Taking Off (film)

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Taking Off is a 1971 American comedy film directed by Miloš Forman. The story follows Larry and Lynn Tyne, an ordinary New York couple, whose teenage daughter Jeannie runs away. As they search the city, they meet other worried parents and catch glimpses of the young people and counterculture around them. Jeannie returns briefly, then vanishes again, leading Larry to discover the Society for the Parents of Fugitive Children. The film moves through a string of comic, offbeat episodes—a wild dinner party, a hotel scene with musicians, marijuana at a party, and awkward social missteps—as it satirizes both anxious parents and the youth they fear.

In the end, Jeannie reappears with a boy she’s been seeing, a thoughtful young musician who becomes unexpectedly rich from his protest songs but does not perform for the hosts. The final moments feature Lynn at the piano while Larry sings, with Jeannie and her companion nearby. The movie, inspired by Forman’s time in Greenwich Village and real stories of runaway children, won a prize at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival and earned several BAFTA nominations. Critics have offered a range of views, but it is often praised as a compassionate, witty examination of the generation gap. It was long difficult to release on home video due to music rights, but Blu-ray editions appeared in 2011.