In Support of a Friend
by Flick Chick Vique Rojas
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Run Fatboy Run limps in with 3 Red Vines |
I’ll never understand why people run marathons. When you hear about all the physical trauma a body goes through at the various mileage markers, it becomes all too apparent that running 26+ miles is not a healthy activity. I have a friend whose ‘thing’ is to run marathons and he’s done so all over the country. I admire his stamina but I still question his sanity.
Throughout the course of history men (and women!) have done some pretty crazy things to woo back a lost love but I gotta admit running a marathon was not on the list-until now. Run Fatboy Run is the latest comedy from the pen of Simon Pegg, the British actor behind (and star of) Shaun of the Dead and most recently Hot Fuzz .
Like those films, Run Fatboy Run milks a lot of laughs from uneven material. The film opens at a wedding where Pegg as Dennis plays out a scene as a runaway groom. His longtime girlfriend, Libby played by Thandie Newton is left pregnant at the alter. The film quickly flash forwards to five years later. Dennis is pretty much living out his life as a loser, staying in a small flat and working as a security guard for a lingerie shop. In his spare time he visits his 5 year old son Jake. During one of those visits he runs into his ex’s new squeeze, an over achieving, slick American businessman, Whit (Hank Azaria).
For whatever reason, out of all Whit’s accomplishments, Dennis decides to prove he’s changed and worthy of Libby’s forgiveness, by running in the same marathon that Whit has been training for. That he is horribly out of shape and a chain smoking, beer drinker does not seem to deter him in the least. Armed with Libby’s cousin (who’s bet everything on Dennis) and his East Indian landlord as coaches, Dennis sets out to train and compete against his new arch nemesis.
There are the usual predictable laughs that would ensue between two males trying to out alpha each other. Some are quite inspired, with a casual conversation in the locker room being the best of the lot. Others, while very funny, push the boundaries of taste over a cliff.
The acting, as well as the situations varies from believable to cartoonish. In many instances the scenarios are trite and cloyingly sentimental. But Simon Pegg is just so darn likeable that you just can’t help cutting him some slack, while Hank Azaria does a stellar job at playing his straight man. And Dylan Moran (Shaun of the Dead) is a true standout as Libby’s wayward gambling cousin, Gordon. The actor pretty much steals any scene he’s in.
If this movie is on your radar at all, you’re either a) a big Simon Pegg fan or b) have heard the buzz that this is David Schwimmer’s first foray into directing. Well it is his first feature length directing gig but all his good ‘Friends’ know that he is no stranger to directing. His name was listed on the credits as director on 10 episodes of the comedy classic. When the show ended he made it no secret that directing would be his next career move. Schwimmer brings many fine touches to the production including his talents at comedic timing. I especially liked the way he handled the sequence where Dennis faces his marathon ‘wall’-you know the point at which all marathoners want to quit.
I had high hopes for Run Fatboy Run and I gotta admit I was a little disappointed. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just average. I guess I expected much more.
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