Run Fat Boy Run (Blu-ray) (2008)

"A winner! Indulge in some belly laughs.  Claudia Puig, USA Today
"...nobody plays blithe humiliation with more style [than Pegg].  Jim Ridley, The Village Voice
"Rocky by way of There's Something About Mary.  Matt Zoller Seitz, The New York Times
"Filled with moments that will make you smile.  Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
"Schwimmer impresses with this film.  Zack Haddad, Film Threat

Editor's Note FRIENDS star David Schwimmer takes a rare turn in the director's chair for this British comedy, written by its principal actor, Simon Pegg (SHAUN OF THE DEAD), and THE STATE favorite Michael Ian Black. Pegg plays Dennis, a likeable loser who got cold feet on his wedding day and ran out on his bride-to-be, Libby (Thandie Newton). The action in RUN, FAT BOY, RUN takes place five years after this event. In the preceding years, Dennis has landed a job as a lowly security guard and Libby has given birth to a son, Jake (Matthew Fenton), who was conceived with Dennis before their break-up. Libby has also hooked up with a new man, the slimy but successful American businessman Whit (Hank Azaria). Dennis, who is still hung up on Libby, decides he must compete against Whit in the forthcoming London marathon to win back her affections. But, naturally, things don't quite go according to plan. Pegg and Schwimmer's film is full of some wonderfully silly set pieces, and the supporting cast occasionally resembles a Who's Who of British comedy, with Dylan Moran (BLACK BOOKS), David Walliams (LITTLE BRITAIN), and Stephen Merchant (EXTRAS) all making appearances. But the film also contains some surprisingly touching moments, with Schwimmer occasionally tempering the laughs by weaving genuine sentiment into the plot. Many of the film's belly laughs come courtesy of Moran, who makes an excellent foil as Dennis's best friend (and Libby's cousin), the wayward Gordon. But the real star of the show is Pegg, who seems to instinctively know when to ease up on the laughs, making RUN, FAT BOY, RUN an enjoyable romp that has a lot in common with farcical British comedies such as FAWLTY TOWERS and the CARRY ON series.

	Thandie Newton
	Hank Azaria
	Harish Patel
	Dylan Moran
	David Walliams
	Simon Pegg
	Stephen Merchant
	Ameet Chana
	Michael Ian Black - Screenwriter
	Richard Greatrex - Director of Photography
	Alex Wurman - Composer
	Michael Ian Black - Story
	Sarah Curtis - Producer
	Robert Jones - Producer
	Simon Pegg - Screenwriter
	David Schwimmer - Director

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "Pegg's every action, reaction and line-reading is winningly human, and he handles the romantic-lead stuff as adeptly as the pratfalls." 10/01/2007 p.49

Sight and Sound
"David Schwimmer, directing his first feature, elicits warm, funny performances from Pegg and Dylan Moran..." 11/01/2007 p.74

USA Today
"RUN FAT BOY RUN is entertainment on a large scale and more nimble than one might expect. Amiable, consistently amusing and surprisingly affecting..." 03/28/2008

Rolling Stone
"[Schwimmer] has a welcome eye for laughs that sneak in around familiar corners." 04/03/2008 p.73

Variety 7 of 10
When actors go behind the camera, one usually spies hitherto unknown traits of artistic personality. David Schwimmer's first bigscreen directing effort reveals something very different: a thoroughly competent mainstream craftsman who imposes no individual character on formulaic material. Comedy starring Simon Pegg as a runaway groom trying to win back his love by running a marathon is a polished, innocuous, by-numbers affair...Pegg is credited as co-writer (with story originator Michael Ian Black), though the script was originally set in New York before London-based Material Entertainment came aboard. Despite transplant to a London setting and a mostly Brit cast, the pic, with its triumph-of-solo-underdog arc, feels like Hollywood product -- closer to the Farrelly brothers than to Pegg's home-turf collaborations with Edgar Wright ("Hot Fuzz," "Shaun of the Dead")...Pegg, Newton and Azaria are all first-rate talents coasting through mediocre material. Irish comic Moran's shrugged-off line deliveries score a few points...Slick pic hews to comedy conventions of the moment, frequently driven by a soundtrack featuring various pop artists; production package is slightly above-average for the genre, with a nice, warm look to Richard Greatrex's location lensing. While there's not much here to warrant critical praise, Schwimmer handles everything with the kind of pro confidence that leaves little doubt he's got a second career track if he wants it. - Dennis Harvey

ReelViews 6 of 10
Based on the evidence at hand, one has to assume the missing ingredient is Edgar Wright. Wright, the co-writer and director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, is nowhere to be found in the credits list of Run Fatboy Run. Instead, on this occasion, Simon Pegg is creatively teamed with director David Schwimmer and co-scripter Michael Ian Black. The result is tepid humor and a less-than-compelling feel-good story of redemption and re-kindled romance. With Shaun and Fuzz, Pegg took well-known genres and firmly skewered them. Those who believe the underdog/sports movie will get the same treatment in Run Fatboy Run will be disappointed. This is yet another parody that falls victim to the desire to become what it's intending to satirize...While this is the kind of movie one might expect from David Schwimmer, whose non-Friends screen credits are dubious at best, it's a comedown for Pegg, whose work in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz will have audiences primed to expect something fresher, funnier, and more interesting. For Run Fatboy Run, he has put away the knives and gotten out the cheese. For those who enjoy their character arcs and happy endings served up with a minimum of drama or humor, Run Fatboy Run becomes the latest entry into a genre that's burgeoning at an alarming rate. - James Berardinelli