How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989) on Netflix
Denis Dimbleby Bagley, an advertising executive, suffers a nervous breakdown while shooting a pimple cream commercial. A boil on his right shoulder comes to life with a face and a voice.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.8/107,191 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes65%
Trailer
Plot summary
Denis Dimbleby Bagley is a mentally unstable advertising executive. While he is making an advert for pimple cream, he suffers a nervous breakdown. His conscience troubles him over the ethics of advertising, and the worry becomes mania. A boil appears on his right shoulder, and it has a face and a voice. The boil's view of the advertising business is cynical and unscrupulous, the opposite of the ethics Bagley has started to care about.
Cast
- Hugh Armstrongas Harry Wax
- Christopher Simonas Waiter
- Gino Melvazzias Waiter
- Victor Lucasas Tweedy Man
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Bruce Robinson asked Richard E. Grant to star in the film in August 1986, while the pair were making Withnail and I, telling him "it's gonna be a masterpiece"; Grant nearly missed out because of his commitment to the American movie Warlock.
- The film's budget was cut by a million pounds before filming, forcing a shorter schedule. Director Bruce Robinson had to compromise on the glossier style he had hoped to use.
- Richard E. Grant wrote in his diaries that his performance in How to Get Ahead in Advertising led to his casting in Hudson Hawk.
- In 1993, Handmade sued Warner Bros. on the grounds that it had failed to spend the agreed-upon amount advertising the film; the outcome of the lawsuit is unknown.
