Review of How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) by Jack T — 27 Mar 2011

Where the movie succeeds is in its sudden right turns, its willingness to kill a dog, always a bold choice, and its consistent emphasis of the comedy over the romance. 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. 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. Quite apart from the insights into the strange world of showbiz celebrities, the film is enjoyable for its often witty script and the thoroughly engaging characters.

VERDICT: "Full Price" - My second highest rating (Positive to Mixed reaction). This is a rating to a movie I view as very entertaining and well made, and definitely worth paying the full price at a theatre to see or own on DVD. It is not perfect, but it is definitely excellent.