LOST IN AMERICA: a classic case of what could have been

Writer-director-star Albert Brooks sets out to do great comedic things with LOST IN AMERICA but seems to lose his nerve halfway through, abandoning them in favour of a sprint to the conclusion.

Brooks and Julie Hagerty play David and Linda Howard, a professional couple in their thirties, who decide to drop out and live life as free spirits after David fails to win promotion at work. They figure that with frugal spending they can make their nest egg stretch to cover the rest of their lives, giving them the freedom to cruise around the United States in their Winnebago. Unfortunately they decide to make their first stop in Las Vegas resulting in a plot twist that will dawn on you several moments before in dawns on David.
Brooks sets up the story so well that there's a real sense of being shortchanged when he fails to follow through on the initial premise. The Howards are a couple with genuine comic potential but he fails to exploit this to the full extent possible.
The ninety minute running time is just too short to properly explore the idea of a mainstream middle class couple giving up everything they've worked for since school to throw themselves into this alternative lifestyle without giving any serious thought to what they're doing beyond repeated references to the movie classic "Easy Rider."  
There's a difference between leaving an audience wanting more (which is good) and leaving them feeling unfulfilled (which is bad) and LOST IN AMERICA definitely leans heavily on the side of the latter.