Dissatisfied yuppie advertising executive David Howard (a sharp performance by Albert Brooks) and his quietly discontent wife Linda (an appealing portrayal by Julie Hagerty) decide to quit the stupefying 9 to 5 white collar office grind so they can go in search of freedom on the open road in a Winnebago. However, the couple only encounter disaster at every turn.
Director Brooks, who also co-wrote the mordant script with Monica Megowan Johnson, astutely nails just how stifling and frustrating living a safe comfortable existence can be, the intrinsic futility to be found in aggressively pursuing that elusive thing called "freedom," and the malaise lurking right underneath the surface of a seemingly ideal and secure lifestyle. Moreover, Brooks expertly mines a wickedly funny line in dry, yet biting and incisive humor, with the petulant and entitled David finding out through a serious of humiliating, but often hilarious encounters that there's a whole lot more to freedom than just simply dropping out of society.
In addition, there are spot-on cameo appearances by Garry Marshall as a no-nonsense casino manager, Michael Greene as David's smarmy boss Paul Dunn, Tom Tarplay as the unctuous Brad Tooley, Donald Gibb as a belligerent ex-con, and Art Frankel as an incredulous employment agent. Eric Saarinen's bright and crisp cinematography offers lots of striking shots of the American countryside as well as makes nicely fluid use of a gliding camera. An absolute riot.
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