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How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
3 October 2008 (USA)
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Tagline:
Brace yourselves, America. more
Plot:
A British writer struggles to fit in at a high-profile magazine in New York. Based on Toby Young's memoir "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People". full summary | full synopsis
NewsDesk:
(11 articles)
DVD Playhouse--March 2009
(From The Hollywood Interview. 10 March 2009, 11:25 PM, PDT)
Huston's Sister-in-Law In Suicide Jump
(From WENN. 28 October 2008, 5:10 AM, PDT)
(From The Hollywood Interview. 10 March 2009, 11:25 PM, PDT)
Huston's Sister-in-Law In Suicide Jump
(From WENN. 28 October 2008, 5:10 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Pegg brings his great comedy to Sharpe story
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Kelan Pannell | ... | Young Sidney Young |
| Janette Scott | ... | Mrs. Young |
 | Simon Pegg | ... | Sidney Young |
 | Megan Fox | ... | Sophie Maes |
 | Gillian Anderson | ... | Eleanor Johnson |
| Kelly Jo Charge | ... | Apollo Awards Presenter |
| Christian Smith | ... | Apollo Awards Guest |
| Katherine Parkinson | ... | PR Woman |
| Felicity Montagu | ... | Clipboard Nazi |
 | Thandie Newton | ... | Apollo Awards Guest |
| John Lightbody | ... | Assistant Hotel Manager |
| Ian Bonar | ... | Post Modern Review Staff #1 |
| James Corden | ... | Post Modern Review Staff #2 |
| Fenella Woolgar | ... | Post Modern Review Staff #3 |
 | Chris O'Dowd | ... | Post Modern Review Staff #4 |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for language, some graphic nudity and brief drug material.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The book that the staffer was reading (Chris O'Dowd) in the scene where Clayton Harding calls is in fact the the novel How To Lose Friends And Alienate People, the book on which the film was based.
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Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the stately home, the band resumes playing after Sidney Young falls off the top of the stage's wooden frame. In a following shot facing the band, the keyboardist removes his right playing hand from the keyboard placing it in his lap with his left hand prior to the last keyboard chord being played.
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Quotes:
Sidney Young:
[to his father] You thought Brad Pitt was a cave in Yorkshire.
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Movie Connections:
References Rush Hour 3 (2007)
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Soundtrack:
For Reasons Unknown
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FAQ
Is there a scene after the credits?Is it based on actual events?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
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more (69 total)
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Sidney Young (Pegg) moves from England to New York to work for the popular magazine Sharpe's in a hope to live his dream lifestyle but struggles to make a lasting impression.
Based on Toby Young's book about survival in American business, this comedy drama received mixed views from critiques. Labelled as inconsistently funny but with charm by the actors, how to lose friends seemed as a run of the mill fish out of the pond make fun at another culture comedy, but it isn't.
This 2008 picture works on account of its actors and the simple yet sharp story. We start off in the past, then in the present and are working our way forwards to see how Young made his mark at one of America's top magazines.
Pegg (Hot Fuzz) is too likable for words. Whether it's hitting zombies with a cricket bat or showing his sidekick the nature of the law the English actor brings a charm and light heartedness to every scene. Here, when the scripting is good but far from his own standards, he brings a great deal of energy to the picture and he alone is worth watching for. His antics with "Babe 3" are unforgivable, simply breathtaking stuff as is his over exuberant dancing, but he pulls it off splendidly.
Bridges and Anderson do well at portraying the stereotypical magazine bosses where Dunst fits in nicely to the confused love interest. Megan Fox, who stole Transformers, reminds everyone she can act here with a funny hyperbole of a stereotype film star. The fact that her character Sophie Myles is starring in a picture about Mother Teresa is as laughable as her character's antics in the pool. To emphasize the point there is a dog, and Pegg rounds that off in true Brit style comedy, with a great little twist.
Though a British film there is an adaptation of American lifestyle for Young as he tries to fit in and we can see the different approaches to story telling. Young wants the down right dirty contrasted with the American professionalism. The inclusion of modern day tabloid stars will soon make this film dated but the concept of exploitation of film star's gives this edge.
Weide's first picture is not perfect. There are lapses in concentration as the plot becomes too soapy with an awkward obvious twist and there are too many characters to be necessary. The physical comedy can also be overdone. As a side note, the bloopers on the DVD are some of the finest you will ever see, which are almost half an hour long.
This comedy drama has Simon Pegg on shining form again and with the collective approach to story telling and sharp comedy, it is worth watching.