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IMDb > How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
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How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989) More at IMDbPro »

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How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989) -- US Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video

Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   1,877 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Bruce Robinson (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for How to Get Ahead in Advertising on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
29 March 1990 (West Germany) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The Career Where Two Heads Are Better Than One
Plot:
Dennis Dimbleby Bagley is a brilliant young advertising executive who can't come up with a slogan to sell a revolutionary new pimple cream... more | add synopsis
User Reviews:
Great film on modern life more (30 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Richard E. Grant ... Denis Dimbleby Bagley

Rachel Ward ... Julia Bagley
Richard Wilson ... John Bristol, Bagley's Boss
Jacqueline Tong ... Penny Wheelstock
John Shrapnel ... Psychiatrist
Susan Wooldridge ... Monica
Hugh Armstrong ... Harry Wax
Mick Ford ... Richard
Jacqueline Pearce ... Maud

Christopher Simon ... Waiter
Gino Melvazzi ... Waiter
Victor Lucas ... Tweedy Man
Dawn Keeler ... Tweedy Woman
Kerryann White ... Girl in Elevator (as Kerry Ann White)
Vivienne McKone ... Sullivan Bristol Receptionist
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Additional Details

Runtime:
94 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Continuity: During the anniversary party, the strap on Julia's dress changes shoulders for one scene. When the dress is on the opposite shoulder, it looks a different colour as well. more
Quotes:
Penny Wheelstock: Yes, I'm fat! And you're perfectly at liberty to hate me for it!
Denis Dimbleby Bagley: Oh, you're wrong. I don't dislike you because of that. I wouldn't care if you were so huge we'd have to put scaffolding up to feed you.
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Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 ('Organ Symphony') more

FAQ

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10 out of 13 people found the following review useful.
Great film on modern life, 11 October 2002
10/10
Author: funkyfry from Oakland CA

Hilarious, bitter satire of adverising, humanity, and personality. Ad exec Dennis Bagley gets so hung up on boils developing a "boilbusters" ad campaign that he grows a malignant boil which takes on its own personality and eventually takes over the show. Grant is perfect in the lead role, the direction and photography are excellent, and the effects cheap but grotesque. There are so many hilarious scenes, I found myself laughing out loud through most of the film even though I saw it by myself! I love the scene where Bagley explains to his wife why the boil only talks to her when she turns away : "He's waiting for you to do it!" A classic, should be sought out by all fans of sadistic humour(especially British, i.e. League of Gentlemen, Monty Python) .

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Good, clever film, but... Gluben
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