Review: ‘Run Fatboy Run’

You may be expecting me to tear David Schwimmer apart, leaving nothing left to identify him by … but, I’m not going to do that. Run Fatboy Run (2007) is far from a perfect, or even great movie, but Schwimmer actually did not bomb on his feature [non-made-for-TV] film directorial debut. Its true that the film bares extreme similarities to countless other romantic comedies that have been made and at times can feel a little like an episode of Friends, but it is funny and generally not insulting to watch. If I were to rate Schwimmer, as a director, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being Stanley Kubrick and 1 being Uwe Boll … I’d give him a Hollywood industry-friendly 3 or 4. Run Fatboy Run is far from the best movie you’ll see all year and, in a momentary lapse from my normal advice, I wouldn’t necessarily even recommend seeing this in the theatre ,,, unless you want to. I would call this a very worth-while DVD rental.

Now to the good stuff … the primary reason this movie is as funny as it is is thanks to Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), who both co-wrote and stars in Run Fatboy Run. Pegg plays Dennis Doyle from downstairs, a man who is down on his luck five years after running out on his pregnant girlfriend on their wedding day. Dennis discovers that his ex-almost-wife Libby, played by Thandie Newton (Norbit), is dating a wealthy, successful and athletic new beau. This invader on Dennis’ territory is Whit, played by Hank Azaria (Along Came Polly), and he immediately gets under Dennis’ skin. Fast-forward just a bit … Whit is going to run a marathon and Dennis gets the idea that if he runs it he may just win Libby back. Obviously, it isn’t quite this simple and the stock romantic comedy elements begin to unfold … the struggle of the under-dog, the awkward moments, the competitiveness of the two males, the failed attempts at wooing the girl, etc.

The way I see it, if it weren’t for Simon Pegg, this movie really wouldn’t be any different from any other romantic comedy that’s been forced through the industry’s genre machine. In fact, the only reason I wanted to see this movie in the first place was because Pegg was starring and I enjoy his movies so much that I knew it would be worth my seven dollars, even if just for his scenes. I may come off sounding like an obsessed wierd-o, but I truly believe we have just begun to see a rising career from Simon Pegg, along with his buddy [unrelated to this film] Edgar Wright. This film-making pair has such a keen sense of what good film-making consists of that that I have nearly worn their names out when talking to friends about Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. It also must be noted that Simon Pegg has a certain classic and rarely seen sense of comedy that dates back to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

[rating:3/5]