Losin' It

Last updated
Losin' It
LosinIt.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Curtis Hanson
Written by Bill L. Norton
Produced byBryan Gindoff
Hannah Hempstead
Joel B. Michaels
Starring
Cinematography Gilbert Taylor
Edited by Richard Halsey
Music by Kenneth Wannberg
Production
company
Tijuana Productions [1]
Distributed by Embassy Pictures (United States)
Manson International (International) [1]
Release date
  • April 8, 1983 (1983-04-08)
[1]
Running time
100 minutes
CountriesCanada
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7 million
Box office$1.2 million [2]

Losin' It is a 1983 comedy film directed by Curtis Hanson, and starring Tom Cruise, Shelley Long, Jackie Earle Haley and John Stockwell. The film follows four teenagers trying to lose their virginity. It was filmed largely in Calexico, California.

Contents

Plot

Four teenagers from early 1960s Los Angeles are on their way to Tijuana, Mexico: Dave, Woody, Spider, and Dave's brother Wendell. Dave, Spider, and Woody are there to lose their virginity, while Wendell came along to buy fireworks. They end up picking up a woman named Kathy, who goes with them because she wants a fast divorce from her husband, and they get into a series of hijinks and misadventures south of the border.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

The film received negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 18% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.3/10. [3] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert criticized the film on their TV program At the Movies . Siskel called it "dreadful" and "predictable." Ebert described the themes of the movie as "sick" for suggesting that young men should seek out prostitutes or older women instead of forming relationships with women their own age. [4] Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised Shelley Long for her charm and skill at physical comedy, calling her "the best thing in the movie." But she criticized the screenplay for its excesses and suggested that most of the cast "might fare much better in a different movie." [5]

Box office

The film opened in 180 theatres in New York and Los Angeles opening with a "lackluster" $437,257 for the weekend. [6] [2]

Home media

MGM released Losin' It as a Region 1 DVD on February 6, 2001. Kino Lorber released the film on Blu-ray on March 5, 2019.

Related Research Articles

<i>Breaking Away</i> 1979 film by Peter Yates

Breaking Away is a 1979 American coming of age comedy-drama film produced and directed by Peter Yates and written by Steve Tesich. It follows a group of four male teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana, who have recently graduated from high school. The film stars Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie, Paul Dooley, and Robyn Douglass.

<i>Caveman</i> (film) 1981 film by Carl Gottlieb

Caveman is a 1981 slapstick comedy film written and directed by Carl Gottlieb and starring Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long and Barbara Bach. The film is set in prehistoric times and revolves around the rivalries between cavemen.

<i>All the Kings Men</i> (2006 film) 2006 film by Steven Zaillian

All the King's Men is a 2006 American political drama film written, directed and produced by Steven Zaillian based on the 1946 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. All the King's Men had previously been adapted into a Best Picture Oscar–winning film by writer-director Robert Rossen in 1949. The film narrates the rise to power and demise of the Governor Willie Stark, taking his office in the American South. The fictional character is loosely based on the life of Louisiana governor Huey Long, in office between 1928 through 1932. Elected as a U.S. senator, he was assassinated in 1935. The film co-stars Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, Jackie Earle Haley and Frederic Forrest in his final film appearance.

<i>The Money Pit</i> 1986 film by Richard Benjamin

The Money Pit is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house. The film is a loose remake of the 1948 Cary Grant comedy film Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, and was filmed in New York City and Lattingtown, New York, and was co-executive produced by Steven Spielberg.

<i>Outrageous Fortune</i> (film) 1987 film by Arthur Hiller

Outrageous Fortune is a 1987 American comedy film written by Leslie Dixon, directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Shelley Long and Bette Midler. The title is taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet. It is the tenth film of Touchstone Pictures.

<i>The Theory of Flight</i> 1998 British film

The Theory of Flight is a 1998 British comedy-drama film directed by Paul Greengrass from a screenplay written by Richard Hawkins. It stars Helena Bonham Carter and Kenneth Branagh.

