Review: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People starring Simon Pegg—and some surprising actors in the cast—was recently added to Amazon Prime’s New Releases.

After flipping channels last weekend and bored with most of the listings, we decided to watch this movie.

We like Simon Pegg’s “every man” persona. You know the guy who attempts to take charge of his life and always manages to screw it up.

He’s played this character in several movies such as Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007).

In fact, both of those movies were before this 2008 film.

After this flick, he hit the land of steady paycheck with the role of Mr. Scott on the 2009 Star Trek reboot.

He’s appeared in the other Star Trek features, and, unless they decide to kill him off for some reason, he’ll continue ringing that galactic cash register until the franchise goes belly up.

(Honestly, the second Star Trek in this particular franchise was, well, awful. Absurd story. Hey, don’t throw stones. Everyone’s entitled to her own opinion.)

About the Movie

Released in the U.S. in October 2008, the movie is about Sidney Young, a down-on-his-luck journalist. Thanks to a stunt to get through the velvet rope at a red carpet event, he attracts the attention of the editor of a New York-based glossy magazine.

Unbelievably, he lands a journalism job others would kill for. He arrives in the Big Apple and careens from one hilarious blunder to another before somehow breaking in. the next.

The Cast

Directed by Robert B. Weide with a screenplay by Peter Straughan from Toby Young‘s autobiographical account of his years at Vanity Fair, the stellar cast shines in this movie that will probably draw guffaws from most who view it.

• Simon Pegg as Sidney Young
• Kirsten Dunst as Alison Olsen
• Jeff Bridges as editor Clayton Harding
• Danny Huston as Lawrence Maddox
• Megan Fox as sex starlet Sophie Maes
• Gillian Anderson as soulless agent Eleanor Johnson
• Thandie Newton as herself.

My Thoughts

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is an unapologetic view of “Follywood” and the superficial characters who inhabit the movie industry.

There are some scenes and lines of dialogue that are hysterically funny. In fact, the very idea of the movie Megan Fox’s character starred in and wins an Oscar far is ludicrous.

You’ll do an eye roll and snort a laugh. That whole bit will make you want to say, “Only in Hollywood.”

There’s also some surprising emotional depth to Pegg’s character that reveals home truths too many of the movers and shakers in the movie—and in the real world—have forgotten.

Takeaway Truth

This film is definitely worth watching. If you’re not a Prime subscriber, you can still watch this acerbically witty film. Click here to rent or buy. Enjoy!