Run Fatboy Run

A confused man bails on his wedding and his pregnant wife-to-be, on the day of their union, only to end up regretting his decision 5 years later, when another man woos the shit out of her. The confused man then decides to challenge the new guy, and starts training for a marathon in which the duo will compete. Some predictable fodder ensues…

This was an odd little movie that certainly had its share of small laughs and charm, but ultimately, it was all too predictable, included too many weightless “cutesy” characters and featured a lead romance between Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton (two people that I dig a lot…separately) that never really generated any genuine sparks. The film also clicked in at about 90 minutes, but never really had much to say, and could likely have been a 45-minute picture, with the same results. About 20 minutes into the film, I was already egging it on, because it seemed pretty obvious what was going to happen next. In fact, I think that anytime a movie is going to present a “love triangle” in which two separate people are vying for the affection of one other lovely person, I always prefer that both people vying for the gig are somewhat equal (I believe the triangle in SWEET HOME ALABAMA did this well), instead of one of them being a really nice guy, while the other is an obvious prick! This movie makes the prick-ness of one of the guys obvious early on, so it doesn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to see where the film will end up.

That said, I was surprised by the actual results of the marathon race which was the basis of most of the film leading up to that, and definitely appreciated everyone’s acting efforts, particularly Pegg who was able to showcase some of his romantic and serious sides. But in the end, the film felt like a really low-rent version of a thousand other movies (the homage to ROCKY was cute though), with secondary characters like that Indian neighbor really not bringing much more to the film, as well as Pegg’s friend in the movie, who seemed to be inserted for “comic relief” purposes. And who exactly were all those “friends” of his who were betting against him? I don’t know, the film didn’t feel tight either, with certain scenes feeling rushed, while others worked and did actually make me laugh. Before I sound like I’m lacing too much into the film though, allow me to say that it’s probably a decent rental, particularly with one’s better half, and even though its message felt a little overdone, teaching the value of persistence and dedication is never really a bad thing. Unfortunately, the finished product didn’t blow me away, mixing some laughs with some romance, but without ever really pulling me into its cookie-cutter storyline. And don’t get me started about how much the title sucks or about how Pegg’s character is supposed to be “really out of shape”, but in reality, he looks fine, other than a pot belly, which between me and you, isn’t really such a big deal. The film just didn’t feel like anything special.

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian