Edgar Wright, Nick Frost and now David Schwimmer. These are the preferred partners for Simon Pegg as he continues his play for Brit-com dominance.
He's already mastered the quirky and the cult, thanks to Spaced , Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz . Now he's turning his attention to more mainstream affairs. Hence, Run, Fat Boy, Run . A continuation of the Pegg and Schwimmer comedy collaboration last seen in (so-so) conman caper, Big Nothing —and first founded in the unlikeliest of places, Band of Brothers — Fat Boy is a somewhat formulaic rom-com, but it has just enough legs to take it over the finish line.
Starring as a solo lead for the first time, Fat Boy sets Pegg as Dennis: loveable loser and perennial shirker of adult responsibility who, five years previously, left his pregnant fiancée, Libby (Thandie Newton— The Pursuit of Happyness ), at the altar. Dennis is stuck in a funk from then on. When he finds out that Libby has hooked up with high-flying go-getter and fitness freak, Whit (Hank Azaria— The Simpsons ), who wants to relocate Libby and his son Jake (Matthew Fenton) to the States, Dennis realises that he wants them both back for good. Entering a marathon to prove he's not a quitter and to upstage Whit, Dennis struggles to change the lazy habits of a lifetime, knowing this is his last chance to prove he's more than just a running joke.
Whilst the character of Dennis is hardly a stretch for the porky Pegg,—in fact, Spaced fans, just imagine his character of Tim Bisley a few years on— Fat Boy does offer the opportunity for him to let loose from the straighter guy he normally portrays. Filled with pratfalls and muggings galore, Pegg is clearly having a ball, finally getting to be "the funny one". He also impresses during the more serious stuff and proves beyond doubt that he has the charisma to carry a major motion picture all on his lonesome.
His mate behind the camera doesn't fare quite so well, however. Directed with no discernable style by Schwimmer, Fat Boy is his first crack at the big screen after shouldering megaphone-duties on several episodes of Friends and its unsuccessful spin-off, Joey . This heritage is obvious, the movie looking every bit your bland, bog-standard small screen offering rather than being worthy of the canvas it's projected on. You're a funny man on Friends , Schwimmer (in fact, the funniest—and most under-appreciated—character of the whole cast) but don't give up the day job just yet.
Silly, sentimental and predictable, Run, Fat Boy, Run is also harmless and undemanding date movie fun. Overall, it's a charming, gentle comedy that might not win any originality awards but won't finish in last place either.
Three stars out of five
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