Directed by: Robert B. Weide
Written by: Peter Straughan & Toby Young
Starring: Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Megan Fox, Jeff Bridges
Having recently been experiencing the joys of “Spaced,” I was feeling a bit of the love for Simon Pegg before I even entered the theatre. As my favorite thing about “Run, Fatboy, Run” was the charm of Pegg himself, I fully expected “How to Lose” to be more of the same. The truth is I could watch Simon Pegg dance for two hours and be happy. With this movie, that is almost what you get.
We did a double feature at the theatre and wisely chose to view this little flick after sitting through “Blindness.” I do not know if you could pick two more varied movies than those two. Regardless, we were eager to laugh and excited to see Pegg making an ass of himself. We managed both, but that might be due more to circumstance than an evaluation of the movie on its own merits.
Based on a book, Pegg portrays an awkward writer named Sidney Young who always says and does the most inappropriate things at any given moment. Through a bit of odd luck, Young manages to get himself hired by a magazine in New York City. Young immediately puts himself at odds with everyone in the office, and with pretty co-worker Alison Olsen in particular. Young stumbles his way through assignments, attempting to stay true to himself but learning quickly how the publishing world really works. Though there is nothing special about the plot (or where it heads at any given moment), Pegg manages to make the ride more enjoyable than it probably should be. As previously mentioned, we are treated to about five scenes where Pegg dances, and I think the price of admission was well spent for the nightclub dance scene alone.
Dunst is likable in the role of Alison and has good chemistry with Pegg. Unfortunately, all of the chemistry is of the chummy, friend kind. I did not and can not buy anything romantic between the two actors, and that kind of makes the story a bit awkward. Still, I liked Pegg and Dunst in the roles even if they did have the wrong kind of chemistry.
Removing Pegg from the equation, the script does have some truly funny lines, but without Pegg, the movie would not be nearly as funny. As much as I like Pegg, one can not help but wonder what the movie would have been like without him. If it had been more of a romantic comedy with a younger lead, perhaps this movie would have been all together different. As it is, you laugh, but the movie does not really stay with you. Pegg is fabulous, but probably miscast for the role. On the other hand, without Pegg, this could have been truly dreadful. The direction is pretty bland and the supporting cast never really seems to shine (although I’m sure the guys out there disagree over including Megan Fox in that statement). Even Jeff Bridges who is supposed to be an imposing character just kind of sits there on the screen. Gillian Anderson’s agent character seemed far more imposing, and she did not do much more than smile blankly.
Funnier than most things I have seen lately, this movie is still only all right. The dance sequences will certainly make you smile, but they can do that on DVD just as easily as they can in a movie theatre.
We did a double feature at the theatre and wisely chose to view this little flick after sitting through “Blindness.” I do not know if you could pick two more varied movies than those two. Regardless, we were eager to laugh and excited to see Pegg making an ass of himself. We managed both, but that might be due more to circumstance than an evaluation of the movie on its own merits.
Based on a book, Pegg portrays an awkward writer named Sidney Young who always says and does the most inappropriate things at any given moment. Through a bit of odd luck, Young manages to get himself hired by a magazine in New York City. Young immediately puts himself at odds with everyone in the office, and with pretty co-worker Alison Olsen in particular. Young stumbles his way through assignments, attempting to stay true to himself but learning quickly how the publishing world really works. Though there is nothing special about the plot (or where it heads at any given moment), Pegg manages to make the ride more enjoyable than it probably should be. As previously mentioned, we are treated to about five scenes where Pegg dances, and I think the price of admission was well spent for the nightclub dance scene alone.
Dunst is likable in the role of Alison and has good chemistry with Pegg. Unfortunately, all of the chemistry is of the chummy, friend kind. I did not and can not buy anything romantic between the two actors, and that kind of makes the story a bit awkward. Still, I liked Pegg and Dunst in the roles even if they did have the wrong kind of chemistry.
Removing Pegg from the equation, the script does have some truly funny lines, but without Pegg, the movie would not be nearly as funny. As much as I like Pegg, one can not help but wonder what the movie would have been like without him. If it had been more of a romantic comedy with a younger lead, perhaps this movie would have been all together different. As it is, you laugh, but the movie does not really stay with you. Pegg is fabulous, but probably miscast for the role. On the other hand, without Pegg, this could have been truly dreadful. The direction is pretty bland and the supporting cast never really seems to shine (although I’m sure the guys out there disagree over including Megan Fox in that statement). Even Jeff Bridges who is supposed to be an imposing character just kind of sits there on the screen. Gillian Anderson’s agent character seemed far more imposing, and she did not do much more than smile blankly.
Funnier than most things I have seen lately, this movie is still only all right. The dance sequences will certainly make you smile, but they can do that on DVD just as easily as they can in a movie theatre.
Pegg is the saving the grace of the film and that pig.
Great review.