A fictionalization of Toby Young’s memoir, about the writer’s time
working at Vanity Fair for the enigmatic Graydon Carter, should
be razor-sharp, considering director Robert B. Weide also worked on
Curb Your Enthusiasm. Physically, Simon Pegg is spot-on as
Young—both are fair-haired, balding Brits. But anyone who’s read
Young’s books knows that man is a real prat, and Pegg, even at his most
obnoxious (Run Fatboy Run), is too cute and daft to be
hated.
Perhaps that’s why screenwriter Peter Straughan and Weide decided to
squeeze all of the venom and smarts out of Young’s memoir and turn this
story into a standard tale of romance between brash young journalist
Sidney Young (Pegg) and his novel-writing co-worker Alison (Kirsten
Dunst). They share gossip-column duties on Sharp, a thinly
disguised VF (readers will recognize the fonts), helmed by
Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges), sporting Carter’s collar-grazing grey
locks. There’s never a compelling power struggle like in The Devil
Wears Prada—Clayton is just a weird, ghostly presence with a few
good quips.
Considering the source material was born in a world of journalism,
celebrity and high society, this movie never reaches its satirical
potential. Sue Carter Flinn
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2009.
