How to Get Ahead in Advertising

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Directed by Bruce Robinson
Produced by David Wimbury
Written by Bruce Robinson

With: Richard E. Grant, Rachel Ward, Richard Wilson, Jacqueline Tong, John Shrapnel, Susan Wooldridge, Hugh Armstrong, Mick Ford, Jacqueline Pearce, Christopher Simon, Sean Bean, Terry Jones, Tony Slattery, and the voice of Bruce Robinson

Cinematography: Peter Hannan
Editing: Alan Strachan
Music: David Dundas and Rick Wentworth

Runtime: 90 min
Release Date: 05 May 1989
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Color: Color

After the box office failure and subsequent home video cult success of his loosely autobiographical film dark comedy Withnail and I (1987), Bruce Robinson re-teamed with star Richard E. Grant for this surreal farce about a cynical advertising executive who suffers a mental breakdown triggered by a crisis of conscience. Realizing the evils of his chosen profession, Denis Bagley attempts to warn others about the evils of capitalism, but he’s so conflicted he develops one of the most hilarious and insightful cases of split personality ever put on film. As the question grows as to which of Bagley’s “heads” will win the day, Robinson creates more and more scathing monologues, which enable Grant to showcase his unusual gift for manic, committed performance.

Twitter Capsule:

Robinson's surreal farce about a cynical advertising executive suffering a bizarre crisis of conscience is a scathingly funny indictment of capitalism and a star-making showcase for the manic talent of Richard E. Grant.

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How I Rate Films

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An All-timer. One of the 5000 greatest films. Usually only awarded after repeat viewings.

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One of the year's best. An excellent film. Possibly one of the 5000 greatest and certainly worthy of repeated viewing.



A very good film. Most films I see fall in the two- or three-star ranking. I give an extra half-star to three-star films that could end up on the list of the 5000 greatest.



A good film that fully succeeds at what it sets out to accomplish. Well worth seeing, but less effective than a three-and-a-half stars films and often less consequential than a two-and-a-half star film.

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A noteworthy or enjoyable film that I can’t fully recommend. Still, two-and-a-half star films are often some of the most memorable films of a year.

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A disappointment, an interesting failure, or just a bad movie. But still worth seeing if you’ve got the time.

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A bad, rant-worthy film. Should be avoided regardless of hype or talent involved.

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One of the worst films.