biggest shots, and he just nailed the loyal, not as dumb as everyone thinks, sidekick.

Ashby's career as a director was pretty short, and he really faded from prominence in the last few years of his life. But he was still making quirky, intelligent, entertaining films. The film from his big six that is closest to this is probably The Last Detail. If you liked that one, take a look a this. 20 September 2022.

Because this film has been so stubbornly withheld from the home-video market, it has been years since the last time I saw it. Still, as a serious aficionado of fine acting, I still retain vivid memories of this lively flick and I can not understand all the negative reaction it received. The characters who populate this story are fascinating and memorably enacted by a superb cast. It would be little more than another typical caper flick were it not for the well-drawn weaknesses of the main characters which lead them inexorably into a high pressure situation from which they must try with all their might to escape. If you ever get to see this show, watch for the marvelous work of the numerous supporting players such as Richard Bradford. It is a deliciously glossy, stylish film but with a character-driven story that thoroughly engrossed me each time I saw it. It dances precariously between comedy and drama in a manner which I found intriguing and delightful. In view of all the bad reviews I have read about "Looking to Get Out" I deeply regret that it persists in being unavailable year after year. I would love to look at it again to try to figure out what causes so many folks to dislike it. Is it simply a matter of taste? I do not know.