Leonard Maltin's 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen - Maltin, Leonard [37]
Even after quite some time, I still have pictures in my mind from this movie. Any film with that kind of staying power is worth seeing, it seems to me.
51. HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE
(2008)
Directed by Robert Weide
Screenplay by Peter Straughan
Based on the book by Toby Young
Actors:
SIMON PEGG
KIRSTEN DUNST
JEFF BRIDGES
DANNY HUSTON
GILLIAN ANDERSON
MEGAN FOX
MIRIAM MARGOLYES
BILL PATERSON
MAX MINGHELLA
DIANA KENT
THANDIE NEWTON
MARGO STILLEY
I think Simon Pegg is going to have a long and prosperous career; he’s a modern-day everyman with a gift for comedy. So far he’s made a smooth transition from cult figure on British TV (in such series as Spaced) to star and writer of cult movies (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) to leading man (Run, Fat Boy, Run), with a high-profile detour as Scotty in the latest Star Trek movie. But when How to Lose Friends & Alienate People came out in 2008, the fact that he wasn’t a household name, combined with the distributor’s obvious indifference to the movie, dealt it a death blow.
Critics were unkind, as well, but this is another instance where it seemed to me that they reviewed what the film wasn’t, or what they thought it should be, rather than what it was. In England, where Pegg is a star and the book on which the film was based was a bestseller, reviews were positive and the box office was strong.
Again, I can’t explain why other people didn’t like this comedy: I can only tell you that I did.
Toby Young’s cheeky memoir dealt with his experiences while working for Vanity Fair magazine. Peter Straughan’s screenplay uses the book as a starting point for a series of largely—though not wholly—fictional comedic and romantic misadventures that also take us inside the world of celebrity culture. (Having worked at Entertainment Tonight, I can tell you that much of this rang true to me.) The charm of the film derives from the fact that it’s rooted in reality but isn’t afraid to incorporate slapstick and silliness into the proceedings.
Simon Pegg plays Sidney Young, a gate-crashing British journalist whose audacity gets him a job working for eccentric editor Jeff Bridges at Sharp’s magazine in New York. The younger man reminds Bridges of himself when he was starting out, but Sidney is now in the big leagues and his bull-in-a-china-shop approach doesn’t go over well in the office, or at parties where the staff tries to chat up young stars and their publicists.
He gets off on the wrong foot with fellow worker Kirsten Dunst but, eventually, they form a kinship. The relationship is strained when Sidney goes overboard for a sexy starlet played by Megan Fox. But Sidney comes to learn that hobnobbing with the stars comes with a high price tag—if you value your integrity.
The cast is well chosen, top to bottom. Jeff Bridges is great fun to watch as the Graydon Carter prototype; he’s even made up to resemble the real-life Vanity Fair editor. Kirsten Dunst is quite likable in the best part she’s had in years. Danny Huston is excellent as a Sharp’s editor and celebrity sycophant, and Gillian Anderson is perfect as a publicist who wields her power like a royal scepter. There are also fine contributions from such expert character actors as Miriam Margolyes and Bill Paterson.
Director Robert Weide steers everyone on the right path in his feature-film debut, after an Emmy-winning career crafting documentaries on comedy icons from W. C. Fields to Lenny Bruce, and piloting Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm from its inception through its first five seasons. (Full disclosure: Bob is an old friend of mine. I really hoped I would like this movie and I’m happy to say I did.)
Any movie that makes repeated reference to La Dolce Vita is setting its sights above the rabble. But How to Lose Friends & Alienate People has something for everyone—enough lowbrow humor and sexy women to please the crowd and plenty