Sidney Young (Simon Pegg) is a down-on-his-luck journalist with an ego to rival Piers Morgan's. Thanks to a stunt involving a pig and a glitzy awards ceremony, Sidney turns his fortunes around, attracting the attention of Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges), editor of New York-based glossy mag 'Sharps', and landing the holy grail of journalism jobs. The far-from-foppish Brit jets off to the Big Apple and, seduced by the high-flying, celebritychasing lifestyle, moves from one blunder to the next.
Inspired by Toby Young's mishap-laden memoirs of his time at Vanity Fair, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is a testosterone-fuelled The Devil Wears Prada.
The deftly handled comedy moves from slapstick-Sidney hiring a stripper on Take Your Daughters to Work Day - to lines loaded with acerbic wit, dissecting an industry that trades in the shallow and superficial along the way. The film also marks Simon Pegg's continued ascension through the Hollywood ranks. Even when portraying a pretentious prat, the Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead star keeps viewers on side thanks to his affable charm. Also impressing are the offensively good-looking Megan Fox as a sexy starlet and Gillian Anderson as a poisonous publicist. Although a romantic subplot involving Kirsten Dunst blunts a little of its sharpness, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is a satisfying satire.
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is a Film programme that first aired in 2008 and has been classified a 15 certificate.
