''How to Get Ahead in Advertising'' is a 1989 British

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring

Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is a Swazi-English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy ''Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack Hock in Mar ...

and

Rachel Ward Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is an English-Australian

. The title is a pun and can be literally taken as "How to Get a ''Head'' in Advertising".

Plot

The film is a

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

about a mentally unstable advertising executive, Denis Dimbleby Bagley (played by Grant), who suffers a nervous breakdown while making an advert for

pimple A pimple is a kind of comedo that results from excess sebum and dead skin cells getting trapped in the pores of the skin. In its aggravated state, it may evolve into a pustule or papules. Pimples can be treated by acne medications, antibioti ...

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 A boil, also called a furuncle, is a deep folliculitis, which is an infection of the hair follicle. It is most commonly caused by infection by the bacterium '' Staphylococcus aureus'', resulting in a painful swollen area on the skin caused by ...

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

as Denis Dimbleby Bagley *

Rachel Ward Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is an English-Australian

as Julia Bagley * Richard Wilson as John Bristol *

Jacqueline Tong Jacqueline Tong (born 21 May 1951) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Daisy Peel in the television series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1973–1975), for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Contin ...

as Penny Wheelstock *

John Shrapnel John Morley Shrapnel (27 April 1942 – 14 February 2020) was an English actor. He is known mainly for his stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in the United Kingdom and for his many television appearances. ...

as Psychiatrist * Susan Wooldridge as Monica * Hugh Armstrong as Harry Wax * Mick Ford as Richard * Jacqueline Pearce as Maud *

Christopher Simon Christopher Simon (born 5 June 1963) is an Australian actor and producer. Born in Sydney, Australia. He produced the film '' Miss You Already'' directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Simon is also a producer of such films as ''The Sweeney (2012 ...

as Waiter * Gino Melvazzi as Waiter * Victor Lucas as Tweedy Man * Dawn Keeler as Tweedy Woman * Kerryann White as Girl in Elevator * Vivienne McKone as Sullivan Bristol Receptionist * Donald Hoath as Businessman on Train * John Levitt as Businessman on Train *

Gordon Gostelow Gordon Massey Gostelow (14 May 1925 – 3 June 2007) was an Australian actor. He was educated in Australia at North Sydney Boys High School and Sydney University where he graduated in Economics. Gostelow went to England in 1950 and worked i ...

as Priest * Pip Torrens as Jonathan *

Tony Slattery Tony Declan James Slattery (born 9 November 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He appeared on British television regularly from the mid-1980s, most notably as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' His ...

as Basil * Rachel Fielding as Jennifer * Pauline Melville as Mrs. Wallace *

Roddy Maude-Roxby Roderick A. Maude-Roxby (born 2 April 1930) is a retired English actor. He has appeared in numerous films, such as Walt Disney's ''The Aristocats'', where he voiced the greedy butler Edgar Balthazar (his only voice role); ''Unconditional Love''; ...

as Dr. Gatty * Francesca Longrigg as Nurse * Tanveer Ghani as Hospital Doctor * Joanna Mays as Phillis Blokey *

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

as Larry Frisk * Bruce Robinson as the Boil (voice) (uncredited)

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

the film has an approval rating of 60% based on reviews from 15 critics. In an interview with

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

in 2019, Richard E. Grant said that

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...

called him a genius for his work in the film. The film made £201,972 in the UK.

References

External links

* * *
''How to Get Ahead in Advertising''
an essay by

Stanley Kauffmann Stanley Kauffmann (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an American writer, editor, and critic of film and theater. Career Kauffmann started with ''The New Republic'' in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next fifty ...

at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

{{Bruce Robinson 1989 films 1980s black comedy films British satirical films British black comedy films HandMade Films films Films directed by Bruce Robinson 1989 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s British films