Although Simon Pegg cut his acting teeth on such British shows as Spaced and Big Train, it wasn't until 2004's Shaun of the Dead that he came into true prominence. His role as police constable Nicholas Angel in 2007's Hot Fuzz solidified him as a master of comedic timing, and garnered him a loyal fan base. Pegg is indeed a genius when it comes to comedic delivery, but that doesn't mean he can save every project he works in. If you need proof of that, look no further than his latest work, Run, Fatboy, Run.
Written by Pegg and Michael Ian Black(Stella, The State), and directed by David Schwimmer(Americana, Friends), the film stars Pegg as Dennis, a layabout who deserts his lovely and pregnant girlfriend Libby(Thandie Newton) at the altar on their wedding day, following a massive panic attack. Cut to five years later, and Dennis is even more of a slacker, albeit now with a slight paunch. He's a security guard in a women's clothing store who gets out of breath when chasing a thieving drag queen(St. Trinian's Gabriel Fleary) and somehow never manages to make his rent on time. Dennis is a devoted father however, managing to spend as much time as possible with his and Libby's five year-old son Jake (Matthew Fenton, convincing and quite funny in his acting debut), in spite of the fact he disappoints the kid by failing to get tickets to the Lord of the Rings musical.
Although Libby was mature enough to allow Dennis back into her life--for their son's sake--Dennis' main obstacle to getting all the way back in the door arrives in the form of Libby's new boyfriend Whit, played by the talented Hank Azaria(The Simpsons Movie, Huff). Whit is the exact opposite of Dennis: he's smooth, handsome, buff, worldly, and makes a bunch o' bucks working in London's financial district. Whit is also a marathon runner, about to participate in the Nike River Run. Tired of his infamous rep as a man who never finishes anything he starts, Dennis decides to compete in the mara-thon in order to earn Libby's respect, even if he knows he'll never win her back.
Run, Fatboy, Run is excellently cast: Aside from Pegg, Newton(Norbit, 2004's Crash) and Azaria, Pegg's fellow Shaun alum Dylan Moran co-stars as Dennis' best friend Gordon, who also happens to be Libby's cousin. New-to-the- scene cutie India de Beaufort(The Basil Brush Show) also turns in a competent performance playing the daughter of Dennis' landlord, Mr. Ghoshdashtidar(Harish Patel). The central problem with the film, however, lies with both its script and inadequate direction by Schwimmer.
Although the script is co-written by an Englishman, the storyline feels and plays out like a derivative American adap-tation, almost like a film that desperately wants to capture the flavor of a British comedy, but isn't quite up to the task. It also has a tone which feels very corporate influenced, with a very predictable beginning, middle and end. Perhaps it was the portions of the script written by American Michael Ian Black which drags it down, or the final touches of Schwimmer who, after playing Ross on Friends for ten years, should have certainly had a better handle on how to direct actors in comedic situations.
The movie hits all the expected marks, from having best friend Gordon being an unstoppable and uncouth horn dog who has the audacity to lust after his own cousin in the open-ing scenes, to attempting to make landlord Goshdashtidar a hard case who initially only barely tolerates Dennis' lateness with the rent, but then inexplicably comes to believe that Dennis can succeed in his goal of finishing the marathon and becoming one of his most steadfast supporters. While the film does have some funny moments--including a hysterical mano-a-mano fight between Dennis and Gordon--and should be rightfully commended for not making the fact that Dennis is white and his former fiancee is black into an issue even once, there are far more cons than pros in this lackluster comedy.
The most problematic of these failings lie within the character of Whit. Initially, Whit comes across as a genuinely nice guy, on top of having it all(looks, money, the girl). How-ever, in a complete copout(and more than likely to give us a legitimate reason to root for Dennis), Whit turns out to be quite a jackass, yelling at Libby's son and being a control freak in how he and his new family will live their lives. Although I absolutely hated Superman Returns, I did give credit to Bryan Singer for having the stones to make the Man of Steel's romantic competitor for Lois' affections--ably played by James Marsden--a truly nice guy, and thereby delivering a sense of moral ambiguity to the audience, in order to make it harder to decide which should be the one to whom Lois pledges her heart. Schwimmer and the writers of Run, Fatboy, Run however, don't have as much courage, and choose to fall back on obvious conventions.
Azaria does his best and the film comes more alive when he's on camera. Pegg is also solid as Dennis, but it's hard not to mess up in a role which is only one step away from the title character in Shaun of the Dead. It's a role Pegg is quite comfortable in, but which won't allow him to grow as an actor. And for the audience, playing such a role might lend an air of familiarity, but only the type that tells you it's time to toss out that old raggedy sweater you've worn too much and get a new one.
Official Archives of LanceReviews...
Trapped In Last Place
Simon Pegg does his best, but new comedy can't make it out of the starting gate...
Run, Fatboy: Better to run in the opposite direction of whatever theater near you that's showing this one.
On a "Rocky" road: Pegg plays a moderately overweight loser who vows to run a marathon in order to win his girl back.
The price of friendship: Fellow "Shaun of the Dead" alum Dylan Moran plays Pegg's best friend. Pegg really owes him a favor.
"I'm so sorry I got you into this! You're too young to endure such blandness! I'm so sorry...so sorry...!"
