Thanks for checking out our Run Fatboy Run review from the SXSW film festival here in Austin Texas.
I am but one of many people who instantly because a big and probably life long fan of Simon Pegg after watching Shaun of the Dead for the first time. That movie just had it all… terrific comedic performances, great writing, some great sick gore… it was just one of the most fun films I’ve seen in a long time. Then came Hot Fuzz, which wasn’t quite as good, but still very solid and just solidified Pegg (as well os Wright and Frost) as a guy that gets me interested in any project he’s involved in. So along comes Run Fatboy Run, the first non-Edgar Wright directed project I’ve seen Pegg in. Pegg wrote the screenplay, but how did the movie do with former Friends star David Schwimmer behind the camera instead of Wright? Well… not as well.
THE BASIC IDEA
From the official synopsis: “An overweight man leaves his fiancée on their wedding day, only to realize years later that she’s the one and only woman of his dreams in a romantic comedy that reunites Big Nothing co-stars Simon Pegg and David Schwimmer, this time with Schimmer in the director’s chair. It’s not easy to win back a woman after leaving her at the alter, but when an out-of-shape man finally realizes just what a mistake he made, he vows to run a high-profile marathon in order to convince his ex-fiancée that the rich and handsome man she is about to marry isn’t the guy for her.”
THE GOOD
Oddly enough the first person I want to mention for this movie is Dylan Moran. Moran plays Pegg’s best friend and the cousin of Pegg’s love interest. Moran was also in Shaun of the Dead with Pegg, and while he was pretty over shadowed in “Shaun”, he absolutely stands out and shines in Fatboy. His deadpan comedic timing was just perfect. It got to the point that every time he opened his mouth on screen you just EXPECTED something hilarious to come out. Very much a supporting role, but to me he stood out even more than Pegg, wich is a testament to how well he did in this flick as opposed to a knock on the job Pegg did. Speaking of which…
Simon Pegg was, as expected, very strong in the lead. That same charm and lovable half loser aura that he brought to “Shaun” was very much in full force for Fatboy. Pegg seems to have the ability to take even a mundane piece of dialog, and make it something that puts a grin on your face. Speaking of “face”, Pegg has that same Jim Carrey ability of using his face to emphasis comedic elements… but in a more subdued manner than Carrey, which I think is even more effective.
One thing that these British style comedies absolutely MUST have to work, is strong, memorable characters. Fatboy is well equipped in that regard. Pegg, Hank Azaria (who was also fantastic in the film), the Landlord, the Best Friend, even the Kid were all very endearing characters that you liked, laughed with… and even enjoyed when you weren’t supposed to like them very much
The first hour of this film is HILARIOUS.
THE BAD
Ok, the first thing I should mention here is a MAJOR pet peeve of mine. A little while ago I wrote a post called “8 Things I’m Sick Of Seeing In The Movies” talking about horrible overused cliches that too many movies fall back on. Well, in that article the #1 thing I put right at the top was:
1 – The current boyfriend/husband of the main character’s would be love interest is a total jerk
THE CLICHE: You know what I’m talking about. The “hero” of the film loves a girl, but the girl has a boyfriend. Already you know there is a 97% chance that this boyfriend will end up being a total dick. He yells at her, demeans her, doesn’t respect her. You can’t imagine why on earth she’s with him in the first place… but whatever the reason it doesn’t matter, because you know she’s going to end up with the hero in the end anyway when she finally sees the jerk in question for what he is, and leaves him for the hero.
Well guess what? That happens… again. About half the movies I’ve seen here use that old cliche and it always DRIVES ME NUTS! I HATE THAT!
Thawndie Newton does not belong in movies. I think she’s terrible, and terrible once again in this flick. At no point could I imagine why Pegg was in love with her, or why she was worth fighting for. Maybe I could have if Newton brought ANYTHING to the character… but she’s just not capable of it.
I mentioned in the “Good” part that the first hour of the film is hilarious. And it is! However, after the first hour the movie hits a wall. Great characters and a clever direction suddenly gave way to far overused cliches, safe yet terrible plot devices, and it went from feeling like a motion picture to a bad sitcom episode. A real shame because the film was moving along so great up to that point and it seemed to just get flushed.
OVERALL
Strong characters, some great laughs and a couple of decent performances are almost ruined by bad cliches, safe Hollywood type decisions and a sudden change in direction that disrupted the feel of the film. I still enjoyed the film when all was said and done, but I can’t help but also feel let down by it. For a Pegg movie I was hoping for so much more. A decent flick I think you’ll like… but don’t expect to love it in the least. Overall I give Run Fatboy Run a 6.5 out of 10
