"Run, Fatboy, Run" is a sweet yet drawn-out piece of charm that carries laughs most of the way through the marathon of jokes and gags.
Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) is a slightly overweight - not necessarily a fatboy, as implied by the title - security guard at a lingerie store in downtown London. He lives in the basement apartment to which he always forgets his keys, forcing him to bug the landlord, Mr. Ghoshdashtidar (Harish Patel), who still bugs Dennis for rent.
There is one thing that Dennis is true to: his young son Jake (Matthew Fenton). Problem his, Dennis still yearns for the love and affection of his one-time fiancé Libbie (Thandie Newton), whom he ran away from on their wedding day - while she was pregnant.
Still jilted by the fact that Dennis is "always running away but never in the right direction," Libbie falls for ambitious businessman Whit (Hank Azaria). Whit, you see, is a runner of marathons for charity. The upcoming Nike River-Run is his next and biggest challenge. To prove to Libbie he can finish what he starts, Dennis proclaims, albeit spur-of-the-moment, that he will run the marathon, too.
Problem is, Dennis equates running a marathon with watching one, in it's entirety, on TV. And he needs a charity to run for.
So begins the training for the extensive run with best friend Gordon (Dylan Moran) and Mr. Ghoshdashtidar as coaches, running on behalf of National Erectile Dysfunction Awareness. During the grueling process of cramming six months of training into three weeks, Dennis and Whit's relationship goes from neutral to battling for Libbie's affections.
David Schwimmer, best known as Ross from "Friends," makes his directorial debut here. And while the aforementioned TV series ran it's course thin, so does this film. Jokes and gags are a little drawn out, even for a film with a 100-minute-running time. Still, the film carries a certain amount of charm, thanks in part to Pegg.
Best known as the lead in the exquisitely hilarious "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz," Pegg has a certain everyman's way about him, able to fit himself into a comic role that calls for physicality and timing. He just doesn't do as well with Azaria, another hilarious individual that doesn't get to spread his comic wings much here. Instead, Pegg plays better off his "Shaun" and "Fuzz" co-star Nick Frost. Fortunately, Pegg has Moran, a "Shaun" alumnus himself, who really gets to break free and just about steals the show from Pegg. They both play well off each other and seem to know each other's capabilities.
Sure, some jokes don't work, and the ending is predictable, if not expected. But "Run, Fatboy, Run" crosses the finish line battered and bruised but successful nonetheless.
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