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The complications stemmed from long-term relationships - especially when one side pulls out - are a difficult thing to effectively capture on film due to the incessant lampooning that follows in an effort to strike comedic gold. There are few romantic comedies that manage to present both sides of the situation and still earn empathy from the audience for all its characters - not just the one left at the alter. In fact, in the last three years I can only think of one film that does this successfully: 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I mention that film only because Run Fatboy Run, directed by David Schwimmer and written by Michael Ian Black and Simon Pegg, aims to achieve that level of success, but falls short of its intended target and settles for creating its own heroes (Pegg) and villains (Hank Azaria) without breaking any rules. That being said, Run Fatboy Run is funny and remains a sweet, but albeit typical romantic comedy.

Run Fatboy RunThe story opens with Dennis Doyle (Pegg) making a purely impulsive decision to leave his fiancée at the alter... by running away. The scene is comical and tragic all at once, but it sets the stage for the obstacles that Doyle must face when he begins to look back upon his decision to run away. Pegg is funny in the role and always a hoot to laugh at and the film, for the most part, fits into the strain of Pegg's comedies that get large audiences. But there are times, mainly with the treatment of Whit (Azaria) that the comedic falls flat and takes the low road. Elizabeth Odell (Thandie Newton) plays Doyle's jilted lover and is now with Whit, but she really has nothing meaningful to do in the film. Literally. Nothing. To do. Newton is good in the part, but, besides being pretty to look at, has no real presence in the film and that‘s a shame because she is a good actress.

Structurally, the film has a good flow to it; nothing disrupts it from reaching the payoff at the end of the narrative and, surprisingly, the metaphor of facing your own fears or walls becomes something of a physical symbol in the film and it plays well; again, never feeling forced or artificial. It's a nice touch to see Doyle stumble, fall, and have to face the wall he created in his own mind with his own actions. You'll know the scene when you reach it in the film and, if you are anything like me, smile a little in recognition of your own barriers and walls.

Does it surprise anyone that David Schwimmer might just be the best thing to surface from the cast of NBC's Friends? Sure, he can be funny at times in front of the camera, but it seems his real talent may be sitting behind the camera in the director's chair. Really. Run Fatboy Run, in the hands of Schwimmer, has moments where it feels inspired, not over-manipulated and stale, and, at times, surprises its audience with a looseness that never seems forced. It is simply a good-natured romantic comedy. That's it, and that's okay, right? Run Fatboy Run is a little jewel of a movie - not near the polished gem that it could have been with maybe a couple more touches of biting British humor from the cast - but it does sparkle on its own.


Component Grades
Movie
DVD
3 Stars
3 Stars
DVD Experience
3 Stars

DVD

DVD Details:

Screen Formats: 1.85:1

Subtitles: English, Spanish, English SDH

Language and Sound: English: DTS 7.1 HD

Other Features: The special features on the DVD include deleted scenes, commentary by Pegg, Newton, Pegg's mother (yes, his mother) and Schwimmer, a gag reel, trailers and has both the widescreen and full-screen format of the film.

* Commentary
o Feature-length commentary track with director Schwimmer, stars Pegg and Newton, and Pegg's "mum", Gill.
* Deleted Scenes - 7 minutes and 20 seconds of scenes that didn't make the final cut, with optional Schwimmer commentary
* Outtakes (06:47)
* Thandie's Goof (02:54)
* Trailers and Sneak Peeks of other Warner releases

Number of Discs: 1 with Keepcase Packaging

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