2007

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

Schwimmer’s directorial debut features the first Simon Pegg lead role I saw, and one of his best. He actually works as a fully-realized man.

Spoiler-free Movie Review of Run Fatboy Run:

I love this movie. Despite the popularity of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, this was actually the first of Simon Pegg’s movies that I saw. Up until this point I’d only seen him in supporting roles, and while I liked him very much, I had a hard time picturing him leading a film. That he’s very funny in this is a given. What is maybe more surprising and certainly more impressive is how well he plays it straight and how fully developed this character is.

Pegg plays Dennis, an underachiever who never finishes anything, least of all his marriage to his pregnant fiance Libby (Thandie Newton), whom he deserts at the altar in the film’s opening sequence. Things move forward five years and Dennis is still an immature lout who disappoints everyone. But when Libby and their son Jake are being swept away by the obnoxious new beau Whit (Hank Azaria), Dennis tries to change in order to win them back. With the support of his friend Gordon (Dylan Moran) and landlord (Harish Patel), Dennis trains for and enters the London Marathon.

The script by Pegg and Michael Ian Black, based on a story by Black, is really quite good. The dialogue is very funny, it’s got a great heart and the gross-out jokes are kept to a minimum (though not a low enough number for me). Thandie Newton is Hollywood’s most under-utilized talent and Pegg really does display a maturity here that I didn’t expect. Dylan Moran very nearly steals the entire movie as Libby’s cousin Gordon, who is best friends with Dennis. He has a marvelous deadpan delivery and great timing.

Possibly the most surprising aspect of Run Fatboy Run is how inspirational it is. I’m not saying it’ll make you rethink your life, but I was unexpectedly moved by Dennis’ quest to become a better person and touched by the relationship with his son. The movie really does make you feel good, in addition to being hilarious.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Fail

The Representation Test Score: B (7 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

[schema type=”movie” url=”http://www.runfatboyrunmovie.com/” name=”Run Fatboy Run” description=”Five years ago Dennis (Simon Pegg) was at the altar about to marry Libby (Thandie Newton), his pregnant fianc?e. He got cold feet and ran for the hills and he’s been going in circles ever since. When Dennis discovers Libby’s hooked up with high-flying-go-getter Whit (Hank Azaria), he realizes it’s now or never. He enters a marathon to show he’s more than a quitter, but then finds out just how much sweat, strain and tears it takes to run for 26 miles. Nobody gives him a chance, but Dennis knows this is his only hope to be more than a running joke.” director=”David Schwimmer” actor_1=”Simon Pegg” ]

Main Cast	Simon Pegg Dennis, Thandie Newton Libby, Hank Azaria Whit, Dylan Moran Gordon
Rating	PG-13
Release Date	Fri 28 Mar 2008 UTC
Director	David Schwimmer
Genres	Comedy, Romance, Sport
Plot	Five years after jilting his pregnant fiancée on their wedding day, out-of-shape Dennis decides to run a marathon to win her back.
Poster
Runtime	100
Tagline	Love. Commitment. Responsibility. There’s nothing he can’t run away from.
Writers	Michael Ian Black (screenplay) &, Simon Pegg (screenplay) …
Year	2007

#140RVW

Falling somewhere between a send-up & a celebration of action movies, Cornetto#2 tonally inconsistent & far too long, but wonderfully funny.

What’s more:

Action comedies often have a hard time finding the right balance between comedy and action. Too often what it really means is that the movie is a comedy for most of the first two acts before becoming stupid violent in the third act and completely forgetting to be funny (until the decidedly cheery coda, which pretends that all of the seriousness and bloodshed of the climax didn’t just happen).

Hot Fuzz unfortunately is another example of this; sort of. Unlike a Hollywood picture, Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg’s script is intentionally written as a celebration of action movies. They aren’t spoofing action movies, but they are deliberately reveling in all of the clichés of those movies. This ambition leads the movie to have a bit of an identity crisis; it feels like a spoof but doesn’t embrace it fully.

The result is a VERY long movie for the type. That is, if it’s a comedy. If it’s just an action movie, well, 2 hours is fine. But that’s too long for a comedy. And I think that whatever other aspirations they may have had, Wright & Pegg were aiming for laughs. And Hot Fuzz provides those in buckets. This is a seriously funny movie.

Simon Pegg & Nick Frost are arguably the best comedy duo working at the moment. Their familiarity with each other leads to some great material and is one of the reasons they can take on so many different genres. The supporting cast is fantastic, and there are a slew of cameos if you look for them (although I didn’t recognize Cate Blanchett or Peter Jackson – I’ll let you Google it). 

Hot Fuzz is a great movie. But it needs a serious haircut…

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Fail

The Representation Test Score: C (4 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

Main Cast	Simon Pegg Nicholas Angel, Nick Frost PC Danny Butterman, Martin Freeman Met Sergeant, Bill Nighy Met Chief Inspector
Rating	R
Release Date	Wed 14 Feb 2007 UTC
Director	Edgar Wright
Genres	Action, Comedy
Plot	Exceptional London cop Nicholas Angel is involuntarily transferred to a quaint English village and paired with a witless new partner. While on the beat, Nicholas suspects a sinister conspiracy is afoot with the residents.
Poster
Runtime	121
Tagline	They’re bad boys. They’re die hards. They’re lethal weapons. They are…
Writers	Edgar Wright (written by) &, Simon Pegg (written by)
Year	2007