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Movies / Upcoming / Run, Fat Boy, Run
Run, Fat Boy, Run

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Run, Fat Boy, Run (2008)

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53 %
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Reviews Counted:30

Fresh:16

Rotten:14

Average Rating:5.5/10

Consensus: Run, Fat Boy, Run features sporadic laughs, but is ultimately too formulaic and predictable.

Australian Rating: M [See Full Rating] Coarse language

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Comedies

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

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Reviews for Run, Fat Boy, Run

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1 - 10 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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This is an amiable film that will provoke some chuckles.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
03/19/08
Margaret Pomeranz
Margaret Pomeranz
At the Movies (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
03/01/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sure it’s predictable. Sure it’s a slight effort, but I still think it’s pretty funny and charming.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
03/31/08
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
03/28/08
Teresa Budasi
Teresa Budasi
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Amiable, consistently amusing and surprisingly affecting, it has the flavor of a Nick Hornby novel, with its focus on an overgrown boy struggling to grow up and be a man.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
03/28/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The kind of movie that's apt to be dismissed a goofy lark. It is that. But it's also a rare comedy that believes in its own message, and that could inspire the depressed and the demoralized to grit their teeth and keep running.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/28/08
Matt Zoller Seitz
Matt Zoller Seitz
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Run Fat Boy Run is hard to love, thanks to the tedious romantic-comedy cliches to which it subjects its characters -- and us.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
03/27/08
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There are no surprises here -- just broad, frequently slapstick gags that don't avoid but do tamp down a bit on the bodily-function school of yokkery.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/11/07
Dennis Harvey
Dennis Harvey
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...excessive product-placement has turned the film into one enormous ad for Nike, with all the chilling humourlessness that this implies.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
09/08/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pegg pitched Shaun of the Dead as "Richard Curtis shot through the head." Run, Fat Boy, Run comes on more like "Richard Curtis kicked in the nuts" - a refreshingly honest Britcom that never really threatens the ribs but which is amiable company throughout

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
09/07/07
Empire Magazine
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1 - 10 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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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. Opens in new window
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. Opens in new window
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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