Product Details

• Actors: Simon Pegg, Megan Fox, Kirsten Dunst
• Directors: Robert B. Weide
• Writers: Peter Straughan
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed: French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: February 17, 2009
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001OFFRQ2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,045 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Review

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People may just be the first true British film--and a splendid one at that--to be set on American soil. The fearless actor Simon Pegg plays Sidney Young, a Fleet Street hatchet writer tapped to come to the States to join the literati, and glitterati, at a big, fat, glossy magazine--every resemblance of which to Vanity Fair is strictly intentional. Sidney is possibly the most annoying man in the Western world, tilting at nonexistent windmills. His character calls to mind many of the hapless charmers played by Hugh Grant--but Pegg, without Grant's raffish good looks, comes across as simply hapless. Which is perfect casting, since Sidney is supposed to be enormously aggravating, especially when he first lands in New York. In his first few days in the city, Sidney puts off the first magazine colleague he met (Kirsten Dunst, in a top-flight comic turn), wears a wildly inappropriate T-shirt on his first day of work, spritzes fast food onto the designer white suit of a relative of the publisher, and picks up a tranny hooker. And things go downhill from there. On his first magazine assignment, Sidney, checking captions for a photo page, calls a powerful publicist. "Is he the fat one?" Sidney asks the publicist about one of her clients. Silence. "Well, is he the one with the wonky eye, then?" Pegg is a scream as Sidney, playing quite a different role than his starring one in Shaun of the Dead. Dunst is delicate but steely, and her comedic timing, under the deft direction of Robert B. Weide (Curb Your Enthusiasm), is spot on. Great supporting work, too, by editor Jeff Bridges, whose enthrallment to the power elite, and silver mane, channel Graydon Carter; by Gillian Anderson, as a take-no-prisoners publicist; and by Megan Fox, a starlet cast as a bosom-heaving Mother Teresa. Sidney, and the film, will win you over, with a lot of laughter along the way.--A.T. Hurley --Amazon.co.uk Review

Product Description

Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) stars as Sidney Young, a gate-crashing British journalist who loves exposing the shallowness of the celebrity world, yet desperately wants to join it. When he accepts an offer from renowned editor Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges) to write for an ultra-chic magazine in Manhattan, Sidney finally gets to rub elbows with A-list celebrities but always manages to rub them the wrong way. His fellow writer, Alison Olsen (Kirsten Dunst), is powerless to stop Sidney when he sets his lustful sites on beautiful starlet Sophie Maes (Megan Fox). But when Sophie's publicist (Gillian Anderson) makes him a tempting offer, Sidney is finally poised to conquer the Big Apple or suffer the biggest humiliation of his life.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining film, even if the DVD isn't packed with extras February 17, 2009

By E. T. Crane

Format:DVD

I missed this in the theaters, even though my girlfriend and I are huge Simon Pegg fans. Unfortunately the way it was marketed when released made me think it was a romantic comedy / follow-up to the Devil Wears Prada. I also had no idea that Simon Pegg was the film's lead (which would have been a driving factor to get me into the theater). With that said, I really enjoyed the overall feel of the film and found it far more entertaining than Run Fatboy Run, a film which didn't allow Pegg to do what he does best ... which is be damn funny.

While not in the same genre of films that Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead blazed into, this film is a nice balance between a mild romantic comedy and some stinging satire regarding the ridiculous relationship between print media and Hollywood's elite. It's definitely worth watching for Pegg's performance, and Kirsten Dunst is far more likeable here than in the latest Spider-man film, playing a more complex and human character than MJ part trois.

In regards to the low rating the film is currently seeing on Amazon, I can only say that it's disappointing the film didn't do well in theaters, but regardless of the lack of extras and tomfoolery going on with MGM's home entertainment management, it's a shame that people are rating the film so poorly. Unfortunately, if people just see the listing for this film with a paltry two stars and don't go on to read the reviews they'll miss out on a refreshing and entertaining comedy starring one of England's funniest, freshest and most talented actors.

On a side note, I'm continually impressed with the range of actor Jeff Bridges' in his portrayal of various characters in his many film roles. His turn as the villain in Iron Man was memorable and I found his portrayal of media mogul Clayton Harding to be entertaining and an excellent compliment to Pegg's hilarious Sidney Young. Definitely worth your time to rent and perhaps even own if MGM gets smart about releasing a revision of the DVD with proper extras (or how bout a Blu-ray edition MGM ... I'm sure we'd all eat that right up!)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars THERE IS SOMETHING VERY DAMAGED ABOUT YOU July 10, 2012

By Michael TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

Simon Pegg stars as Sidney Young, a hack writer with a British celebrity magazine whose only desire is to be with the people he trashes in his columns. Clayton (Jeff Bridges) is the successful editor of New York celebrity magazine. He offers Sidney a job which he accepts. Sidney quickly discovers he is way out of his league and if he doesn't shape up he will lose his job. Kirsten Dunst plays Simon's boss who sees him as a zero and would like to see him fail. Meagan Fox plays an actress that Simon would like to get close to at any cost.

Simon can do no right, sort of an obnoxious Mr. Bean. However as the story progresses we discover that Simon isn't as shallow as our first impression. His turn around and redemption is what turns this film from a romp to a heart warming tale.

PARENTAL GUIDE: F-bomb, no sex, nudity (Margo Stilley)

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars REALLY ENTERTAINING FILM WITH SIMON PEGG October 3, 2009

By fmwaalex VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE

I am a huge Simon Pegg fan as most people probably are now days; come on all of his stuff has been great. I remember seeing the previews for this and thinking "all right here is his forte into mainstream movies". Now I knew that could go one of two ways, those of course being bad or good. Thankfully this while not his best film is really good and that is mainly because of Mr. Pegg himself. I know what you are saying "of course he is good in it" and I know that but I felt the need to say it, so get off my back.

The film follows an off the wall writer named Sidney Young [Pegg] as he goes from wanting to be in the "it" crowd to actually being there. The thing about it though is that what got him to the dance just might be the one thing he has to give up in order to be successful. Writing for a small magazine that trashes the stars [or at least he does] over in the UK, he is offered a job in the US by his hero in the biz Clayton Harding [Jeff Bridges]. Once there the hero he looked up to is looking more and more like a sell out and after meeting Sophie Maes [Megan Fox] he just might do the same. The only real person at least in his eyes is Alison Olsen [Kirsten Dunst], so he tends to hang around her while wanting Sophie.

This film based on a book by Toby Young is well handled under the direction of Robert Weide. The film is well paced even though it is a bit long which may be it's only down fall, the only one I guess. Written for the screen by Peter Straughan and acted out well by the entire cast this film is really entertaining. The film has laugh out loud moments but it is much more of a wittier humor or subtle type if that makes sense. Still I find the film to be very entertaining and found the cast to be real fun to watch.

Simon Pegg is excellent as the lead in this film and it was cool to see him in this type of role, in fact he should do more of these. Kirsten Dunst is great as well in this film and gives one of the better performances. Jeff Bridges is great as usual and Megan Fox does a good job as well as does the rest of the cast. Like I said this is not the best film ever and is not even Pegg's best film, but it is still a very entertaining flick. I recommend this film to any one reading this if only a rental that is fine, I bought it.