Directed by Robert B. WeideBased on a book by Toby Young
Written by Peter Straughan
Starring: Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges, Megan Fox, Danny Huston, and Gillian Anderson
Release year: 2008
IMDB rating: 6.9
Based on the memoir of Toby Young with the same title, How To Lose Friends and Alienate People is about Sidney Young, a smalltime British journalist that covers celebrities. After crashing a party, he was offered a job in New York by Clayton Harding, owner of the Sharps magazine, who happens to be Sidney’s idol. At Sharps, Sidney was put under Lawrence Maddox and also met Alison Olsen. However, since his arrival at Sharps, Sidney finds nothing but troubles and the only friends he got were Alison and Clayton himself that sees his young self in Sidney.
I enjoy every bit of this movie, from the story (although a bit slow at first) and the acting. The casts were great. For the same genre with Yes Man, this movie is more balanced. Simon Pegg didn’t swallow the entire attention, because somehow Kirsten Dunst was also pretty good in catching the attention. Jeff Bridges and Gillian Anderson, who didn’t get a lot of screentime, also played well. Weaker performances however, were probably came from Megan Fox and Danny Huston.
Just like Yes Man, this is also a romantic comedy, but with less emphasis on romance. There’s no serious theme here, but not all scenes were cheerful. There was a bit of drama when Sidney met his father and some scenes regarding the relationship between Sidney and Alison. This is why I called it a more balanced movie. The end was also predictable, so there’s nothing extra special to it.
For being an enjoyable movie to watch, I give it a 7.5.
Written by Peter Straughan
Starring: Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges, Megan Fox, Danny Huston, and Gillian Anderson
Release year: 2008
IMDB rating: 6.9
Based on the memoir of Toby Young with the same title, How To Lose Friends and Alienate People is about Sidney Young, a smalltime British journalist that covers celebrities. After crashing a party, he was offered a job in New York by Clayton Harding, owner of the Sharps magazine, who happens to be Sidney’s idol. At Sharps, Sidney was put under Lawrence Maddox and also met Alison Olsen. However, since his arrival at Sharps, Sidney finds nothing but troubles and the only friends he got were Alison and Clayton himself that sees his young self in Sidney.
I enjoy every bit of this movie, from the story (although a bit slow at first) and the acting. The casts were great. For the same genre with Yes Man, this movie is more balanced. Simon Pegg didn’t swallow the entire attention, because somehow Kirsten Dunst was also pretty good in catching the attention. Jeff Bridges and Gillian Anderson, who didn’t get a lot of screentime, also played well. Weaker performances however, were probably came from Megan Fox and Danny Huston.
Just like Yes Man, this is also a romantic comedy, but with less emphasis on romance. There’s no serious theme here, but not all scenes were cheerful. There was a bit of drama when Sidney met his father and some scenes regarding the relationship between Sidney and Alison. This is why I called it a more balanced movie. The end was also predictable, so there’s nothing extra special to it.
For being an enjoyable movie to watch, I give it a 7.5.
