View source for Lookin' to Get Out

{{short description|1982 American comedy film}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Lookin' to Get Out
| image          = Lookin to get out.jpg

| caption        = Promotional movie poster for the film
| director       = [[Hal Ashby]]
| producer       = Andrew Braunsberg<br />Robert Schaffel<br />Edward Teets
| writer         = Al Schwartz<br />[[Jon Voight]]
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Jon Voight]]
* [[Ann-Margret]]
* [[Burt Young]]
}}
| music          = [[Miles Goodman]]<br />[[Johnny Mandel]]<br />[[John Beal (composer)|John Beal]]
| cinematography = [[Haskell Wexler]]
| editing        = [[Robert C. Jones]]
| studio         = [[Lorimar Television|Lorimar]]
| distributor    = [[Paramount Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1982|10|08|United States}}
| runtime        = 105 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $17,000,000<ref name="variety">{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/1981/film/reviews/lookin-to-get-out-1117792711/|title=Lookin' To Get Out|last=Lor.|date=October 5, 1982|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|access-date=2009-07-21}}</ref>
| gross          = $946,461<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3126953473/weekend/|title=Lookin' to Get Out|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref>
}}

'''''Lookin’ to Get Out''''' is a 1982 American [[comedy film]], directed by [[Hal Ashby]] and written by [[Al Schwartz (writer)|Al Schwartz]] and [[Jon Voight]], who also stars.  The film also stars [[Ann-Margret]] and [[Burt Young]]. Voight's daughter, [[Angelina Jolie]], then seven years old, makes her acting debut.<ref name=AFI/>

==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==
<!--- [[WP:NOTDATABASE]] - cast and order per opening tombstone stand-alone credits, roles per closing credits scroll --->
* [[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 (actor)|Richard Bradford]] as Bernie Gold

In addition, Voight's then seven-year-old daughter, [[Angelina Jolie]] (credited as Angelina Jolie Voight), made her acting debut<ref name=AFI/> 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 Las Vegas|MGM Grand]] during the film are [[Siegfried & Roy]] (credited as magicians Siegfried and Roy Enterprises).

==Production==
The film was Voight's screenwriting debut.<ref name=AFI/>

After initial delays,<ref name=AFI/> the film started principal photography in May 1980.<ref name="variety"/> Production was interrupted for five months due to an actors' strike.<ref name="variety"/><ref name=AFI/>

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]], including the [[MGM Grand Las Vegas]]<ref name=AFI/> and ''Variety'' noted in their review the "shameless plugging for the MGM leisure palace and its entertainment shows (particularly [[Siegfried & Roy]]'s magic acts)."<ref name="variety"/>

==Release==
The film was initially due to be released by [[United Artists]] but [[Lorimar Television|Lorimar]]'s deal with UA expired before the film was released and [[Paramount Pictures]] acquired the film as part of a package to distribute Lorimar product.<ref name="variety"/><ref name=AFI>{{AFI film|56840}}</ref>

The film received poor reviews.<ref name=AFI/> ''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."<ref name="variety"/> They noted that "Voight and Young are an entertaining team, but presented in an untenable vehicle".<ref name="variety"/>

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.<ref name=AFI/>

==See also==
* [[List of films set in Las Vegas]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}

{{Hal Ashby}}

[[Category:1982 films]]
[[Category:1982 comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:American comedy films]]
[[Category:American films about gambling]]
[[Category:Films directed by Hal Ashby]]
[[Category:Films scored by Miles Goodman]]
[[Category:Films scored by Johnny Mandel]]
[[Category:Films set in the Las Vegas Valley]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]