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How to Get Ahead in Advertising

Play trailer Poster for How to Get Ahead in Advertising R 1989 1h 35m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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65% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Pressure from his boss (Richard Wilson) and a skin-cream client produces a talking boil on a British adman's (Richard E. Grant) neck.

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 01/01/2000
2.5/4
The film would be better if it kept all of its images and performances and threw out a lot of the dialogue, which explains at great length things that need no explaining. Go to Full Review
Michael J. Casey Boulder Weekly May 15
4/5
A Jekyll and Hyde riff, and it’s as subtle as a kick to the groin. Go to Full Review
Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 11/08/2024
8/10
Quite hysterical, making outrageously good use of Cronenberg-esque body horror effects. Go to Full Review
Leslie Combemale Cinema Siren 07/26/2019
This Monty Python-esque freak of a satire is laugh out loud funny, quite the lambast of the advertising industry, and many of the messages in the movie are equally relevant today. Go to Full Review
Rob Nelson City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul 09/01/2009
The running gag is that [this film about advertising] takes its own high-concept formula of a yuppie's just desserts and whips it up with more tang than any consumer could want. Go to Full Review
Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 04/09/2007
B+
Grant alone makes this eminently worth renting. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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P K Jan 8 WATCH THIS MOVIE!! Please. One of my favorite of all time, Richard Grant is amazing and the insights into capitalism as a way of life cannot be beat See more isla s 09/03/2022 This is a somewhat bonkers British film. I assumed, from what I read of the plot before I saw it, that it would be about a mans mid life crisis but having seen it, it seems to depict more of an acute mental breakdown, brought on by his belief that a boil on his beck has somehow taken human form and is criticising him. Yes, its quite surreal - it is sort of funny in an oddball kind of a way, of course but the comedy is (of course) quite dark in tone. I suppose nowadays it wouldn't seem quite so comedic to make such a film, if its seen as making light on delusional mental/psychiatric conditions and the like. I quite like Richard E Grant as an actor and indeed he plays the main character, Dennis Bagley, well, depicting manic episodes with hyperactive behaviour et al. Its quirky and won't be to everyones taste - it even features a small amount of animation on screen at one point, further highlighting the worrying lack of clarity Dennis seems to have in terms of whats real and what isn't. Its either lightly amusing and very quirky, or somewhat disconcerting I suppose. Of course this film dates from the 1980s - certain issues weren't treated the way they are nowadays. I have my own personal issues but I still quite enjoyed this film regardless, as I liked the surreal and quirky aspects of it and I also thought it was amusing that Richard Wilson (of One Foot In The Grave fame) appears as Dennis' boss. This wont appeal to all and is somewhat dated but its certainly not a boring or awful watch, so I'd recommended it on that basis. See more 07/05/2020 Shame, started off good and I was interested and enjoying it, after the first half through, I got bored. See more 05/20/2020 A real waste of everyone's time. This film should never have been made. I like Bruce Robinson, as a director and human being but this film is atrocious. Also Richard e grant doesn't pull this one off See more 04/04/2020 Grant is a one man army in How to Get Ahead in Advertising as he delivers a powerhouse performance here. A bit heavy in dialogue in the early going, but is an audacious and brilliant ride once the initial premise is set up. To accompany Richard E. Grants fantastic outing is an equally crafted screenplay, practical effects, and messaging still relevant today. A satirical cult classic that has aged quite well. See more 09/23/2019 Strange and funny satire See more Read all reviews
How to Get Ahead in Advertising

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Movie Info

Synopsis Pressure from his boss (Richard Wilson) and a skin-cream client produces a talking boil on a British adman's (Richard E. Grant) neck.
Director
Bruce Robinson
Producer
David Wimbury
Screenwriter
Bruce Robinson
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Handmade Films
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 5, 1989, Wide
Release Date (DVD)
Jan 11, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$355.2K
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Surround