How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is the story of Sidney Young (Simon Pegg), publisher of a small celebrity rag in the UK. The stories that he writes are all in a witty and sarcastic tone as he takes celebrity culture to task, as much as one can in his limited position. On top of his "unique" brand of humor, he is saddled with, shall we say, questionable social skills, evidenced by his attempts to get beyond the velvet ropes and into the celeb parties.
Now, I am sure you can tell exactly how this is going to go and you would be right. The plot is set up as your traditional romantic comedy, nothing new, but it is a good movie and well worth your time. Why? It is because of the supporting material. This movie is all about the window dressing and it is when the film steps away from the romantic thread that it fires on all cylinders.
The screenplay, from Peter Straughan, takes aim at celebrity culture and takes it down a peg or to. It seeks to point out the problems with the culture and the way it is celebrated. The story looks at the fine line that is drawn between the critic and
I think it is the moment he lost his faith that my liking of this film was sealed. It is a subtle, blink and you miss it moment that has a profound effect on Sidney Young. To this point the screenplay was clever and better than I was expecting, so I was well on my way to liking it, but then this happens and I was completely sold. I so want to tell you what it is, but I have to bite my tongue and let you see it for yourself.
Simon Pegg is also a bonus, although his name recognition probably hurt the film in the long run, much like Ricky Gervais and Ghost Town. While both men are funny and good at what they do, American audiences are not as familiar with them, although you would think Pegg would be a little further up the ladder having the cult success of Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Whatever the case, it does not change the fact that he is a funny guy and has this ability to be completely serious while being in these ridiculous situations. The man is a breath of fresh air and I hope he gets more opportunities (well, he is in the new Star Trek film).
Director Robert B. Weide makes his big screen debut in fine fashion, coming from his successful run on Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm. I cannot say his style is distinctive, but it does not detract from the experience. The Hollywood skewering seems to fit right in with the Curb material.
Bottomline. Much better than I was expecting; although I do find it humorous that a film that targets Hollywood and celebrity, it easily slips into the romantic cliches of the genre. Or was that meant to be ironic? In any case, the movie is quite smart, funny, and well worth checking out if you have the opportunity.
Recommended.
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