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How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

Play trailer Poster for How to Lose Friends & Alienate People R 2008 1h 49m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
35% Tomatometer 109 Reviews 42% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Sidney Young is a down-on-his-luck journalist. Thanks to a stint involving a pig and a glitzy awards ceremony, Sidney turns his fortunes around, attracting the attention of Clayton Harding, editor of New York-based glossy magazine Sharps, and landing the holy grail of journalism jobs. The Brit jets off to the Big Apple and moves from one blunder to the next.
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A decent performance from Pegg in a disappointing film. Neither sharp nor satirical, Weide's adaptation relies too heavily on slapstick, and misses the point of the source material in the process.

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Critics Reviews

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Deborah Ross The Spectator Aug 23, 2018
This is a fun movie but... it yaps around the ankles of its subject without ever moving in for a decent-sized, satisfying bite. Go to Full Review
David Stratton The Australian Oct 31, 2008
3.5/5
I'm told that several of these characters are easily recognisable to insiders, but outside that small coterie there's still a great deal to enjoy about Sidney's fish-out-of-water exploits. Go to Full Review
Jim Schembri The Age (Australia) Oct 24, 2008
3/5
Weide bypasses the impulse to push the film at the usual breakneck comedy movie pace, allowing the conflicts to build slowly and with more thought than the film's premise might otherwise suggest. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Dec 6, 2023
3/4
Comedies like this are rare for offering tangible characters we care about and comedy that affixes some significance to our periodic need for base humor. Go to Full Review
Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Nov 28, 2020
4/10
Repetition is the ultimate enemy here. Go to Full Review
Brian D. Johnson Maclean's Magazine Dec 16, 2017
You'd expect something better from Robert B. Weide. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Huntin P @PaxVobiscum80 3 days ago Underrated comedy. I read the book subsequently and enjoyed that too. The one does not supplant or compromise the other. Both are enjoyable in their own right. I love the fact that Sidney (Pegg) goes to New York and just carries on being himself for so long, regardless of other's opinions. He just can't help himself, and why should he? His foolishness is endearing, not exasperating. I grew up in an era when Anglo-American crossover was totally cringe-inducing. This time it's mostly hilarious. Quite honestly I'd rather watch this than The Devil Wears Prada. You could say that H2LF&AP is the Prada movie but for geezers, not girlies. See more thiago S @Thiagostone Mar 19, 2026 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more john h @RT11274104 Jun 1, 2025 A good enough film to be labeled as a great but divisive laugher. Simon Pegg plays the arrogant, clever Sidney Young in an interesting comedy night watch that will make you maintain a smile whenever Pegg enters the frame. See more Blu B @RT43513976 Feb 13, 2025 It's alright enough but man does it take freakin forever for something to actually happen. Like well over an hour into the runtime before it finally decides to do something with all the sideplots it's setting up so jumpy and sloppy. It gets super unfocused once he arrives in NYC. Trying to mkae his way into the stars, his thing with Megan Fox, relationship with Dunst, his father, dumb random gags and it just is so messy with how it presents it and goes nowhere until the last like 20 minutes. It's pretty predictable in that sense. The editing and pacing really aren't that good and are the main issue. Acting though is what saves this from being a complete trainwreck. The cast is stacked and Dunst & Pegg are great and have chemistry and charm. Supporting cast isn't bad either. Everything else is just alright here. There is a good idea underneath all this but it just takes way too long and does it so sloppy and the end result is what you;d expect for better ot worse. And the final big issue is the humor is just flat 90% of the time. It's not terrible but it just isn't really clever. Unless your a super hardcore fan of any actor in this I'd say most should skip this. See more Tongue L @RT12192009 Jun 3, 2024 This movie is hilarious! I have watched this movie many times, and each time I still laugh. It is in my top 10 for Comedy. Such an underrated movie. Great cast and lots of laughs! Recommend watching it. See more Vaughan C @RT89929192 Nov 19, 2023 How to Lose Credibility & Alienate an Audience. Everyone in the cast seems to be in on the joke but nobody knows what it is. So they pretend. Avoid at all costs. See more Read all reviews
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

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Movie Info

Synopsis Sidney Young is a down-on-his-luck journalist. Thanks to a stint involving a pig and a glitzy awards ceremony, Sidney turns his fortunes around, attracting the attention of Clayton Harding, editor of New York-based glossy magazine Sharps, and landing the holy grail of journalism jobs. The Brit jets off to the Big Apple and moves from one blunder to the next.
Director
Robert B. Weide
Producer
Stephen Woolley, Elizabeth Karlsen
Screenwriter
Peter Straughan
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Film 4, Intandem Films, Number 9 Films
Rating
R (Graphic Nudity|Brief Drug Material|Language)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 3, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 21, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.8M
Runtime
1h 49m
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