Run, Fat Boy, Run Review
Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 03.28.2008
The most uplifting, motivational, feel good movie of the year . . . so far.
Run, Fat Boy, Run
Directed By: David Schwimmer Written By: Michael Ian Black and Simon Pegg Runtime: 100 minutes
Rated PG-13 for some rude and sexual humor, nudity, language and smoking.
Dennis - Simon Pegg Libby - Libby Whit - Hank Azaria Gordon - Dylan Moran Mr. Ghoshdashtidar - Harish Patel Maya Ghoshdashtidar - India De Beaufort Jake - Matthew Fenton
Run Fatboy Run is the new feel good comedy movie from the one and only Ross Geller himself, David Schwimmer, making his feature directing debut. Simon Pegg stars as Dennis. An average schmoe that lives in London, and works as a security guard at a women's clothing store. Dennis suffers from chronic laziness, as well as being a horrendous underachiever, and one other little snafu. On the day he was to wed his sweetheart, Libby (Newton), he paniced and became a runaway groom faster than you can say "I do." Not to mention that Libby was pregnant with their son when Dennis bolted from the altar.
Five years later, Dennis struggles to get by day to day. Whether it seems to be remaining a positive fixture in his son Jake's (Fenton) life, running down tranny shop-lifters at work or paying the rent to his rotund Indian landlord, Mr. Ghoshdashtidar (Patel) and his supremely exotically hot daughter Maya (De Beaufort), Dennis constantly comes up short. Interestingly enough, while Dennis can't really afford rent he seems to have no trouble buying plenty of smokes.
Things get worse for Dennis when a new man comes into Libby's life, Whit (Azaria). Libby and Whit really seem to fancy each other, and he gets along with Jake, besides being massively well off financially, and he even runs marathons for charity. Since Dennis knows he made a big mistake, and he's tired of looking like a screw-up in Libby's eyes, he decides to enter the London Marathon himself to show he can set himself to something and finishing it.
What's a little problematic about the movie are the Libby and Whit characters. Libby just comes off as a little too bland and one dimensional for the story. Whit's character starts out decent enough, then he just turns into the typical, jerky prick of a new suitor for the ex-lover character archetype you usually see in these movies. It makes some parts going into the final act a little too predictable. Seriously, why is it in these movies the ex-girlfriend, wife, or partner whenever she hooks up with a new guy is some rich, perfect jerk that the female love interest doesn't see until the end? Why do women need to look so superficial and vain in these types of movies? The movie simply could've acknowledged that Libby was quite a capable mother herself, as well as running a successful small business. BUT then you wouldn't have the whole plot about running the marathon, so there you go.
Dylan Moran, one of Pegg's co-stars from Shaun of the Dead, has a minimal but close to show-stealing role as Gordon, Libby's sort of creepy and eccentric cousin, as well as Dennis's buddy. Gordon soon takes personal stake in Dennis finishing the marathon after making a bet with his [Gordon's] shady poker buddies.
There are a few gags here and there that the movie tries a little too hard for and don't come off in the best way. Schwimmer as a director does a much better job in the more simple and at times dramatic moments in the film rather than the more overtly comedic ones. Not to say that the movie is never funny because it is. The movie does pick up a great deal in the third act where you really just can't help but root for Dennis in the marathon. The movie has a strong theme in more than simply running away from your responsibilities because of you are afraid of you you will measure up, but sometimes you really just have to get off your butt and start making some healthy choices in order to make your overall life better.
Pegg as always more than holds his own and continues to do a fine job of carrying his weight as a protagonist. While Pegg is not so studly in the looks department like your typical movie stars he makes up for with nerdy enthusiasm and genuine everyman charisma.
The 411: No, the movie is not quite the laugh you would find in Shaun of The Dead or Hot Fuzz, but it's still a fun, solid, and decently entertaining romp. Schwimmer seems to have done a good job here with his first movie, and there's definitely some potential with the way he captures the more dramatic beats and bittersweet moments of the story.
