Overweight lingerie store security guard Dennis (Simon Pegg) is still desperately in love with his ex-girlfriend Libby (Thandie Newton). The only problem is that he happened to leave her – while she was pregnant, mind you – on their wedding day, leaping out the back window of the church when his nerves suddenly got the better of him. Truth is, the usually sweet and charming (if a bit lazy) man hasn’t finished a darn thing in his entire life, so when he gets it into his head the only way he can win Libby back is by running a charity-driven London marathon it’s not exactly surprising no one, including the woman’s smarmy new American health-obsessed beau, Whit (Hank Azaria), thinks he’s going to be able to make it to the finish line.
But Dennis is serious, and while his initial motives aren’t exactly 100-percent above-board during his training, something strange and maybe altogether wonderful, has been happening to him. What it is he can’t quite put a finger on; all he knows is that he will complete this marathon and finally prove he can finish what he starts and maybe even win back the girl of his dreams doing so.
Simon Pegg should be listed as some sort of national British treasure. He’s funny, plain and simple, and from Shaun of the Dead to Hot Fuzz to the upcoming How to Lose Friends and Alienate People watching this guy perform is absolutely sublime. He’s the modern day lovechild of Michael Caine and Peter Sellers, dry wit and crooked cockney charm oozing from each and every fiber of his being no matter how silly or slapstick the situations around him seem to get. All of which is great for the newly released Run Fatboy Run, the actor pulling out all the stops doing everything he can to make Dennis as enduring, and endearing, a character as any he’s ever played. Unfortunately Pegg the writer (working with fellow screenwriter Michael Ian Black) lets Pegg the actor down, the pair concocting a plot that feels like it would be right at home on Lifetime cable television. While they gamely struggle to keep the sugar and the hokum to a minimum (and do in fact offer up numerous fun little vignettes), there is a routine laziness to all of this that’s rather uninspired.
The film is a poorly constructed tale of redemption that doesn’t push any boundaries, go in any new directions or offer up any emotions outside of cliché. It’s a waste of some pretty serious talent. Newton, hamstrung by a traditional ‘girlfriend’ role so beneath her talents it’s almost unforgivable and Azaria stuck going through the traditional sleaze-ball motions with as much energetic chutzpah as a slug.
Don’t get me wrong. The film is seldom boring and I certainly never hated it. Newbie director David Schwimmer (yes, Ross from “Friends”) acquits himself decently, even offering up one of the best cinematic descriptions of ‘The Wall’ I think I’ve ever seen. Most of the time the comedy is light, breezy entertainment, and with Pegg at the center of it all there is always some sort of small devilish delight just waiting to unexpectedly pounce upon your funny bone.
The Blu-ray disc for the movie is relatively solid. Picture and sound quality are fine, while the special features are about what you would expect for such a modest box office performer as this one was. Not that I’d expect anyone to spend much time with either the Deleted Scene, Outtakes or Newton’s (rather amusing) practical joke on Pegg, but along with a spirited and amusing audio commentary with the two stars, Schwimmer and Gill Pegg (Simon’s Mom) all of them are a bit better then I’d first imagined they were going to be.
All of which makes Run Fatboy Run perfect for a lazy afternoon’s rental. Just don’t buy it, because as much as I love and adore Pegg I still can’t bring myself to say this one even remotely comes close to crossing the finish line.
