How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Simon Pegg stars as Sidney Young, a curmudgeonly gossip writer who moves from England to New York with the hopes of establishing himself as a major player at an up-and-coming magazine. But his crude behavior and disdain for a power-playing publicist (Gillian Anderson) gets him into hot water with the publisher (Jeff Bridges) who tells him he needs to shape up or ship out. His only friend (Kirsten Dunst) is an aspiring author who’s frustrated with her tabloid journalism career, but instead of cherishing his friendship with her, he lusts after a hot actress (Megan Fox) and ends up becoming the kind of sycophant he despises. There’s not much chemistry between Dunst and Pegg, and the shoddily directed film feels more like something that was made for British television. HH