All’s ‘Fair’ in Love and Journalism: HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE (109 mins. 14A)

Almost a decade ago “Vanity Fair” editor Graydon Carter hired a struggling young British journalist named Toby Young to write for the upscale arts and fashion magazine.

Young’s stint at the mag was by all accounts a disaster but it did provide him with the inspiration for a best-selling book, stage play and movie (now available on DVD).

A British tabloid once described Young as "a balding, bug-eyed, skinny-chested opportunist with the looks of a punctured beach ball, the charisma of a glove-puppet and an ego the size of a Hercules supply plane."

In other words, the perfect role for British comic actor Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz). Pegg has a penchant for puncturing the pretentiousness of self-important people. As a snarky young London journalist hired to work for an upscale New York arts and fashion publication called Sharps Magazine, Pegg is in top form.

In one of my favourite scenes Pegg’s character (renamed Sidney Young in the movie) talks movies at a swanky cocktail party with co-worker Allison Olsen (Kirsten Dunst), Sharps editor Lawrence Maddox (Danny Huston) and haughty publicist-to-the stars Eleanor Johnson (former X-Files hottie Gillian Anderson).

What is the greatest movie ever made? Sidney asks the group.

Wannabe hipster Allison name checks Fellini’s 1960 arthouse classic “La Dolce Vita”.

Uh, not exactly.

“Con Air ... it’s got everything!” Sidney explains to the bemused trio. “Malkovich for your acting chops, Nicky Cage for your action, Steve Buscemi for your comedy ... it’s like a smorgasbord, isn’t it.”

By his own admission Sidney is not a member of what he derisively calls the “glossy posse” and he doesn’t want to be ... until he claps eyes on hot Hollywood starlet du jour Sophie Maes (Megan Fox). That’s when the compromises begin.

“Vanity Fair” itself is never mentioned in the film but the fonts and layout of the fictional Sharps magazine are, uh, remarkably similar to the real deal and with his mane of grey hair and imperious smile Sharps publisher Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges) bears an uncanny resemblance to the photo of Graydon Carter gracing VF’s “Editor’s Letter” column. Fans of the mag (I plead guilty) should get a guilty kick outta this supposedly inside look at the iconic pop culture publication. However, you don’t have to be a regular VF reader to enjoy Pegg’s grin-inducing on camera antics.

Working from Toby Young’s 2001 memoir, Hollywood director Robert B. Wiebe (HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and British playwright Peter Straughan have crafted a clever satire on America’s celebrity-obsessed pop culture and its skewed idea of what it takes to be a success ... as a media professional AND as a person.

Pegg is a hoot. His character not only gets the best lines ( “I shouldn’t even be here. I get thrown out of places like this.”) but the script provides plenty of opportunity to him to display his flair for physical comedy. (The scene in which Sidney tries to befriend Sophie’s feisty Chihuahua comes to mind.)

Say what you will about Fox. She knows how to make a memorable first impression. (Check out her entrance at a Manhattan poolside party.) She also has the savvy self-awareness to spoof her own bimboesque sexpot du jour image.

Dunst’s role as Sidney’s long suffering co-worker is to act as a comic foil to Pegg’s genial jerk. “This is New York, Sydney,” she snaps when Young tells her he plans to ask Sophie on a date. “ Women only date men who are successful.” Ouch!