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One of the two films notably taken out of Hal Ashby's hands during editing (his area of greatest expertise), Lookin' to Get Out has been something of a lost film since original release in 1982. Even though the studio recut the movie and pitched it as some sort of high strung goofy caper, Ashby donated a print of his preferred cut to UCLA. Film historian and author Nick Dawson came across this version of the movie in the process of writing his book Being Hal Ashby. When he got a chance to speak with star and co-writer (and Friend of the Site) Jon Voight, the wheels were set in motion for the restored cut available now on DVD from Warner Brothers.
Jon Voight and Burt Young play a couple guys who get mixed up owning some tough guys money. They high-tail it from New York City to Las Vegas to try their hand at winning it at the card tables. Alex (Voight) runs into Patti (Ann-Margaret), an ex who just happens to be the kept woman of the guy who owns the MGM Grand. Though the movies are different in more ways than they're similar, I wonder if that bit inspired the Danny-Tess Ocean dynamic in Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven. Angelina Jolie (credited with Voight tagged at the end of her name) appears briefly as Alex & Patti's kid.
The original trailer, poster, and now the DVD cover make this look more like a zany, slapstick farce set in a casino than it turns out to be. If a viewer goes in thinking that's what they're gonna get, they'll be sorely disappointed. It makes more sense to go in expecting it's about two not-so smart guys who get into trouble and then get into more trouble by flying cross-country to enact some sort of scheme. It's a studio-funded Hal Ashby art movie set in Vegas. There's nothing wrong with that.
Honestly, I'd have watched this movie for Burt Young all on his own. He's the one who made me laugh principally because he's so organic throughout. Voight's going free rein with a character he co-wrote, but Burt really gets all the best moments. He plays as if he's just this lovably stupid guy and there's a movie happening around him, and it works.
Included are the original trailer and Lookin' to Get Out: The Cast Looks Back [16:12], which includes new interviews with co-writer Al Schwartz, Voight & Ann-Margaret, with an archival interview with Burt Young. It's mostly about how the project came together, but it also touches on how this cut and the DVD happened in the first place.
For me, it was nice to see Jon Voight back when he had a sense of humor. I'm not knocking his politics or him personally, but he's very different now than he once was, in character and behavior. Has he retreated inside his legacy like a President who's left office while unpopular?