"Run Fatboy Run" (2007) - Movie Review

In romantic comedies, there exists a character forming serious threat to the main hero’s lost love interest. The personality will be adoring and a little too perfect. And when the ruined up relationship germinates a possible rekindling for our hero, then this perfect personality shifts momentum into a jerk, easily resulting in an immediate break up. This shift is for the audience to feel fine when the protagonist’s love has no guilt to it. It is formulaic garbage. Hank Azaria as Whit is that character who becomes a jerk to blossom the chances for Dennis (Simon Pegg) and Libby (Thandie Newton) in the end. And along with it the final marathon taking forever is what ruins the otherwise very funny comedy “Run Fatboy Run” directed by David Schwimmer.

It has Simon Pegg as the lazy loser who leaves his pregnant fiancé Libby (Thandie Newton) at the altar. Five years later he is a security guard in a women’s clothing shop, lives in a basement forgetting religiously his keys and spends jolly good time with his kid Jake (Mathew Fenton). His problem, he still is in love with Libby who now is seeing a potential candidate for Jake’s step dad to completely eliminate the chances of Dennis. That is Whit. Whit is considerate, kind, friendly and is a man who is also fighting for his place in Libby’s life. This obviously annoys Dennis. In a chance to revitalize his possibilities in proving Libby his capability of becoming a changed man, he commits to run the charity marathon Whit is running too.

And soon, his friend Gordon (really funny Dylan Moran) has bets with his illegal poker mates that Dennis will finish the race. His life is on line and he teams up with landlord of Dennis, Mr. Ghoshdashtidar (Harish Patel) beginning to have the training sessions. Now that in its own is good enough for the fun Pegg delivers along with his buddies. The film does distinguish itself from other regular fair of romantic comedies when Dennis makes an honest statement about his stupid mistake to Libby.

Pegg plays so good as the slacker and a loser with a dignity. He is sloppy, forgetful and more than that gives a regular Joe who we can see him along our sides. And he is quirky, witty and smart to shape the Dennis into some one who needs to be there for the film. Pegg’s Dennis is a close cousin of Shaun in “Shaun of the Dead” but a lethargic aspirer for responsibility. Dylan Moran’s Gordon adds the needed side kick buddy who is gladly not irritating as it would be but a cheeky lovable loser as Dennis. The thing that separates Dennis and Gordon is that Gordon knows who he is and he enjoys being it. Their chemistry is much needed along with Harish Patel’s character.

Schwimmer’s film has lot of promises for future ventures of his. He gives the simplicity of the joke in mild submissive reactions and the subtle carelessness the character casts in a scene. It is not a “Hot Fuzz” but it indeed had the potential to be one. Then it fails, and fails again in the never ending final twenty minutes. It is quite surprising that how much of that dragging really brought me down from the good comic moments it had before that. It’s a shame.

It is a clear hour and half film which got extended unnecessarily to two hours. Sometimes taking higher ground in delivering a message does not always is a good factor for a film. Some times the untold victory in the ridiculous loss tells a lot too. Schwimmer could have settled for an unadulterated comedy Pegg and Edward Wright gave in their previous films. Thrusting sweetness of conviction is not a great way to end a film.