Run Fatboy Run

A good six months after being released in Britain, "Run Fatboy Run" has finally made its way to the U.S. The new romantic comedy starring Simon Pegg is coming out this Friday but I caught a sneak preview last night. For those of you who've missed them, Pegg is the co-writer and star of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" (my number 1 film of '07), so I've been pretty excited for this one.
The film opens on the wedding day of Dennis (Pegg) and Libby (Thandie Newton, "Crash"). With families in attendance and a pregnant Libby in her wedding dress, a frightened Dennis makes a run for it. Five years later he's still running. Badly. As a security guard who's "not fat...just unfit." Dennis is a character more along the lines of slacker Shaun than overachieving Nicholas Angel. Still, he's a good father to his boy Jake (Matthew Fenton). Or he tries to be anyway. Libby allows Dennis to be a part of Jake's life but her new super man Whit (Hank Azaria) may have something to say about that.
Whit is an American businessman living in London and he's successful at everything he does. That includes running marathons. In an attempt to prove to Libby that he can actually finish something, Dennis decides to run a marathon too, with only three weeks to train. With the help of his landlord Mr. Ghoshdashtidar (Harish Patel) and best friend Gordon (Dylan Moran, "Shaun," "Tristram Shandy"), Dennis starts to prepare physically and mentally for the grueling 26 mile run.
Written by Pegg and Michael Ian Black I would have expected more hilarity from this film. The story, while familiar is reasonably well told and the emotional content actually works pretty well. It's a testament to Pegg as an actor that we like Dennis in spite of what he does to Libby in the very first scene, and the scenes between Pegg and Fenton are genuinely touching. But the comedy doesn't hit nearly as well as it ought to. The only scenes that really inspire big laughs are the moments between Pegg and Moran and it shows that Moran is deserving of a lead comedy role very soon. His is the best performance in the film.
David Schwimmer (you know, Ross) makes his debut as a film director. He's done some TV episodes with a certain amount of success but he could use some work bringing comedy to life. He does have some fine moments, particularly when Dennis "hits the wall." Schwimmer has talent and with some honing he could make a very good movie director some day.
"Run Fatboy Run" was ultimately a disappointment. Worthwhile if you're a fan of Pegg or Moran, but nothing you need to rush to next weekend. It's certainly not going to make anyone forget about "Shaun" or "Fuzz." 6/10.

And now, some trailers that look really funny.

"Son of Rambow"



"Step Brothers"