Schwimmer is wise to keep his camera trained on Pegg at all times, as the actor can make any sequence worthwhile with his unexpected, jittery retorts and reactions.
Comment
03/27/08
Run, Fat Boy, Run (2008)
48
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
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... [More]
Starring: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Dylan Moran, Hank Azaria
Director: David Schwimmer
Reviews for Run, Fat Boy, Run
81 - 100 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Fatboy may be more welcome than the latest Matthew McConaughey-Kate Hudson vehicle, but only by a nose.
03/27/08
While [Pegg] gets some mileage out of this sketchy material, he's undermined by story and character problems, as well as the limp, uninspired direction of actor-turned-filmmaker David Schwimmer.
03/27/08
It looks like British writers Simon Pegg and Michael Ian Black have been studying the romantic comedies of Adam Sandler.
03/27/08
... lacks the invention of [Simon] Pegg's comedies with Edgar Wright, which buzz and crackle with ideas and energy. This one simply plods through...
03/27/08
Run Fatboy Run isn't particularly hilarious or moving, but it's got just enough humor and pathos to render its myriad flaws almost forgivable. Almost.
03/27/08
Could a better combination of collaborators have produced something greater? Definitely. But this cheerful mix of juvenility and grown-up-relationship angst goes down smoothly enough to be worth watching.
03/27/08
Run Fat Boy Run is hard to love, thanks to the tedious romantic-comedy cliches to which it subjects its characters -- and us.
03/27/08
Top CriticThe project represents an uncertain Britification of a script by Chicago native Michael Ian Black, and the result finds itself stranded somewhere out in the Atlantic, mid-crossing.
03/27/08
So pathetically average that you can barely muster the energy to have an opinion about it.
03/27/08
Snarkiness and sentiment are in constant battle for supremacy throughout Run Fat Boy Run with no chance of a comfortable draw.
03/27/08
[Director] Schwimmer shows some skill by keeping the mood light and making no notable missteps, but he still comes away looking like someone trying, and failing, to play Judd Apatow, the reigning champion of realistic, emotional comedy.
03/27/08
[Director] David Schwimmer takes the sow's ear of a script given him by [Simon] Pegg and Michael Ian Black and deep-fries it into a burnt pork rind of a movie.
03/27/08
It’s hard to dislike Simon Pegg, but in Run Fat Boy Run, he exhausts our sympathy in the prologue.
03/27/08
There are so many scenes of him running, it's surprising Pegg didn't just take off and never come back to the set after he saw how things were going.
03/27/08
Anyone hoping for the lean meat of the fast, furious, and riotously funny Shaun of the Dead or even the popcorn fancy of the lesser Hot Fuzz will do best to look elsewhere.
03/27/08
It may be the kind of film that will make you smile more than laugh, but you'll smile a lot. And although it practically forces you to root for its hero, you won't mind a bit because the hero is played by Simon Pegg.
03/27/08
Depends on the charm of its leading man. But that proves a commodity which, in Pegg's case, proves to be not only in short supply but positively out of stock.
03/27/08
Pegg's Dennis is lazy, insensitive and unhygienic. Yet his most defining quality is blandness. I could barely rouse myself to dislike him.
03/27/08
Pegg is brilliant, pratfalling his way through heartbreak and indignity
03/26/08
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...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Why Don't Australians Make Sci-fi?
The New Matilda's Lynden Barber looks at the recent success of low-budget sci-fi -- and asks the question.
New Moon Portraits
TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser
Win the entire 007 collection
Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection
IGN RSS Feeds