In “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People,” you are introduced to an off-beat British writer, Sidney Young (Simon Pegg). Young has just received the opportunity to work for Sharps magazine, one of the premier celebrity magazines in New York City.
Young comes to find that his personality and writing style isn’t very well-liked at Sharps. In order to excel in the company he learns that he needs to conform to their ways and do things how they want him to, a definite change from Young’s personal journalism tactics.
He is introduced to Alison Olsen (Kirsten Dunst,) who immediately hates him but has no choice but to work with him. She is the cynical character who hates her life and takes it out on everyone else. Young’s perseverance and wittiness start to grow on her and she begins to open up to him more.
Along with his growing friendship with Olsen, Young meets a young starlet on the rise named Sophie Maes (Megan Fox). Young is taken by her beauty and attempts to win her heart through a series of failed, yet hysterical, attempts.
Lawrence Maddox (Danny Huston) gets in the way of Young’s attempts to win over Maes and Olsen. Maddox, who is married with children, is secretly dating Olsen, and two-timing with Maes and other miscellaneous women.
Young realizes that women in the industry want successful men and Maddox, who gets promoted, is the epitome of what women want. He decides to sell out and write stories promoting the celebrities he loathes.
Pegg gives the film his quirky, British sense of humor that not a lot of people can understand or appreciate. He makes the film a non-stop laugh riot. Fox on the other hand, plays her role very well, being the ditzy actress with all beauty and no brains. She is gorgeous to the eye, but her acting is sub par. Dunst, gives a great performance as well and there is a lot of character development with her in particular.
With no major stars in the film and a lack of promotion, “How to Lose Friends” tanked at the box office on opening weekend, but it was one of the better movies I’ve seen this year. The plot was different form what most movies focus on today and it really makes you want to root for the underdog.
3.5 out of 4 stars
Our View: A witty, off-beat comedy that will keep you laughing from start to finish
Summary: A quirky British writer lands the gig of a lifetime and goes through a comical series of obstacles to prove his worth.