<i>Little Children</i> (film) 2006 American film

Little Children is a 2006 satirical melodrama film directed by Todd Field, based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta who co-wrote the screenplay with Field. It follows Sarah Pierce, an unhappy housewife who has an affair with a married neighbor. Also starring are Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, Noah Emmerich, Gregg Edelman, Phyllis Somerville and Will Lyman.

<i>Inventing the Abbotts</i> 1997 American film

Inventing the Abbotts is a 1997 American period coming-of-age film directed by Pat O'Connor, and starring Liv Tyler, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup, Jennifer Connelly and Joanna Going. The screenplay by Ken Hixon is based on a short story by Sue Miller. The original music score was composed by Michael Kamen. The film focuses on two brothers and their relationship with the wealthy Abbott sisters.

<i>A Midsummer Nights Sex Comedy</i> 1982 film by Woody Allen

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy is a 1982 American science fiction sex comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen, starring Allen and Mia Farrow.

<i>Runaway</i> (1984 American film) 1984 science fiction action film directed by Michael Crichton

Runaway is a 1984 American science fiction action film written and directed by Michael Crichton, starring Tom Selleck, Gene Simmons, Cynthia Rhodes and Kirstie Alley. Selleck portrays a police officer assigned to track down dangerous robots, while Simmons is a scientist who hopes to profit from his manipulation of robots. The film was a box office disappointment and received mixed reviews.

<i>One from the Heart</i> 1982 film by Francis Ford Coppola

One from the Heart is a 1982 American musical romantic drama film co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Nastassja Kinski, Lainie Kazan, and Harry Dean Stanton. Set entirely in Las Vegas and made independently by Coppola's own Zoetrope Studios, the film was a critical and commercial failure.

<i>Bed of Roses</i> (1996 film) 1996 American film

Bed of Roses is a 1996 American romance drama film written and directed by Michael Goldenberg and starring Christian Slater and Mary Stuart Masterson.

The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time! is a 1982 documentary film by Jim Brown.

<i>The Daytrippers</i> 1996 film by Greg Mottola

The Daytrippers is a 1996 independent comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Mottola in his feature directorial debut. It stars Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Anne Meara, Parker Posey and Liev Schreiber.

<i>Friends & Lovers</i> (1999 film) 1999 film

Friends & Lovers is a 1999 American romantic-drama film directed and co-written by George Haas about a group of twentysomethings on a ski trip. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Claudia Schiffer and Robert Downey Jr.

<i>Winged Creatures</i> (film) 2008 American film

Winged Creatures is a 2008 psychological drama directed by Rowan Woods and starring Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Josh Hutcherson, Guy Pearce, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Embeth Davidtz. It is an adaptation of Roy Freirich's novel Winged Creatures. It was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group in the United States on August 4, 2009, as Fragments.

<i>Year of the Gun</i> (film) 1991 film by John Frankenheimer

Year of the Gun is a 1991 American spy action thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Andrew McCarthy, Sharon Stone and Valeria Golino.

<i>Cujo</i> (film) 1983 film by Lewis Teague

Cujo is a 1983 American horror film based on Stephen King's 1981 novel of the same name and directed by Lewis Teague. It was written by Don Carlos Dunaway and Barbara Turner, and starring Dee Wallace, Daniel Hugh Kelly and Danny Pintauro.

<i>Dice Rules</i> (film) 1991 comedy film

Dice Rules is a 1991 American stand-up comedy film starring Andrew Dice Clay and directed by Jay Dubin. This was the first film to get an NC-17 for language alone.

<i>Death of a Telemarketer</i> 2020 American film

Death of a Telemarketer is a 2020 American thriller comedy-drama film written and directed by Khaled Ridgeway and starring Lamorne Morris, Jackie Earle Haley, Haley Joel Osment and Alisha Wainwright. It is Ridgeway's feature directorial debut.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Losin' It (1983)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 Losin' It at Box Office Mojo
  3. "Losin' It". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved October 19, 2023. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  4. "Teenage Sex Movies, 1983". siskelebert.org. January 31, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  5. Maslin, Janet (April 8, 1983). "'LOSIN' IT'". The New York Times . Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  6. "'Tootsie' Sashays Back To The Top Of Boxoffice Heap". Variety . April 13, 1983. p. 3.