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Run, Fat Boy, Run
"Love. Commitment. Responsibility. There's nothing he won't run away from."
Reviewer: Joel
Review date: 07/09/2007
Film genre: Comedy, Romance
Director: David Schwimmer
Starring: Simon Pegg, Hank Azaria, Thandie Newton, Dylan Moran
After the successes of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Spaced alumnus Simon Pegg did what many have done before and strayed away from a dream filmmaking team, his collaborative buddies, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost. The Gloucestershire native decided to team up with one of television's most famous sitcom luminaries instead in 2006's Big Nothing but the partnership with former Friends star David Schwimmer hardly left a ripple on a typical filmgoer's memory. However, undeterred, the American stepped behind the camera for his debut feature, Pegg notched up another leading man credit, and the project Run, Fat Boy, Run was born.
Schwimmer's effort certainly has a made-for-TV feel to it with a Film Four/Working Title comedy edge fused into an extremely predictable plot - only the occasional creative dalliance into quasi-arty shots separate this as a feature. The jokes never warrant anything more than slight chuckles but they are relatively constant, leaving the viewer with the good-hearted ride Schwimmer and screenwriter Michael Ian Black are seeking. Substance of the moral story comes before anything else after all and this is definitely stereotypically Westernised filmmaking - the loser earns another shot at glory after seemingly overcoming impossible odds. In this particular case, Pegg's Dennis has to compete in a marathon in order to give himself a shot at winning back Newton's Libby from Azaria's almost perfect Whit. Incidentally, Libby is Dennis' ex after our hero shifted his fat carcass from prospective marriage with his pregnant fiancée five years prior.
Azaria and Moran (playing Dennis' premier pal, Gordon) are fantastic and almost steal the show from the versatile Pegg - the comedy pro can be seen to dabble in cordial romance and maturity with ease here. Worth mentioning is Newton's performance as the foremost sincere voice in the picture. Thankfully the Londoner is actually enjoyable to watch for a change - remember her excruciatingly annoying turn in Crash, anyone? The chemistry she shares with both the leading men is genuine and does nothing but add to the emotional depth of the film - the plot is too thin and character weight anchors the 95 minutes on the favourable side of quality.
One also cannot blame the director for the simply satisfactory ending. After only directing a few of the latter episodes of Friends, Schwimmer isn't exactly an experienced motion picture skipper and this can be seen as a decent springboard opportunity for future better made and more rewarding assignments. If you can ignore the commercial nature (Nike is emblazoned everywhere) and London Tourist Board happy stance of the film, Run, Fat Boy, Run serves up entertainment in a very fruit machine-like manner - you soon come to realise after half an hour that a cheaper character piece going through the motions is never going to payoff as well as a Vegas-esque Pegg/Frost/Wright alliance no matter how hard you want to win the jackpot and have a fine time.
The summary
A formulaic and predictable, but not devoid of merit, time-passer with Pegg in off-season and Schwimmer in his rookie year.
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