Run Fatboy Run

Though ripe with excellent performances, Run Fatboy Run experiences an odd kind of metamorphosis, freshening up a typical storyline initially before succumbing to banality for its predictable conclusion. Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) panics and leaves Libby (Thandie Newton), his pregnant wife-to-be, standing at the altar, literally running away from his wedding at top speed down a London street. Five years later, Doyle lives an unhappy life in a basement apartment overseen by eccentric East-Indian landlords, working as a security guard at a women’s lingerie shop and mucking about with shady friends, including Libby’s slacker cousin, Gordon (Dylan Moran). Libby raises their son Jake, with Doyle stopping by to be a dad and hopefully rekindle their romance. Beyond the fact that Doyle is an inept, lazy, hapless loser, Libby is also involved with a wealthy, handsome, physically fit new man named Whit (Hank Azaria). Sensing that things are getting serious between the two, Doyle feels compelled to make some changes in his life and, spurred on by Whit’s plan to run the London Marathon in three weeks, begins an unorthodox training regimen so he too can compete and hopefully win Libby back. It’s pretty formulaic stuff but, if the film has a rare gem, it’s Whit. By and large, Azaria plays him as a down-to-earth, likable enough capitalist who loves Libby and takes good care of Jake. When that tact turns, it shabbily becomes the good versus evil/David versus Goliath story we’ve seen before, with a few flashes of well-executed comedy emanating from the stars. Pegg, Newton, Azaria, and a stellar supporting cast drive the action and, judging by a less-than-insightful group commentary track (mostly David Schwimmer laughing at his inventions, with Pegg cracking wise) and a feature about Newton’s practical jokes, it was an enjoyable set to work on. That spirit isn’t present enough to salvage Run Fatboy Run, which is by no means terrible but still is less than satisfying. Plus: deleted scenes, trailers.