How to Get Ahead in Advertising is an unusual (though not unheard of) amalgamation of absurdist humor and body horror written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant as a U.K. ad-man named Denis Dimbleby Bagley, who wakes up one morning to find a talking boil growing out of his shoulder. This happens while, at work, Bagley is struggling to create an ad campaign for pimple cream. His wife, Julia (Rachel Ward), only sees a boil that needs to be lanced, but the boil speaks to Bagley and attempts to take over his career and the rest of his life with it.
Buy How to Get Ahead in Advertising (Criterion Collection) Blu-rayThe beginning of the film showcases two sides to Bagley. To his colleagues, he gives a rambling screed about the importance of consumerism in the United Kingdom. His voice betrays only the slightest undertone that his own words may disgust him. Back in his office, however, Bagley is struggling with the pimple account, and we see that he is definitely torturing himself with the what’s-the-point-of-it-all of his chosen profession. At home, Julia is trying to convince him to take a break from it all, but Bagley just wants to concentrate on creating the zit cream ad to end all zit cream ads. Then a boil sprouts from his shoulder and changes everything.
The boil starts to grow. It has little eyes and a little mouth, a tuft of hair, though his wife doesn’t appear to notice the boil has become a talking face resembling Bagley himself. We know the boil exists, but we cannot be certain if it is really talking, or if Bagley is having an argument with himself over the pros and cons of consumerism. Bagley is getting more and more jaded while the boil is as gung-ho about the world of advertising as ever. The boil head is getting bigger and compels attention; meanwhile, it seems Bagley’s head might be getting smaller, his voice less resonant. The question is: Who will win the argument? Boil or Bagley?
The liner notes give the following details about the master: “How to Get Ahead in Advertising is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Approved by director of photography Peter Hannan, this 2K restoration was created from a 35 mm interpositive. The original 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35 mm magnetic track.”
Bonus Features:
- New documentary featuring interviews with director Bruce Robinson and actor Richard E. Grant
- Trailer
- Essay by critic David Cairns
How to Get Ahead in Advertising is every bit as relevant today as it was when it came out in 1989. Reagan and Thatcher may be long gone, but the idea that “greed is good” is certainly alive and well. How to Get Ahead does an amazing job describing the fight that continues at the intersection of want and need.
