How To
Lose Friends & Alienate People
“A
hilariously funny and interesting film
set
in
the world of celebrity,
this smash
hit comedy —
How To Lose Friends
&
Alienate
People —
is one of the high-
lights of 2009’s
DVD releases...”
YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED with the brilliant comedy How To Lose
Friends & Alienate People because it is not only a very witty and funny
film but it is also a fascinating insight into the world of celebrity.
Sidney Young (the award-winning and wholly magnificent Simon Pegg: Hot Fuzz,
Shaun Of The Dead) is the socially-inept Editor of the Post Modern Review
celebrity magazine that is chaotically run from his London flat above a kebab
shop.
Thwarted in his attempts to mingle with celebrities at film premieres by a "Clipboard
Nazi" (aggressively played by Felicity Montagu), Sidney is ecstatic to be offered
a bottom-rung position with the prestigious American celebrity publication Sharps
magazine.
Arriving in New York he finds his apartment resembles his tatty London flat,
but he firmly believes that he will find fame and success as a promising journalist
and that beautiful girls will fall at his feet. However, the reality is far
removed from his dreams and Sidney is soon put in his place by big boss Clayton
Harding (ferociously played by Jeff Bridges: Iron Man) and fellow worker
Alison Olsen (the sweet Kirsten Dunst: Spider-Man Trilogy).
Having already failed in the charm school with Thandie Newton (playing herself
in a delightful guest-starring role) while gate-crashing a Sharps party
at the Haymarket Hotel in London — would you really take a little pig called
Britney to a hotel or try to dine out on being evicted by Clint Eastwood who
has you in a relentless headlock? — Sidney finds that his bad manners and
vulgar pranks are also causing him to become a pariah in New York. Women cross
the room to avoid him; he is an embarrassment to his colleagues — and he
is every publicist's worst nightmare.
As his position in America and with the 'in crowd' begins to look more precarious
and his mishaps become major disasters, it finally dawns on Sidney that he needs
to have a personality make-over if he is to achieve his wildest ambition —
to get up close and personal with gorgeous starlet Sophie Maes (a suitably-pouty
Megan Fox: Transformers), whose publicist Eleanor Johnson (the superb
Gillian Anderson: The Last King Of Scotland) is anything but impressed
with Sidney's behaviour.
Simon Pegg excels in the humour department, leading a terrific all-star cast
in this hilarious gambol through life surrounding a respected celebrity magazine
— Toby Young's international best-selling novel How To Lose Friends
& Alienate People makes the transition to film (and subsequently DVD/Blu-ray)
absolutely fabulously.
Incidentally, be sure to watch the credits at the end or you'll miss the film-within-a-film.
Directed by Oscar-nominee Robert Weide (Curb Your Enthusiasm), How
To Lose Friends & Alienate People is a stark lesson in how not to
behave if you want to get 'in' with the 'in crowd'!
The film also features star performances from: Janette Scott as Sidney's mother;
the marvellous Miriam Margoyles as Mrs Kowalski; Danny Huston as Lawrence Maddox;
Bill Paterson as Richard Young; Max Minghella as Vincent LePak and Jefferson
Mays as Bill Nathanson. Director of Photography is Oliver Stapleton, BSc, and
Music is by David Arnold.
• How To Lose Friends & Alienate People
is a smash hit comedy that is a must-own for all comedy fans. The film comes
to DVD and Blu-ray on 16 March (2009) from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Single Disc DVD — RRP: £19.99 | Certificate: 15 | Running Time: Approximately
105 Minutes | Special Features: Commentary with Robert Weide and Simon Pegg
| Commentary with Robert Weide | Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary | Gag
Reel | Simon Pegg Blogs
Single Disc Blu-ray — RRP: £24.99 | Certificate: 15 | Sound: 5.1 Dolby
True HD TBC | Running Time: Approximately 109 Minutes | Special Features: Commentary
with Robert Weide and Simon Pegg | Commentary with Robert Weide | Deleted Scenes
with Optional Commentary | Gag Reel | Simon Pegg Blogs.
"Simon Pegg excels in the humour department, leading a terrific all-star cast
in this hilarious gambol through life surrounding a respected celebrity magazine
— Toby Young's international best-selling novel How To Lose Friends
& Alienate People makes the transition to film (and subsequently DVD/Blu-ray)
absolutely fabulously" — Maggie Woods, MotorBar
