Only a small portion of the public is likely to enjoy the new comedy "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People," but those few will probably like it very much.

It's a movie for those less interested in celebrities than in the concept of celebrity, for those whose interest is the motivation of people writing about celebrities. It is for people who see a celebrity-magazine editor with flowing gray hair named Clayton Harding (the editor, not the hair) and immediately think of Graydon Carter, the semi-famous editor of Vanity Fair. It is for people who recognize a quote from "It's a Wonderful Life" or a scene from "La Dolce Vita."

It is, in short, a movie for me. Others might not enjoy it as much.

Simon Pegg, who is developing a robust body of comic work, stars as Sidney Young, the editor of an edgy English magazine that specializes in skewering the American editor Harding. When Harding calls to offer him a job, Sidney naturally jumps at the chance for fame and success.

Sidney is an annoying sort of Brit, but Pegg manages to make him slightly likable as well, which is key. He's an underdog, and out of his league, so we root for him even though he's annoying. Besides, sometimes he's only accidentally annoying, so it's not as bad.

At the film's beginning, Sidney is attending a major award ceremony with a hot new star, played by Megan Fox (be sure to stay during the credits for a funny trailer of the star's new movie, complete with voiceover by the late Don LaFontaine). But she is obviously too slick for him, too ambitious, too unwholesome. He needs someone more like his sharp-witted co-worker Allison.

"The only thing you make are mistakes. And stains," Allison says, unkindly but truthfully. And when Sidney says he doesn't know the meaning of the word "fear," she ripostes, "I'm sure there are lots of words you don't know the meaning of."

Allison is played by Kirsten Dunst, which is all you need to know about romantic interests. Dunst is quite appealing here, sassy, fragile, sweet and, in one of the best scenes, drunk.

In his debut as a director of a narrative film, Robert Weide goes for an energetic style similar to that of Edgar Wright, who made Pegg's best films, "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun of the Dead." As befits Pegg's established sense of humor, Weide approach to comedy is subtly broad -- the jokes' subjects may be big, but their presentation is understated.

In the course of the film, Sidney may lose friends and alienate people, but he gains the support of the audience. At least, those in the audience who are inclined to care.