Jared J. H. CatapanoHow to Lose Friends and Alienate People
December 13th 2008 23:29
Robert Weide you may know from his directions of many episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Though not one of my favorite comedy shows, it’s worth noting his experience in the field. His film is one that will likely satisfy your expectations. As long as you don’t go in looking for previous over-the-top Simon Pegg films such as ‘Shaun of the Dead’ or ‘Hot Fuzz,’ you’ll be pleased. As a fan of Pegg’s work, I enjoyed his comedic performance. He plays an underground London journalist given the chance of a lifetime to work for a big shot magazine head in the States [Jeff Bridges] who sees his own youth and hopefulness in Pegg. A myriad of conflicts arise for his character from dealing with the radically different American movie stars to wanting to continue his own ‘hard-hitting facts’ journalistic style.
The movie opens at an awards ceremony where Pegg is at a table with Megan Fox’s character. She plays an excruciatingly dense actress bent on movie stardom and little else. As a sidenote, I am not at all a fan of her most recent plastic surgery. When she came on film I barely recognized her and, frankly, didn’t like what I saw. Moving right along, Pegg goes on to explain how his life ‘didn’t used to be like this.’ From there, we watch the series of events that lead his character to an Armani tuxedo with a beautiful actress. It’s a classic tale of wondering whether to stay true to yourself or do the what needs doing in order to climb your way to the top. The underlying storyline includes both Fox and Dunst. Pegg needs to decide whether he wants the cheap thrill or the meaningful relationship. The other plot points I will not spoil for you, but the road blocks are many.
There are plenty of laughs to make Pegg’s character enjoyable and his story even more fun to see what is around the next corner. Again, this movie is not by any means Oscar worthy, but it’s worth a good chuckle. Besides, what’s funnier than an out of place Brit in the throws of New York City living? I can think of few. For the most part, Pegg steals the show. His comedic delivery parallels many contemporary British comics, which I can never get enough of. Once again, I think this is a rental. Not necessarily worth spending the money in the theater unless you want to go with a bunch of your friends and have a good time. Otherwise, save this for Netflix.
The movie opens at an awards ceremony where Pegg is at a table with Megan Fox’s character. She plays an excruciatingly dense actress bent on movie stardom and little else. As a sidenote, I am not at all a fan of her most recent plastic surgery. When she came on film I barely recognized her and, frankly, didn’t like what I saw. Moving right along, Pegg goes on to explain how his life ‘didn’t used to be like this.’ From there, we watch the series of events that lead his character to an Armani tuxedo with a beautiful actress. It’s a classic tale of wondering whether to stay true to yourself or do the what needs doing in order to climb your way to the top. The underlying storyline includes both Fox and Dunst. Pegg needs to decide whether he wants the cheap thrill or the meaningful relationship. The other plot points I will not spoil for you, but the road blocks are many.
There are plenty of laughs to make Pegg’s character enjoyable and his story even more fun to see what is around the next corner. Again, this movie is not by any means Oscar worthy, but it’s worth a good chuckle. Besides, what’s funnier than an out of place Brit in the throws of New York City living? I can think of few. For the most part, Pegg steals the show. His comedic delivery parallels many contemporary British comics, which I can never get enough of. Once again, I think this is a rental. Not necessarily worth spending the money in the theater unless you want to go with a bunch of your friends and have a good time. Otherwise, save this for Netflix.
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