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}}
}}
| studio = [[HandMade Films]]
| studio = [[HandMade Films]]
| distributor = [[Virgin Films]]
| distributor = [[Virgin Films|Virgin Vision]]
| released = {{Film date|1989|05|05|U.S.|df=y}}
| released = {{Film date|1989|05|05|U.S.|df=y}}
| country = United Kingdom
| country = United Kingdom
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}}
}}


'''''How to Get Ahead in Advertising''''' is a 1989 British [[black comedy]] [[fantasy]] film written and directed by [[Bruce Robinson]] and starring [[Richard E. Grant]] and [[Rachel Ward]]. The title is a pun and can be literally taken as "How to Get a ''Head'' in Advertising".
'''''How to Get Ahead in Advertising''''' is a 1989 British [[black comedy]] [[fantasy]] film written and directed by [[Bruce Robinson]], and starring [[Richard E. Grant]] and [[Rachel Ward]].

In the film, an advertising executive has a [[nervous breakdown]] and finds himself concerned with the ethics of his profession. As a result, a talking boil grows on his shoulder, a manifestation of the cynical and unscrupulous side of his personality.


==Plot==
==Plot==
The film is a [[farce]] about a mentally unstable advertising executive, Denis Dimbleby Bagley (played by Grant), who suffers a nervous breakdown while making an advert for [[pimple]] cream. Ward plays his long-suffering but sympathetic wife. [[Richard Wilson (Scottish actor)|Richard Wilson]] plays John Bristol, Bagley's boss.
The film is a [[farce]] about a mentally unstable advertising executive, Denis Dimbleby Bagley (played by Grant), who suffers a nervous breakdown while making an advert for [[pimple]] cream. Rachel Ward plays his long-suffering but sympathetic wife, Julia Bagley. [[Richard Wilson (Scottish actor)|Richard Wilson]] plays John Bristol, Bagley's boss.

Bagley has a crisis of conscience about the ethics of advertising, which leads to mania. He then develops a [[boil]] on his right shoulder that comes to life with a face and voice. The voice of the boil, although uncredited, is that of Bruce Robinson. The boil takes a cynical and unscrupulous view of the advertising profession in contrast to Bagley's new-found ethical concerns. Eventually, Bagley decides to have the boil removed in hospital, but moments before he is taken into the operating room, the boil quickly grows into a replica of Bagley's head (only with a moustache) and covers Bagley's original head, asking doctors to lance it, which is done since nobody has noticed the switch from left to right nor the new moustache.


Bagley has a crisis of conscience about the ethics of advertising, which leads to mania. He then develops a [[boil]] on his right shoulder that comes to life with a face and voice. The voice of the boil, although uncredited, is that of Bruce Robinson. The boil takes a cynical and unscrupulous view of the advertising profession in contrast to Bagley's new-found ethical concerns. Eventually, Bagley decides to have the boil removed in hospital but moments before he is taken into the operating room, the boil quickly grows into a replica of Bagley's head (only with a moustache) and covers Bagley's original head, asking doctors to lance it, which is done since nobody has noticed the switch from left to right nor the new moustache. Bagley, now with the boil head, moustache, and personality (the movie's third personification from Grant after the stressed executive and the raving lunatic) returns home to celebrate his wedding anniversary, with the original head merely resembling a boil on his left shoulder. The "boil" eventually withers but doesn't die, yet Bagley resumes his advertising career rejuvenated and ruthless, although without his wife, who decides to leave his new cruel persona.
Bagley, now with the boil head, moustache, and personality (the movie's third personification from Grant after the stressed executive and the raving lunatic) returns home to celebrate his wedding anniversary, with the original head merely resembling a boil on his left shoulder. The "boil" eventually withers but doesn't die, yet Bagley resumes his advertising career rejuvenated and ruthless, although without his wife, who decides to leave his new cruel persona.


==Cast==
==Cast==
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* [[Mick Ford]] as Richard
* [[Mick Ford]] as Richard
* [[Jacqueline Pearce]] as Maud
* [[Jacqueline Pearce]] as Maud
* [[Christopher Simon]] as Waiter
* [[Christopher Simon (actor)|Christopher Simon]] as Waiter
* Gino Melvazzi as Waiter
* Gino Melvazzi as Waiter
* Victor Lucas as Tweedy Man
* Victor Lucas as Tweedy Man
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* [[Roddy Maude-Roxby]] as Dr. Gatty
* [[Roddy Maude-Roxby]] as Dr. Gatty
* Francesca Longrigg as Nurse
* Francesca Longrigg as Nurse
* [[Tanveer Ghani]] as Hospital Doctor
* Joanna Mays as Phillis Blokey
* Joanna Mays as Phillis Blokey
* [[Sean Bean]] as Larry Frisk
* [[Sean Bean]] as Larry Frisk
* [[Bruce Robinson]] as the Boil (voice) (uncredited)
* [[Tanveer Ghani]] as Hospital Doctor
* [[Bruce Robinson]] as The Boil (voice) (uncredited)
{{div col end}}
{{div col end}}


