Film

It’s hard to dislike Simon Pegg, but in Run Fat Boy Run, he exhausts our sympathy in the prologue. Jittery about commitment, Pegg’s Dennis runs—not walks—from his wedding, leaving his pregnant fiancée Libby (Newton) in her bridal gown. Hey, it’s Thandie Newton; who exactly is he holding out for? No matter: Dennis will enjoy a great relationship with his son Jake (Fenton) anyway. He’ll continue to get by, with his special brand of dignity, as a security guard at a lingerie store. And five years after his initial sprint, he’ll grow insanely jealous when Libby takes up with Whit (Azaria), a loaded and friendly but somehow rakish-seeming businessman who wants to be a good father to Jake.

In the hands of first-time film director Schwimmer, the sitcom playbook will be invoked. Whit reveals his petty side to Simon—but only Simon—humiliating him in the gym. Whit is training for a marathon; could Dennis impress Libby the same way?

Casting Dennis’s best friend (Shaun of the Dead’s Moran) and neighbor (Patel) as unlikely trainers, Fat Boy culminates with the most pathetic/inspiring display of athletic prowess by a fictional character since Jay Sherman shuffled 26 miles in The Critic. The uplift is undeniable, the outcome obvious. For all its panting and sputtering, Fat Boy has little of the mad frenzy of Hot Fuzz.