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Out to own on DVD and Blu-ray 16th March
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Imagine a cross between a blundering, English-gent interpretation of The Devil Wears Prada and Bean on holiday in the Big Apple, and you are about on course for a gloriously sardonic and hilarious ride of faux pas after faux pas. The film, inspired by Brit journalist Toby Young’s best-selling true story about his amazingly disastrous experiences working for Vanity Fair on the other side of the Pond, plays on the long-old miscommunication between us and the Yanks, as well as the ridiculously closely-regulated and ‘affected’ world of celebrity and ‘the business’. It’s both the awe and the absurdity of celebrity that keeps us all hooked as we buy yet another Heat or Hello! magazine. Therefore, picture one no-nonsense Brit journo, Sydney Young, played by the ever-impressive and talented Simon Pegg, ploughing head-first into the schmoozy glitz and falsities, and letting rip in the most gleefully irresponsible fashion. Sounds peachy, hey?
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Unlike real-life entertainment hack, Young, Pegg’s character, Sydney, is far more amicable and merely socially inept, accident-prone and far too eccentric for his new conservative New York work colleagues — a right rebel, considering his aristocratic background. The majority of Sydney’s actions are well-intentioned (in the competitive business sense) but just disasterously backfire. One such example is the reason he’s offered the job on Sparks magazine in the first place, after editor-in-chief, Clayton Harding (played by the wonderfully entertaining Jeff Bridges), finds his stunt of hiring a pig, supposedly the star of Babe that goes AWOL at a post-BAFTAs party, deliciously decedent. Another is the transsexual stripper incident on ‘Bring Your Daughter To Work’ day (a real-life event from Young’s book), after his sleazy and scheming boss, Lawrence Maddox (Danny Huston), nicks one of his editorial ideas and implies Sydney sexual harasses his female counterparts.
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Pegg is in his element as Sydney, navigating the American showbiz corridors of power and questioning all the injustice, backstabbing and a**e-kissing that goes on in the most awkward and British of fashions. None of it is fair play, he protests, in that true stiff-upper-lip style, refusing to budge from defending his corner. As every journo fears when corporate types try to snuff out creativity, individuality and innovation, Sydney’s skin begins to crawl as he’s stubbornly immersed further into ‘the publicity game’, sadly, discovering that to get ahead in his line of work means towing the line with manipulative PR guru, Eleanor Johnson, a Max Clifford-style character, played by the lovely Gillian Anderson. This casting seems a little odd to begin with, but Anderson’s subtle and dangerously persuasive manner as Eleanor shines though in her handling of the press and fledging starlet, Sophie Maes (played by the stunning Megan Fox), resulting in a believable portrayal a force to be reckoned with.
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Kirsten Dunst as downtrodden but ambitious, fellow journo, Alison Olsen, whom Sydney becomes romantically tied with, is suitably cast in the role as the dreamer and the frustrated writer. As Dunst always does with these ’smart cookie’ but fragile feminine roles, she makes them her own, so it’s difficult to distinguish Dunst’s personality from that of the character she plays, but this role is nothing exceptional in her CV. It’s Jeff Bridges as boss Clayton Harding who has the most fun, adopting the persona of two of his previous hit roles, Lebowski (The Dude) and Jack Lucas from The Fisher King. He’s highly entertaining to watch and, unfortunately, there are not more scenes between him and Sydney, but those that there are, are simply a delight!
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Tackling celebrity hype with a huge dollop of English cynicism, this is one smart, funny and utterly charming comedy-cum-romance that strips ‘the business’ bare and ridicules its helpless disciples in that grounded, quintessentially British manner.
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By Lisa Keddie
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Synopsis
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How To Lose Friends & Alienate People chronicles Sidney Young’s descent from promising journalist to dismal failure at New York’s most prestigious magazine. He cuts a swathe through Manhattan for all the wrong reasons and his bad manners and vulgar pranks lead to monumental mishaps with hilarious consequences, until finally and improbably he wins the heart of his true love.
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Film Facts
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Official UK site: http://www.paramountpictures.co.uk/howtolosefriends/
UK release date: Out to own on DVD and Blu-ray 16th March
Director: Robert B. Weide
Writers: Peter Straughan, Toby Young (book)
Cast: Simon Pegg (‘Sidney Young’), Kirsten Dunst (‘Alison Olsen’), Jeff Bridges (‘Clayton Harding’), Gillian Anderson (‘Eleanor Johnson’), Megan Fox (’Sophie Maes’)
UK Distributor: Paramount Pictures UK
Certificate: 15
Run-time: TBC
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Video on Real.com
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Trailer:
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NINE CLIPS:
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Cast Web Diaries 1 & 2:
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Cast Web Diary 3:
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Simon Pegg / Director Robert B. Weide:
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Premiere:
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Premiere Report:
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