2008 Woodie Awards
Run Fatboy Run falls at starting line
Landon Burris
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: The Arts
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Run Fatboy Run (Picturehouse, opening today) is a new British romantic comedy from director David Schwimmer (TV's "Friends"), marking the actor who played Ross Geller's first big-screen feature. The film was written by talking head Michael Ian Black and Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz), who also stars.
The story centers on loser security guard Dennis (Pegg) who has had to deal with his decision of leaving his lovely fiancée Libby (Thandie Newton, Crash) at the altar five years prior. To make matters worse, Libby was pregnant when he left her. Now Dennis, who still plays the role of a father to their son, Jake (Matthew Fenton), has to deal with Libby's new boyfriend Whit (Hank Azaria, "The Simpsons")-a wealthy, fit and all-around perfect guy.
Dennis decides that he can't live with his ex being with someone else, so he plans to run a marathon that Whit is entered in, to impress her, though he has never finished anything in his life. Helping Dennis achieve his goal is his best friend and Libby's cousin, Gordan (Dylan Moran, Shaun of the Dead), who also stands to lose $5,000 if Dennis does not finish the race.
Run Fatboy Run is a cliché-ridden romantic comedy that, as usual, takes a deadbeat who made a huge mistake on a journey to change his life by trying to undo the damage. You could watch the entire film with a checklist of scenarios that typically happen in romantic comedies and watch as every possible, predictable event comes to pass.
That being said, Run Fatboy Run is overall a humorous film, due in large part to the comedic chops of Pegg, as well as Moran, who often outshines Pegg in their second comedic pairing, the first being 2004's Shaun of the Dead. Indian actor Harish Patel also gets laughs as Dennis' landlord Mr. Ghoshdashtidar.
Many people may be disappointed, simply because the film is nowhere near the quality of Pegg's previous British comedies, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. The comedy is not nearly as satirical or gut-wrenching, though this can likely be attributed to the different director and writing team; Schwimmer is no Edgar Wright.
Taking all things into consideration, Run Fatboy Run is one of the better comedies of the year so far, and is worlds above other romantic comedies of late, such as the dull Fool's Gold.
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