Run Fatboy Run Movie Review

By Prairie Miller

UK funny guy Simon Pegg (Shaun Of The Dead) as Dennis, a man clumsily chasing after his dreams, does rather nicely here as a befuddled guy who just can't seem to fit in, when it comes to work or romance. But cross-continental hybrid Run Fatboy Run is ill-fated in a similar fashion, plagued with a script that lags far behind its assumed intentions.

A US import written and directed by Americans (screenwriter Michael Ian Black and director David Schwimmer), Run Fatboy Run comes off as somewhat artificially imposed on British sensibility, wit and culture. And like its flabby aspiring marathon runner protagonist Dennis, the movie feels shapeless and exhausted from the sheer effort of trying to please audiences.

Pegg is a depressed security guard in a ladies underwear shop, who panics on his wedding day and leaves his very pregnant intended (Thandie Newton) at the altar. Dennis spends the rest of the film trying unsuccessfully to win her affections back, made more difficult by her new significant other, cavalier macho American businessman Whit (Hank Azaria). Pegg's character ends up dividing his down time between doing the good dad thing with their young son Jake (Matthew Fenton), and a plan to win his ex-girlfriend back by competing with her new boyfriend in a marathon.

Run Fat Boy Run has its moment of earnest, affectionate charms, and an abundance of typically delightful, eccentric British supporting characters. But the story, like the title, is simply too silly and familiar to matter.

Picturehouse Entertainment
Rated PG-13
2 1/2 stars