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Back in London, Sidney Young (Simon Pegg) was a small-time hack, sneaking into events and writing snarky pieces about self-absorbed celebrities and their most embarrassing antics. But, surprisingly, someone took notice.
One day, Sidney gets a call from Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges), offering him a job at a glossy celebrity magazine in New York. Thrilled that he’s finally made it, Sidney packs his bags, eager to begin his fabulous new life.
Unfortunately, nothing goes as Sidney planned. He can’t seem to do anything right. Only one of his coworkers will talk to him—and even she doesn’t like him. Instead of writing sarcastic pieces on the most deserving of celebrities, he’s writing captions. And the only way he’ll be allowed to write about a celebrity is if he’s willing to let publicist Eleanor Johnson (Gillian Anderson) edit anything he writes.
More importantly, unless he sucks up to Eleanor and makes his way up through the ranks, he’ll never have a chance with gorgeous young starlet Sophie Maes (Megan Fox).
How to Lose Friends is more or less the male version of The Devil Wears Prada. In fact, the stories are strikingly similar: a clueless newbie takes a job at a top magazine in New York, where he/she manages to mess everything up while slowly losing his/her soul in the process.
There are some differences, though—especially since the main character in How to Lose Friends is a rather lecherous British man, as opposed to Anne Hathaway’s dowdy, diligent Andy, who’s only in it for the resume boost. And, as a result How to Lose Friends is much less refined—and more outrageously hilarious.
Really, though, it’s a relief that How to Lose Friends is so funny—because it could have been a mess. After all, Simon Pegg spends most of the movie accidentally (and sometimes not-so-accidentally) wreaking havoc on pretty much everything. He’s an awkward walking disaster. Still, even when he’s sending transsexual strippers to his boss’s office on Take Your Kids to Work Day, he manages to do it in the most lovable of ways. Sure, Sidney’s clueless and clumsy and often obnoxious—and sometimes his faux pas will make you cringe. But Pegg somehow pulls it off without making you hate his character.
But not only is Pegg good at playing a comic character; he also makes a pretty good romantic lead. He’s definitely not the conventional leading man—but, really, where’s the suspense in a chick flick starring Hugh Grant as the awkward but gorgeous Brit who’s trying really hard to get the girl? Is that really believable? No. But is it believable that awkward Brit Simon Pegg might need to rely on more than just his good looks to win the girl? Definitely. And he’s so lovably awkward that—as in Run Fat Boy Run—you’ll really want him to get the [right] girl.
So if you’re a guy who’s okay with a little romance in his outrageous comedy—or if you’re a girl who’s okay with a touch of crude humor in your chick flick—you’re sure to enjoy watching Simon Pegg Lose Friends and Alienate People.
DVD Review:
The DVD release of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is surprisingly light on extras—which is especially frustrating when you consider that the commentary tracks continually mention other features that don’t exist.
The DVD includes two commentary tracks: one with director Robert B. Weide and another with both Weide and star Simon Pegg. There’s some overlap, of course, but the Weide-and-Pegg track, especially, is often highly entertaining. The two of them tell all kinds of stories, frequently mentioning moments (or scenes) from the DVD’s deleted scenes and gag reel. And that sounds great, right? Sure it does—until you discover that there are no deleted scenes featured on the DVD, nor is there a gag reel. Believe me—I looked. Several times. And they’re just not there.
There is, however, a making-of feature, which includes plenty of entertaining interviews with the cast and crew (as well as author, critic, and sometimes Top Chef judge Toby Young).
Even though the DVD’s features aren’t particularly special (or plentiful), the movie itself is still worth watching. And, after doing so, if you have a few extra minutes to spare, I’d appreciate it if you’d take some time to look around for that missing gag reel. Please let me know if you happen to find it—because I’m dying to see it.
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