Pant, pant, pant!
Run, Fat Boy, Run
By Gabriel Leong
Director: David Schwimmer
Starring: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria
Official website: http://www.runfatboyrunmovie.com/
Just what does one do when Friends leave you? One went through a high profile divorce when her significant other shagged up with Lara Croft. Some continue to pursue acting in sitcoms to little success while others persist on uncovering the Dirt in celebrity culture.
David Schwimmer - my least favorite "friend" to be honest - went behind the camera in his directing debut, Run Fatboy Run.
The unflattering sobriquet refers to Dennis, who's not really fat, just not in the best shape to be running a marathon. But running a marathon is just what Dennis intends to do, in order to win the love of his life back. Well there's also the secondary purpose of raising awareness (because Dennis needs to find a charity to run for in order to participate, and this one pretty much landed on his lap) for erectile dysfunction but that's not the crux of the matter here. Because Dennis was certainly not suffering from erectile dysfunction when he impregnated his girlfriend Libby five years ago, and promptly ran away at their wedding, leaving her at the altar with a bun in the oven.
Five years later, he spends every day trying to win her back, while at the same time maintaining a great relationship with his son. When Libby meets a new man in her life who threatens to sweep her away from Dennis for good, our fatboy decides to run in a marathon to prove, once and for all, that he's going to finish something in his sad, pathetic existence.
Aided by good friend Gordon and his corpulent landlord, he begins training for the longest run of his life.
Run Fatboy Run was surprisingly likeable, thanks to a stellar ensemble cast - (including a cameo by Little Britain's David Walliams) - and witty script. Simon Pegg puts in an endearing performance as the title character. It's hard to empathize with a man who left his pregnant fiancée at the altar, but Pegg's portrayal of this down-and-out character had me rooting for him from the very first step he took with his brand new Nike shoes.
Hats off too, to Harish Patel as Dennis's well-intentioned landlord for delivering one of the funniest lines in the film with a straight face.
Sweet, witty, and hilarious enough to leave me in tears, Run Fatboy Run is one comedy you don't want to run from.
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