Run, Fat Boy, Run

Simon Pegg has lately been one of the best and funniest things to come out of Britain. Starting with the UK's take on "Seinfeld", the critically acclaimed but short-lived British series "Spaced" (1999), Pegg has emerged as a premiere comedic writing and acting talent with the hilarious zombie spoof Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007), a sort of buddy comedy spin on Agatha Christie. Pegg's partners along the way have been co-writer and director Edgar Wright, and buddy comedy counterpart Nick Frost. With Run, Fat Boy, Run (2007), Pegg has attempted to branch out and make a more "American" comedy, bringing on veteran funnyman of the reality TV circuit Michael Ian Black as co-writer, David Schwimmer to direct in his feature film debut, and Hank Azaria as the antagonistic foil.

Five years after leaving his pregnant fiancé Libby (Thandie Newton) at the altar, Dennis Dolye (Pegg) works a dead-end job as a security guard, is behind on his rent, smokes too much, and is fairly out of shape. Enter American businessman Whit (Azaria), Libby's new boyfriend, who is trying to sidle into the father role for Jake, Dennis's son and only joy in life. After joining Whit at the gym while trying to gauge his intentions with Libby, Dennis accidentally agrees to join Whit in an upcoming marathon along the Thames. Falsely equating finishing the marathon with winning Libby back, Dennis grudgingly begins training in earnest with the help of his Pakistani neighbor Mr. Goshdashtidar and his friend Gordon (Dylan Moran), who's banking on Dennis finishing the race to the tune of a 5000 pound bet. Dennis will need all the help he can get: the race is just three weeks away.

RFBR is by no means a bad film. It's enjoyable and there are plenty of laughs, mostly dealt out by Pegg and Dylan Moran as the down-and-out bachelor BFF Gordon. But I can't help comparing this film to Pegg's previous efforts and seeing it come up short in matters of originality, script complexity, and cinematographic merit. The biggest of these problems is originality. Pegg and Black's script is somewhat lifeless, playing rather like a number of other generic rom-coms. Boy has girl, boy loses girl, girl meets better and more handsome boy, old boy attempts to win back girl while exposing faults of new boy. It doesn't help that Hank Azaria drives right down cliche avenue, playing Whit as the typical flashy, handsome, and successful jerkface. One has to wonder if newcomers Black and Schwimmer might be to blame, both used to more formulaic fare, such as episodes of "Friends" or an endless litany of VH1 commentary shows (think "I Love the 80s"). I would recommend this movie for fans of Pegg's other work, but just be prepared for it to be a little less realized than Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz.

Storyline & plot: 4/10
Cinematography & effects: 6/10
Music & mood: 5/10
Performances: 6/10

The Reverend says: 6/10