Saw this last week, but the cricket was on in India, so we didn't have a show. Given how we got caned in the cricket, maybe we should have stuck with the movies:)

Writer Toby Young’s memoir about his disastrous turn at Vanity Fair as a celebrity journalist is loosely chronicled in this “inspired by a true story” adaptation of Young’s book.

Simon Pegg stars as Sidney Young, and Oxford educated intellectual with a PhD in philosophy who is utterly enchanted by the world of celebrities. He feeds his fascination by running his own UK magazine, the Post Modern Review, which feeds on the humiliation and satirising of celebrities. After pulling a particularly daring prank at the BAFTAs with a pig posing as Babe III that garners international headlines, he is offered a job in the US at the swanky magazine Sharps.

Arriving in the US, Young finds himself completely out of his depth. His boss, Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges) sees a younger version of himself in Sidney, which is a good thing, because he blunders around offending everyone he meets, particularly the powerful publicist, Eleanor Johnson (Gillian Anderson) who is responsible for the up and coming star, Sophie Maes (Megan Fox), for whom Sidney is carrying a burning crush. His only friend in New York turns out to be his immediate supervisor, Alison Olsen (Kirsten Dunst) who is trapped in a sleazy office affair with one of the senior editors.

Eventually, to keep his job, Sidney toes the line and begins to write the pandering fluff pieces the magazine wants, in order to get himself closer to Sophie. It’s not until the end of the film that Sidney finally sees the truth of what he has become and who he really loves. This results, naturally, in yet another headline-grabbing fiasco at a major awards ceremony.

Simon Pegg is always funny and he fits the role of the misfit Sidney like it was made for him. Gillian Anderson seems to be relishing her role as the power-wielding publicist, and Kirsten Dunst does a reasonable job as Alison, as does Jeff Bridges as Clayton.  The standout for me, however, was Megan Fox, playing the sexy young vamp for everything it’s worth. In fact the highlight of the movie (aside from the scene with the Chihuahua), is in the final credits where the show the full trailer for the fictional film made by “Sophie Maes” which is allegedly a biopic about Mother Theresa, for which Sophie is supposed to be up for an award. Fox gives it her all, playing every scene wearing a nun’s habit, as if she’s about to rip it off and pose for Playboy. It the funniest thing I’ve seen since the 5 minute short film at the start of WALL.E.