This is an amiable film that will provoke some chuckles.
Run, Fat Boy, Run (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:143
Fresh:69
Rotten:74
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: Run, Fat Boy, Run features sporadic laughs, but is ultimately too formulaic and predictable.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Mar 6, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $5,926,110
Synopsis: DENNIS (Simon Pegg) is an ordinary guy. He's a little overweight and he smokes, but he's nice, charming and unassuming. However, five years ago, Dennis did something that wasn't so nice. On his... DENNIS (Simon Pegg) is an ordinary guy. He's a little overweight and he smokes, but he's nice, charming and unassuming. However, five years ago, Dennis did something that wasn't so nice. On his wedding day to his pregnant fiancé LIBBY (Thandie Newton), Dennis did a runner. He just couldn't go through with it. He didn't think he was good enough for Libby, so instead of ruining her life, he ruined her big day. Now, five years later, Dennis realizes he made a big mistake. He's still in love with Libby. He still sees her all the time because of JAKE (Matthew Fenton), their five-year-old son, but all romantic ties have been severed. Libby's now seeing WHIT (Hank Azaria), a charming professional from the City, and Dennis takes an immediate dislike to him. Whit is casual, easy-going, successful and good with Jake; much to Dennis's annoyance. How can Dennis compete with him? In direct contrast to Whit's sleek lifestyle in the City, Dennis is a mere security guard for a ladies retail store. He doesn't earn much money and he's well behind on his rent, something which his landlord, MR GHOSHDASHTIDAR (Harish Patel), doesn't take lightly. Mr G's daughter MAYA (India de Beaufort) is particularly intent on evicting Dennis and replacing him with a much more reliable tenant. Compared to Whit's effortless abilities, everything Dennis attempts seems to end in disaster. Even when he wants to take Jake to see "Lord of the Rings: The Musical," he finds himself in trouble with the police for trying to buy from a ticket tout. There is no help forthcoming from Dennis' feckless best friend GORDON (Dylan Moran), whose life is just as much of a mismatch. Gordon's main sources of interest are the poker games held at the back of a piano store with a bunch of misfits: GROVER, CLAUDINE and MICKEY, overseen by the imperious VINCENT (Simon Day). Dennis feels demoralized and overwhelmed by Whit's long list of achievements. In a last-ditch effort to prove to Libby that he's changed his ways, Dennis impulsively announces at her birthday party that he will run in the same London Marathon that Whit has been training for. But does Dennis have the stuff to trade his cold feet for running shoes? RUN, FAT BOY, RUN is a romantic comedy that affirms that true love isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. --© Picturehouse [More]
Starring: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Dylan Moran, Hank Azaria
Starring: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Dylan Moran, Hank Azaria, Ameet Chana, Harish Patel, David Walliams, Stephen Merchant
Director: David Schwimmer
Director: David Schwimmer
Screenwriter: Michael Ian Black, Simon Pegg
Story: Michael Ian Black
Producer: Robert Jones, Sarah Curtis
Composer: Alex Wurman
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for Run, Fat Boy, Run
Although I did enjoy the incongruity of the characters, this well-intentioned low brow co-production does not quite make it to the finish line.
From storyline to characterization to style of comedy, everything about the directorial debut of former Friends star David Schwimmer is a nod to accommodation, compromise and consensus.
While some moments rely solely on Pegg's natural on-screen goofiness, he & M. I. Black have simply written a very funny script that spreads the fun evenly throughout.
Predictable losers-are-people-too jesting raised a notch by the quality work of consummate professionals.
... lacks the invention of [Simon] Pegg's comedies with Edgar Wright, which buzz and crackle with ideas and energy. This one simply plods through...
Overcomes its occasional stumbles, thanks almost entirely to the charm of its cast...
Fatboy may be more welcome than the latest Matthew McConaughey-Kate Hudson vehicle, but only by a nose.
This is yet another parody that falls victim to the desire to become what it's intending to satirize.
This is not a film with blazingly original ideas or a groundbreaking script - I guessed the ending before the movie even started - but it has a sweet nature, an abundance of laughs and plenty of Pegg to spare.
For his debut directing role, Schwimmers steers a safe "PG-13" date movie that roots for the underdog and has a good overall message.
...excessive product-placement has turned the film into one enormous ad for Nike, with all the chilling humourlessness that this implies.
A fine work of craftspeople both in front of the camera and behind...whose chief mistake is that every one of them appears to have forgotten that it was in fact a comedy.
Schwimmer and Pegg have scored a win--largely due to tasteful choices in the subplotting and providing such a rich ensemble to tickle the shenanigans to a higher level.
One thing Schwimmer does do right is keep the story moving swiftly. You're in, you're out, no harm done -- unless you want that hour and a half back.
This brand of unfailing comic timing and expressive physicality is rare, and it's why Pegg, in particular, is a star. [Blu-ray]
It's clear in the scene where they try to scam the marathon officials that Dylan Moran would be a good candidate to play the grown Harry Potter in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows film. Somebody take note!
Pegg is brilliant, pratfalling his way through heartbreak and indignity
Latest News for Run, Fat Boy, Run
September 24, 2008:
The film, like its flabby aspiring marathon runner protagonist, feels shapeless and exhausted from the sheer effort of trying to please audiences. ![]()
More...
August 15, 2008:
CinWorld: The film, like its flabby aspiring marathon runner protagonist, feels shapeless and exhausted from the sheer effort of trying to please audiences. ![]()
More...
March 30, 2008:
New Feature Alert! The RT Review Revue, A Weekly Video Round-up
Live from the RT offices...it's the RT Review Revue! Check out the latest word on this week's new releases in the first installment of our new editorial video column. More...
March 27, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Four New Players Join The Game
Four new releases take a gamble debuting in theaters across North America hoping to hit the jackpot with audiences. The blackjack drama 21 and the spoof comedy Superhero Movie... More...
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