How to Get Ahead in Advertising
1989 · Movie · R · 95 min · ★ 6.3 · 65% critics
A high-flying British advertising executive buckles under deadline pressure while trying to sell a skin product, and a strange boil appears on his neck that seems to talk back. As work and home life unravel, the situation spirals into a darkly comic breakdown that takes aim at consumer culture and the power of persuasion.
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Details
- Years
- 1989
- Release date
- 1989-05-05
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Critic score
- 65/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.3/10 (107 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a bizarre, talky British dark comedy that skewers advertising and consumerism, with big, quotable rants; Not for you if you need a tidy plot or subtle humor like Withnail & I.
Pros: dark, original satire; sharp one-liners; bold central performance | Cons: messy, uneven structure; effects can distract; ending feels abrupt
Themes
- satire
- advertising
- nervous breakdown
- advertising executive
- advertising agency
- advertisement
Cast & crew
Richard E. Grant
as Denis Dimbleby Bagley
Rachel Ward
as Julia Bagley
Richard Wilson
as John Bristol
Jacqueline Tong
as Penny Wheelstock
Susan Wooldridge
as Monica
John Shrapnel
as Psychiatrist
- HA
Hugh Armstrong
as Harry Wax
Mick Ford
as Richard
Jacqueline Pearce
as Maud
- CS
Christopher Simon
as Waiter
Directed by Bruce Robinson