Routinely termed a neglected figure of the 1970s New Hollywood, Hal Ashby has been undergoing a modest posthumous renaissance of late: a smattering of retrospective screenings, an overdue biography, a vocal celebrity fan club whose ranks include Wes Anderson, Judd Apatow and Cameron Crowe.
Ashby's directing career spanned a mere two decades: he was a successful film editor (who won an Academy Award for 1967's "In the Heat of the Night") and was 40 by the time he directed his first film, "The Landlord" (1970). He died of cancer in 1988 at age 59. The received wisdom neatly divides his filmography into halves: the '70s heyday, an illustrious run that spanned cult classics ("Harold and Maude") and major hits ("Shampoo"), followed by the '80s flameout, a mire of drug use, health problems and studio battles, culminating in his final film, "8 Million Ways to Die," a 1986 crime drama described by Pauline Kael as "permeated with druggy dissociation."
Only his most partisan admirers would deny that the director suffered a drop-off in inspiration after his last major film, 1979's "Being There." Still, as part of the ongoing Ashby revival, some of his later works, until now dismissed as footnotes at best and outright follies at worst, are being given a closer look. One, the odd-couple caper "Lookin' to Get Out," surfaces this week on DVD in a director's cut about 15 minutes longer than the version released to hostile reviews and minimal box office in 1982.
Even more than most Ashby movies, "Lookin' to Get Out" is an actors' vehicle -- in fact, it was expressly conceived as one, written by none other than its star, Jon Voight, in collaboration with a friend, Al Schwartz. Voight energetically throws himself into the lead role of Alex Kovac, a fast-talking blowhard and compulsive gambler who skips town with his best buddy and fellow loser Jerry (Burt Young) when creditor thugs come calling.
These small-time high rollers head to Las Vegas, where they wheedle their way into the plush Dr. Zhivago Suite at the MGM Grand and get the house to extend them a line of credit to boot.
Scams are hatched on the fly, money is summarily won and lost, and Alex endures an unexpected reunion with an ex-flame (Ann-Margret), who happens to be the kept woman of the casino boss (Richard Bradford) and the mother of the little girl Alex never knew he had (played by a 6-year-old Angelina Jolie, Voight's daughter, in her first screen role).
