HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE
HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE |
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When a struggling celebrity journalist gets the call from one of New York's biggest magazines, who is a mere Englishman to say no? | score 2 |
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| Cast Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Danny Huston, Jeff Bridges, Gillian Anderson Director Robert B. Weide Screenwriter Peter Straughan Country UK Rating / Running Time MA / 110 minutes Australian Release October 2008 Official Site (c) moviereview
2006-2008
ABN 72 775 390 361 |
London’s
Sidney Young (Simon Pegg) is a savage reporter whose satirical magazine
shakes celebrity by the scruff of the neck until ego begs for mercy. At
least, that’s what he tells himself. Reality is a different
story. Young’s zero-budget publication is on the verge of
collapse while he is as star-struck by the industry as any fawning
jobsworth. His capacity to get under the skin of stars and agents alike
keeps him off the red-carpet, not because of any erudite skill, but
because he’s a prat. So when Young gets the call from New
York’s biggest celebrity publication, he’s as shocked as
anyone. Shaking the magazine back to its satirical roots is just the
sort of challenge he was born for. Problem is, no one is listening -
not the publisher (Jeff Bridges), not his disagreeable manager (Danny
Huston), not Sidney’s winsome colleague (Kirsten Dunst). The opening salvos of Weide’s adaptation suggests that How To Lose Friends And Alienate People might rise above standard rom-com fare. It’s based on Toby Young’s fish-out-of-water memoirs but such hopes quickly evaporate, leaving Pegg to thrash around like said gasping fish until convention takes hold and he stops struggling. If The Devil Wears Prada shagged Run Fatboy Run, this would be their bastard child and given the limitations of the gene pool, hopes don’t run high. How much fun you’ll have rests entirely on how much enthusiasm you still contain for Pegg’s tiring routine and Dunst’s good looks. Yes they fall in love, but what else could they do? Meanwhile, the rest of the cast run on autopilot as the film plays out its brainless hand. Consider an early gag in which a pig urinates on a woman. It’s about as far from the harsh wit of Young’s book as slapstick can get, and the film stays there. // COLIN FRASER |