The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Out & About

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See Dennis (Simon Pegg) leave his pregnant fiancée, Libby (Thandie Newton), at the altar.

Fast forward five years and watch Dennis loathe his existence as a lingerie-protecting security guard with minimal time in his child's life and being no competition to Libby's new boyfriend, Whit (Hank Azaria).

See Dennis decide to run a 26-mile marathon with Whit to win Libby and his family back, proving he can finish something for once in his life.

This simple story is the setting for "Run, Fat Boy, Run," the new London-based comedy film co-written by Pegg, best known for his comedic roles and writing in "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz."

The most surprising part of the credits is director David Schwimmer, one-half of the famous Ross and Rachel couple from "Friends." But Schwimmer has directed TV shows before, and "Run, Fat Boy, Run" does not falter to poor directing.

The script offers a few genuine laughs here and there with a highlight being a scene involving Dennis and Whit chatting in a locker room. Azaria does well with the straight-laced Whit against Pegg's helpless Dennis.

Dylan Moran and Harish Patel contribute with outlandish supporting roles, give the audience something to laugh at and keep the straightforward story entertaining. Moran plays Gordon, Dennis's best friend, who has bet a lot of money on his completing the marathon, and Patel is the Indian landlord to whom Dennis owes rent.

The real find is Matthew Fenton, playing Dennis's young kid, Jake, who steals every scene in his first feature film role. Whether he's dressed as a hobbit from "The Lord of the Rings" or is discussing his crush's likeness to a tree frog, Fenton charms.

The problem with "Run, Fat Boy, Run" is mostly in Pegg's main character. Sure, he's obviously going to be selfish and immature when, in the first five minutes, he has abandoned his pregnant girlfriend on their wedding day.

But in the first half of the movie, Dennis is such a deadbeat dad and all-around pathetic person, I wanted the movie to be called "Scram, Fat Boy, Scram." There is one small flashback scene hinting at why Libby ever liked him in the first place (apparently they spent an entire Halloween party kissing), but I still didn't get it.

By the end of the movie, Dennis is tolerable, and maybe that is the very intent of the filmmakers: show a super annoying guy realize he is obnoxious and become bearable. If that's the case, it mostly works.

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