''Lookin’ to Get Out'' is a 1982 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

, directed by

Hal Ashby William Hal Ashby (September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988) was an Cinema of the United States, American film Film director, director and Film editing, editor. His work exemplified the countercultural attitude of the era. He directed wide-rangi ...

and written by Al Schwartz and Jon Voight, who also stars. The film also stars Ann-Margret and Burt Young. Voight's daughter,

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

, then seven years old, makes her acting debut.

Plot

Alex Kovac, playing poker in New York City, drops $10,000 to gamblers Joey and Harry that he can not pay back. Alex persuades pal Jerry Feldman to hop on a plane to Las Vegas with him and try to win $10,000 to pay off the debt. Finding out that a similarly named Jerry Feldman is a regular there, Jerry is comped $10,000 by the casino, no questions asked. A room and other perks go along with the comp. A waiter named Smitty, an old acquaintance of Alex's, is an expert card counter, so he is staked to a high-limit blackjack game by the guys. Patti Warner, a former girlfriend of Alex's, is now the mistress of the casino's boss. Their mutual attraction returns, but trouble follows after a $500,000 victory at the tables, not only from the casino but from Joey and Harry, who have come to Vegas looking to get their money or get even.

Cast

* Jon Voight as Alex Kovac * Ann-Margret as Patti Warner * Burt Young as Jerry Feldman * Jude Ferrese as Harry * Allen Keller as Joey * Bert Remsen as Smitty * Richard Bradford as Bernie Gold In addition, Voight's then seven-year-old daughter,

(credited as Angelina Jolie Voight), made her acting debut with a brief appearance as Tosh, the daughter of Alex and Patti, near the end of the movie. Among the Las Vegas acts seen performing at the MGM Grand during the film are Siegfried & Roy (credited as magicians Siegfried and Roy Enterprises).

Production

The film was Voight's screenwriting debut. After initial delays, the film started principal photography in May 1980. Production was interrupted for five months due to an actors' strike. Director Ashby had notorious bouts with the studio and recut the film for himself before it was taken from his hands and recut by the studio. Years later, while speaking at the University of Southern California, Jon Voight discovered that the version of the film which had been shown to the students was not the theatrical version but instead Ashby's original cut (which was considered lost). This was brought to the attention of Warner Home Video who released the Ashby Director's Cut on DVD on June 30, 2009. The filming took place in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, including the MGM Grand Las Vegas and ''Variety'' noted in their review the "shameless plugging for the MGM leisure palace and its entertainment shows (particularly Siegfried & Roy's magic acts)."

Release

The film was initially due to be released by United Artists but

Lorimar Lorimar may refer to: * Lorimar Television, previously Lorimar Productions and later Lorimar Distribution, an American film and television production and marketing company from 1969 to 1986 * Lorimar-Telepictures, formed in 1986 after the merger of ...

's deal with UA expired before the film was released and

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

acquired the film as part of a package to distribute Lorimar product. The film received poor reviews. ''Variety'' called it "an ill-conceived vehicle for actor (and cowriter) Jon Voight to showcase his character comedy talents in a loose, semi-improvised environment." They noted that "Voight and Young are an entertaining team, but presented in an untenable vehicle". The film was released on October 8, 1982, in 850 theaters, and due to its poor performance, Lorimar made a $6.2 million write-off.

References

External links