Run Fat Boy Run DVD Review

"Run, Fat Boy, Run" reviews

DVD

Run, Fat Boy, Run

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-02-22 15:50:21

Provider

MRIB

DVD Review

Former Friends star David Schwimmer went behind the camera for this British comedy starring Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz's Simon Pegg.

It sees Pegg's overweight character, Dennis, jilting his pregnant fiancée Libby (Thandie Newton) at the alter on their wedding day. Five years on he's working as a security guard in a women’s lingerie store when it dawns on him that it was the biggest mistake of his life.

What better way for Dennis to win back his soulmate, now dating successful businessman Whit, than to run, and win, a marathon against her new bloke? Several, you might think, but this is the painful route he chooses, starting with some drastic weight loss.

Aimed at the US market, which Schwimmer clearly understands better than the UK, this film lacks the humorous references so crucial to Pegg's previous offerings. Neither does it contain the kind of one-liners that Schwimmer's Ross character occasionally offered in Friends. Yes, they have to move on, but with their collective experience you could be forgiven for expecting something a little sharper.

There are a few decent, if unsubtle jokes (chief among them a chase scene with a shoplifting transvestite) here and there, but unlike Pegg's previous film, it doesn't demand repeat viewings. Extras include commentaries, deleted scenes and outtakes.

Copyright © MRIB 2008.