==Reception==
==Reception==
{{Expand section|date=October 2019}}
{{Expand section|date=October 2019}}
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has an approval rating of 60% based on reviews from 15 critics.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_get_ahead_in_advertising |title= How to Get Ahead in Advertising |website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date= 30 September 2019 }}</ref>
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has an approval rating of 63% based on reviews from 16 critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_get_ahead_in_advertising|title=How to Get Ahead in Advertising|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=9 November 2024}}</ref>


In an interview with [[Jimmy Kimmel]] in 2019, Richard E. Grant said that [[Jim Carrey]] called him a genius for his work in the film.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOCcLfr9EtA |time=1:07 |title=Richard E. Grant on Oscar Nomination, Steve Martin, Star Wars & French Kissing |work=[[Jimmy Kimmel Live!]] |date=8 February 2019 |access-date=May 30, 2019 }}</ref>
In an interview with [[Jimmy Kimmel]] in 2019, Richard E. Grant said that [[Jim Carrey]] called him a genius for his work in the film.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOCcLfr9EtA|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/bOCcLfr9EtA|archive-date=2021-12-13|url-status=live|time=1:07|title=Richard E. Grant on Oscar Nomination, Steve Martin, Star Wars & French Kissing|work=[[Jimmy Kimmel Live!]]|date=8 February 2019|access-date=May 30, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>


The film made £201,972 in the UK.<ref name="org">{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-back-to-the-future-the-fall-and-rise-of-the-british-film-industry-in-the-1980s.pdf|page=24|title=Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing|website=British Film Institute|date=2005}}</ref>
The film made £201,972 in the UK.<ref name="org">{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-back-to-the-future-the-fall-and-rise-of-the-british-film-industry-in-the-1980s.pdf|page=24|title=Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing|website=British Film Institute|date=2005}}</ref>
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0097531}}
* {{IMDb title|0097531}}
* {{Amg movie|23554}}
* {{Mojo title|howtogetaheadinadvertising}}
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/118-how-to-get-ahead-in-advertising ''How to Get Ahead in Advertising''] an essay by [[Stanley Kauffmann]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/118-how-to-get-ahead-in-advertising ''How to Get Ahead in Advertising''] an essay by [[Stanley Kauffmann]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]


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[[Category:1989 films]]
[[Category:1989 films]]
[[Category:1980s black comedy films]]
[[Category:1989 black comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s fantasy comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s satirical films]]
[[Category:British satirical films]]
[[Category:British satirical films]]
[[Category:British black comedy films]]
[[Category:British black comedy films]]
[[Category:HandMade Films films]]
[[Category:HandMade Films films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Bruce Robinson]]
[[Category:Films directed by Bruce Robinson]]
[[Category:British films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Bruce Robinson]]
[[Category:1989 comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s British films]]

[[Category:Films about advertising]]

[[Category:Films about dissociative identity disorder]]
{{1980s-UK-comedy-film-stub}}
[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language fantasy comedy films]]

Latest revision as of 20:11, 25 December 2024

How to Get Ahead in Advertising
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBruce Robinson
Written byBruce Robinson
Produced byDavid Wimbury
George Harrison
Denis O'Brien
Ray Cooper
Starring
CinematographyPeter Hannan
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byVirgin Vision
Release date
  • 5 May 1989 (1989-05-05) (U.S.)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguagesEnglish, German
Box office$418,053

How to Get Ahead in Advertising is a 1989 British black comedy fantasy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson, and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward.

In the film, an advertising executive has a nervous breakdown and finds himself concerned with the ethics of his profession. As a result, a talking boil grows on his shoulder, a manifestation of the cynical and unscrupulous side of his personality.

Plot

[edit]

The film is a farce about a mentally unstable advertising executive, Denis Dimbleby Bagley (played by Grant), who suffers a nervous breakdown while making an advert for pimple cream. Rachel Ward plays his long-suffering but sympathetic wife, Julia Bagley. Richard Wilson plays John Bristol, Bagley's boss.

Bagley has a crisis of conscience about the ethics of advertising, which leads to mania. He then develops a boil on his right shoulder that comes to life with a face and voice. The voice of the boil, although uncredited, is that of Bruce Robinson. The boil takes a cynical and unscrupulous view of the advertising profession in contrast to Bagley's new-found ethical concerns. Eventually, Bagley decides to have the boil removed in hospital, but moments before he is taken into the operating room, the boil quickly grows into a replica of Bagley's head (only with a moustache) and covers Bagley's original head, asking doctors to lance it, which is done since nobody has noticed the switch from left to right nor the new moustache.

Bagley, now with the boil head, moustache, and personality (the movie's third personification from Grant after the stressed executive and the raving lunatic) returns home to celebrate his wedding anniversary, with the original head merely resembling a boil on his left shoulder. The "boil" eventually withers but doesn't die, yet Bagley resumes his advertising career rejuvenated and ruthless, although without his wife, who decides to leave his new cruel persona.

Cast

[edit]

Reception

[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 63% based on reviews from 16 critics.[1]

In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel in 2019, Richard E. Grant said that Jim Carrey called him a genius for his work in the film.[2]

The film made £201,972 in the UK.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "How to Get Ahead in Advertising". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  2. ^ Richard E. Grant on Oscar Nomination, Steve Martin, Star Wars & French Kissing. Jimmy Kimmel Live!. 8 February 2019. Event occurs at 1:07. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 24.
[edit]
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