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RUN FATBOY RUN
Blu-ray Edition
Film review by Gordon Justesen
Technical specs by Michael Jacobson
Stars: Simon Pegg, Thandie
Newton, Hank Azaria, Dylan Moran, Harish Patel
Director: David Schwimmer
Audio: Dolby Digital 7.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Studio: New Line Cinema
Features: See Review
Length: 100 Minutes
Release Date: September 23, 2008
“The only concrete thing we do know is that he’s running for erectile dysfunction.”
Simon Pegg, soon to be the new Scotty in the upcoming Star Trek feature film, is a true comedic discovery following the back-to-back successes of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, two amazing genre-bending comedies that he also co-wrote. Any future project that bears his name will a film I will eagerly see. For me, Pegg is a talent who can simply do no wrong.
Thus, I was very eager to see Run Fatboy Run, which Pegg both co-wrote and stars in. And though I certainly wasn’t expecting anything at the level of Hot Fuzz, I certainly wasn’t expecting a more formulaic outing. The movie isn’t without laughs, a few of which are even at a gut-busting caliber, but they are mostly overshadowed by a predictable story structure we’ve seen way too many times.
The story opens with Dennis (Pegg) about to tie the knot with longtime and pregnant girlfriend, Libby (Thandie Newton). However, he gets a bad case of cold feet and turns into the runaway groom. How one could even consider leaving a beauty like Ms. Newton standing at the altar is a mystery to me.
Cut to five years later, and the cowardly Dennis is working struggling through life as a security guard. However, he has grown to be something a decent father to his son, Jake (Matthew Fenton). And as it turns out, the relationship between him and Libby isn’t as disastrous as one might expect.
However, she has a new boyfriend in her life, Whit (Hank Azaria). Though he doesn’t come across as a total jerk, he is something of an overachiever. Of course, Dennis can’t stand him at all.
The centerpiece of the story involves Dennis wanting to compete against Whit in an upcoming marathon known as that Nike River Run. The one thing I respected about the story arc, in spite of the predictability, is that Dennis isn’t exactly competing to win back Libby or prove that he’s better than Whit. He’s doing it for his son’s love and respect.
Other than that nice little story touch, there’s not a whole lot of surprises in Run Fatboy Run. Right from the get-go, I could pretty much tell how the story was going to play out. And sure enough, my predictions were correct.
Nearly every supporting character in Dennis’ life gets involved with his training for the marathon. Even his landlord, Mr. Ghoshdashidar (Haris Patel), who was only concerned about his rent money in the first half of the movie, becomes no less than Dennis’ coach. And at no point does the movie feel like it’s poking fun at this situation, which you think would be the path for a movie that Simon Pegg co-wrote and stars in.
But I did get a number of laughs throughout the movie, most of them sight gags that seem to work on me after 20 years. And when the movie does try to turn up the emotional factor involving the relationship between Dennis and his son, it works a lot more than you think. And I will say this for David Schwimmer, of TV’s Friends, the guy does have a future as a director.
No complaints about New Line's high definition Blu-ray transfer...though it's not a stylistically demanding movie, the print and presentation still look quite beautiful, with natural looking and vibrant coloring, crisply detailed images, and solid contrast throughout.
The 7.1 mix doesn't have many demands made on it, but the soundtrack of songs sounds potent and dynamic, and the dialogue, which is the crux of the audio, is always clean and clearly delivered.
Included on this New Line release is a commentary by Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Gill Pegg (Simon's Mom) and director David Schwimmer. Also featured are Deleted Scenes, Thandie's Goof (a prank Ms. Newton played on Pegg during a press junket), Outtakes and Theatrical Trailers...all thankfully presented in high definition!
Summary:
I had some fun with Run Fatboy Run, but with the talent involved I kept wondering how better the film would’ve been had a different direction been taken with the material. It’s good for some belly laughs here and there, and you aren’t as forgiving as I am for a predictable story arc, then you might have fun with it.
