How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (film)

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How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
Directed by Robert B. Weide
Produced by Stephen Woolley
Elizabeth Karlsen
Written by Peter Straughan
Toby Young (memoir)
Starring Simon Pegg
Kirsten Dunst
Jeff Bridges
Megan Fox
Danny Huston
Gillian Anderson
Music by David Arnold
Cinematography Oliver Stapleton
Editing by David Freeman
Distributed by Channel Four Films (UK)
Paramount Pictures (UK/AUS)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (US)
Release date(s) October 3, 2008
Running time 110 min.
Country  United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $28 million[1]
Gross revenue $17,416,598 (worldwide)[2]

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is a 2008 comedy film based upon British writer Toby Young's 2001 memoir of the same name. The film follows a similar storyline, about his five year struggle to make it in the United States after employment at Sharps Magazine.[3] The names of the magazine and people Young came into contact with during the time were changed for the film adaptation. The film version (adapted by Peter Straughan) is a highly fictionalized account, and differs greatly from the work it was built upon. It was distributed in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and in the United Kingdom by Paramount Pictures and Channel Four Films (the former also distributed in Australia).

The film was directed by Robert B. Weide and stars Simon Pegg as Sidney Young, Kirsten Dunst as Alison Olsen, Jeff Bridges as Clayton Harding, Danny Huston as Lawrence Maddox, Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Johnson, and Megan Fox as Sophie Maes. The cast also includes Max Minghella and Margo Stilley. How to Lose Friends And Alienate People was released in both the United States and United Kingdom on October 3, 2008.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Sidney Young (Simon Pegg) is a smalltime, aspiring British journalist who works for a left-wing radical magazine. Following an incident at a party where Sidney accidentally lets a pig loose he is hired to work for upscale magazine in New York City. He is hired by Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges), editor of Sharps magazine, a man Sidney had previously lampooned in his own magazine.

Sidney annoys the staff he works with, first Alison Olsen (Kirsten Dunst), who is only there to pay the bills whilst she finishes her book, then his boss Lawrence Maddox (Danny Huston). He also dares to target the star clients of power publicist Eleanor Johnson (Gillian Anderson). He then meets new rising star Sophie Maes (Megan Fox) however he is told by Lawrence to not talk to her. Sidney makes it his mission to become something within the business, however, it is almost ruined when he accidentally kills Sophie's dog. Luckily, Alison covers for him and nobody else finds out it was him.

At a party, Alison and Sidney's relationship grows when she reveals she's just ended an affair with Lawrence. Sidney stops her from driving home drunk, causing him to miss his opportuinity to sleep with Sophie. At a later party, however, just when Sidney was about to ask her out, it is revealed Lawrence has left his wife and that he and Alison are offically together. In a desparate attempt to up his career, he begs Eleanor to publish a piece on Vincent, a director he truly hates.

The next day at work Clayton reveals that both Alison and Lawrence have left, and he promotes Sidney. Sidney finally becomes sucessful, getting all the girls that were digusted by him before and even catching the eye of Sophie. The night before the awards ceremony she stated that if he gave her his late mother's ring and she won best actress, she would have sex with him. Going to the ceremony the next day he sees Lawrence, now being someone he used to be, stating that he and Alison split as she was in love with him. When the winner is revealed, he steals back his mother's ring from Sophie as she is about to collect her award, and revealing that he killed her dog. A huge fight ensues and Sidney leaves, quiting his job at 'Sharps' and heading to New York.

He meets Alison in the park, where they were showing her favourite movie. She has finished her book and the two finally get together, with him giving her his mother's ring. The movie ends with him accidentally throwing the book onto a candle and jumping for it to stop it from going into flames.

[edit] Cast

  • Simon Pegg as Sidney Young: based upon Toby Young as he is portrayed in the memoir.
  • Kirsten Dunst as Alison Olsen: Young's colleague and eventual love interest.
  • Jeff Bridges as Clayton Harding: Young's magazine editor who is loosely based on Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair.[1]
  • Danny Huston as Lawrence Maddox: Young's direct boss.
  • Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Johnson: the publicist pulling all the strings. Eleanor is loosely based on Nadine Johnson, a high powered publicist in New York City.
  • Megan Fox as Sophie Maes: a budding starlet and the object of Young's lust.

[edit] Production

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is an independent film, and was described as "a testosterone-laced [The] Devil Wears Prada."[1]

In 2006, Simon Pegg was announced as the lead,[4] Kirsten Dunst was revealed to appear in the film in late April 2007,[5] and in May 2007, Jeff Bridges and Gillian Anderson were added.[6]

Toby Young, who wrote the memoir, was banned from the set because he was distracting the cast and crew.[7] He does appear in the film though.

Metro Station's song "Shake It" and Phantom Planet's song "Do The Panic" were used in the trailer.

Margo Stilley, of 9 Songs fame, makes an appearance.

[edit] Box office

The film opened as one of the UK's box office number one films, taking the equivalent of US$7,055,425 during its run there. It took the equivalent of US$2,927,210 in Russia and the equivalent of US$1,963,356 in Australia.[8] In the United States and Canada, the film grossed the equivalent of just US$2,778,242.

The total worldwide gross was about US$17.3 million, forty percent less than the production budget.[2]

[edit] Reviews

The Spectator called the film "fun" but said it "yaps around the ankles of its subject without ever moving in for a decent-sized, satisfying bite."[9] The Sunday Times said the film "has more laughs than any British comedy to appear over the past decade."[10]

In the U.S., Roger Ebert called it "possibly the best movie that could be made about Toby Young that isn't rated NC-17" and gave it 3½ out of 4 stars.[11]

Overall the film has received negative reviews. It currently holds a 37 percent "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c McGee, Celia (2007-10-14). "Sweet Smell of Revenge (Screen Version)". nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/movies/14mcge.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=arts&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. 
  2. ^ a b How to Lose Friends & Alienate People at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ Landesman, Cosmo (2008-10-05). "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People". The Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/film_reviews/article4867613.ece. Retrieved on 2008-10-05. 
  4. ^ "Simon Pegg Is Toby Young". empireonline.com. 2006-09-18. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?nid=19321. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. 
  5. ^ "Blonde On Blonde, Dunst joins Pegg for journo comedy...". empireonline.com. 2007-04-23. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=20634. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. 
  6. ^ "Pegg Makes Friends, Big names join journo flick...". empireonline.com. 2007-05-13. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?nid=20724. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. 
  7. ^ Young, Toby (03-09-08). "Why Kirsten Dunst banned me from the set of the film about my life". The Spectator. http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/columnists/2057881/status-anxiety.thtml. Retrieved on 30-03-09. 
  8. ^ International Box Office from Box Office Mojo
  9. ^ Losing is the new winning from a 1 October 2008 review in The Spectator
  10. ^ How to Lose Friends & Alienate People makes a big star of Simon Pegg, an October 5, 2008 review from The Sunday Times
  11. ^ Review of How to Lose Friends & Alienate People by Roger Ebert

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Tropic Thunder		 Box office number-one films of 2008 (UK)
October 5		 Succeeded by
The House Bunny
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Lose_Friends_%26_Alienate_People_(film)"
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