How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)

HOW TO GET AHEAD IN ADVERTISING feels like a natural follow-up to WITHNAIL & I for director Bruce Robinson. It's another cult, quirky, idiosyncratic story, even more bizarre than the cult classic which preceded it. Richard E. Grant gives perhaps the most manic performance of his career as an advertising executive who succumbs to the pressure of the job and begins to imagine that a living, conscious boil is growing out of his shoulder. It's a bizarre and gruesome premise for sure, but one which feels remarkably grounded given Grant's warts-and-all performance. He dominates every screen in what is a very difficult part to play and he succeeds admirably. The rest of the film is a mix of quick-fire monologues, plenty of satire aimed at advertising and consumerism, and well-judged supporting performances.

Denis Bagley is a hot-shot advertiser who can do no wrong. he knows his client as well as he knows his own face, he can tell anybody who stars at the goggle box what to do, what to think and what to buy? His words are weapons of the consumer age and he will sell anything to anyone. Money is his to have and the general public buys what he tells them, giving him the power of a God. However, as he strikes a bit of a problem over pimple cream he starts to lose his edge, he is cnfronted by the realisation that maybe he is not the person he thinks he is, or wants to be, as he listens to a conversation on a train over a story written by the other people who tell everyone what to do, the popular press, he bursts the bubble of those discussing the story by pointing out that a bag of cannabis that could have contained cocaine, could also have contained a pork pie."It's the use of the word "Could"" Denis exclaims, as he realises that perhaps, the power that he has is being misused. As he decides to rid himself of advertising and turn a new leaf. However as he starts to develop a painful boil on his neck he starts to have anxiety pains over this turn of direction, resulting in his boil growing a face and speaking to him.What happens from this point is a tour-de-force satire on the modern world that was arguably twenty years before its time as the commercial markets freedom has led to our current crop of problems, rather than to their solutions. Richard E Grent is amazing as the Ad Exec with an attack of conscience that takes on alarming results, with able support from Rachel Ward and Richard Wilson. The direction is good, but it is the razor sharp script that gets all the plaudits by challenging our perception of the real world as much as the Matrix, but with the certain knowledge that the questions raised in this film, we can address as the credits come up.Know thyself.

Denis Dimbleby Bagley is a slick young advertising executive who is on his way up. However with his latest project he is struggling to come up with a way of selling a new pimple cream. The pressure on him to meet a deadline when he has creative block is so great that he develops a boil on his shoulder. His wife is concerned as he is aggressive and a bit rude at first but, when the boil begins talking to him and developing features, Bagley goes completely over the edge into insanity.In theory this is supposed to be a satire on commercialism but to be honest it is a deeply flawed one. At times it produces some wonderful lines (some of them up there with Withnail) and good ideas but it is mostly a messy affair as it lacks a structure and narrative flow. The boil idea distracts from the main thrust of the splitting personality of Bagley; it is an interesting device but it doesn't really work and the effects are not really up to the job of delivering the second head idea. This part is where the film is weak, and it is the majority of the time. Individual speeches and scenes are good but generally the whole thing is a mess.Fortunately for Campbell, he has brought Grant with him for this film and he is on great form. Of course in some scenes there is little he can do, but give him great dialogue and let him loose and he's great. If the film has anything worth seeing it for then it is undoubtedly Grant delivering some wonderful speeches and lines. The rest of the cast is a distant, distant second with nobody really marking themselves out for any praise. This is not because they are no good but just because Grant is in full flow and given all the good lines.Overall then, despite having some very good moments and very funny lines, this mess is mostly a failed satire that doesn't hang together or flow at all.

Absolutely stunning tour de force for Richard E Grant, deeply moving, hilarious, superb script and impressive performances from all concerned.Bagley's a complicated character : it's not fair to say that he was ever UNaware of what he was doing in advertising...... but certainly we catch him at a crossroads: he's decided that enough is enough and he simply can't carry on being the bad guy...... but times change again before it's too late, except his brief episode of goodness is enough to convince his wife that he's not worth living with........tragic, beautiful, complex, with a great and moving film-score based in parts on Saint-Saens' organ symphony......