Review: How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)

Just a couple of weeks ago, me and the other half were talking about The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy and it reminded me of how much I actually love Simon Pegg as an actor. I sort of forget about him and then when I see him in something, I'm reminded of how great he is. It's now turned into a bit of a game to try and watch all of his films. So, we sat down last weekend and watched How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is based on a memoir written by Toby Young. The film tells the story of Sidney Young (Simon Pegg), who runs an alternative magazine in Britain called Post Modern Review. It pokes fun at celebrities who are media obsessed, and strays away from trends. One morning Sidney gets a call from the editor of Sharps magazine (Jeff Bridges), possibly Post Modern Review's biggest threat. Sidney is offered a job there and he leaps at the opportunity, leaving his old life behind and starting fresh in New York. When he arrives he meets Alison (Kirsten Dunst) and the rest, well, you'll have to watch it to find out.

I was a little apprehensive about this film at first, I mean, Simon Pegg as the lead role in a romantic comedy?  It didn't really make much sense. However, that crazy opening scene with him, James Corden and Chris O'Dowd just dissolved those thoughts instantly. It just gave me that warm, British comedy fuzzy feeling!

However, once it all moved to New York, I really felt that the film lost its charm a bit. I wish I could elaborate further on this, but honestly it was just a weird vibe I got. It might have had something to do with Megan Fox's character, who irritated me immensely. I could never call myself a fan of Megan Fox anyway, but honestly I wanted to scream at the TV whenever Sidney showed any kind of interest towards her.

Again, I'm not a massive Kirsten Dunst fan either, but I liked her in this and I rooted for her to the bitter end. Jeff Bridges was brilliant, as always. I actually refused to believe that it was him when I saw his character, because I don't think I've ever seen him without a beard! Another acting highlight for me was Gillian Anderson, who admittedly I have only ever seen in the BBC show The Fall. She really stole the limelight in her scenes and was a truly interesting character to watch.

Simon Pegg was the ultimate highlight though, who completely proved me wrong and absolutely nailed his part. His character really developed throughout the film, and although he made some terrible choices that you wanted to shout at him for, he learnt his lesson and got everything that he deserved, both good and bad.

So in conclusion, this was an interesting but totally obvious story. It would have been a really forgettable film if it weren't for the cast, who were excellent minus Megan Fox. In fact, without her, it may have even been a great film. Sorry Megan.