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Films on the to-do list

  • Armageddon Time
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How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)

Film review: How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008), directed by Robert B Weide

Working in a very small magazine in London, Sidney Young (Simon Pegg) has great ambitions in this life. He wants to be a great entertainment journalist, but he’s just not getting invited to those kind of parties. Much to his surprise, after publishing a snarky piece about Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges), editor of a very big and very successful and very glossy celebrity magazine in America, that very same person phones up and offers him a job. In New York!

Living in a run-down apartment building with a Polish landlady (Miriam Margolyes, who is fantastic), life for Sidney turns out to not to be quite as great as he thought. His colleague Alison (Kirsten Dunst) doesn’t like him, and neither does her boss Maddox (Danny Huston). Nor do the celebrities or their managers, because Sidney’s writing style leaves a little to be desired. It’s not as commercially viable as it is snarky.

What’s a man with a degree in philosophy, and whose dad (Bill Paterson) is a famous philosophical writer, to do? Sidney would love to get to know new superstar Sophie Maes (Megan Fox) better, but her manager (Gillian Anderson, mwah!) tends to get in the way and not let him. You just keep trying, right? Anything is possible.

With cameos by movie stars like Thandie Newton (as herself) and comedians Chris O’Dowd (The IT Crowd, The Crimson Petal and the White) and James Corden (err, he’s in everything, everywhere?), How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is a moderately funny story about a right prick who deep down inside somewhere is actually a nice guy who cares about people. The wrong people, granted, but that’s a lesson learned.

If you enjoy fish-out-of-water stories, Simon Pegg (well, he is a very funny man) or any of the other actors, this is an entertaining film to watch. Megan Fox might possibly do better playing a caricature of herself than actually playing serious roles. Loved seeing Gillian Anderson, of course, she’s so much more than just The X-Files.

As a film, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People probably won’t bowl anyone over with hilarity, but it’s good for a chuckle or two, and the nods to The Big Lebowski were appreciated (Alison’s boyfriend’s favourite drink is White Russian, as well as calling the Polish landlady “Lebowski” by mistake the first time) … although admittedly, The Big Lebowski is a film you can get more mileage out of.

3 out of 5 unfinished novels.

Traxy

An easily distracted and over-excited introvert who never learns to go to bed at a reasonable time. Enjoys traveling (when there's not a plague on), and taking photos of European architecture. Cares for cats, good coffee and Boardwalk Empire. A child of her time, she did media studies in school and still can't decide what she wants to be when she grows up.

2 thoughts on “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)

  1. I’ve never heard of this movie but the premise is one I like and it sounds fun. Will have to see whether NetFlix has it. I just love your movie reviews, btw.

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