An underdog story (Run, Fat Boy, Run (DVD))

Member Name: wendz86

Product:	Run, Fat Boy, Run (DVD)
Date:	05/07/09 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good storyline, some good characters

Disadvantages: Not very funny

Simon Pegg stars as the main character in this film 'Run Fat Boy Run'. I have liked some of the films he has been in before including 'Hot Fuzz' and 'Shaun Of The Dead', so I thought I would give this film a go.

Run Fat Boy Run begins with the main character Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) running from his wedding to his pregnant fiance Libby Odell (Thandie Newton). A few years later though he is definitely regretting his decision. He luckily has been allowed to still see his son Jake (Matthew Fenton), but picking him up from his Mum's makes him realise what he is missing out. He isn't the best Dad and tends to turn up late to pick his son up.

He isn't very successful in other areas of his life either. He works in a shop as a security guard, but often gets outrun by the thieves. He lives in a flat underneath his landlords house and is forever struggling to pay his rent to his landlord Mr Goshdashtidar (Harish Patel). One day though he finds out Libby has got a new boyfriend: Whit (Hank Azaria). Whit is successful, lives in a massive apartment and worst of all runs marathons for charity. Dennis soon realises he is going to have to make some big changes in his life if he is going to win back Libby.

I think the story is quite a good one. I do enjoy seeing a good underdog story, even though it seems to be a theme used in a lot of films. The idea that he is trying to win back his ex is quite good as it is fairly realistic in terms of a story. The film seems quite real, like something that could really happen rather than just a made up story. I like this as I think it makes you get quite into the story and also empathise with the characters more.

One thing I particularly like is that the film is British. We don't get too many British films, but I do enjoy a lot of the ones that have become famous. I think it makes the story a bit more interesting and relevant to a British audience. You can understand the characters and the humour more. It makes it less like Hollywood and more real.

The main character is well played by Simon Pegg. As I said earlier the film is an underdog story and Simon Peggs tends to play underdog characters very well. He seems to have a bit of history of playing men that do not do very well in relationships, or generally well in life. He does have the ability to play this well though both in terms of the way he looks and can act. You start off thinking he is not a very worthy character and he has brought it all on himself. Simon through his acting does manage to persuade you that though Dennis may not be the cleverest man in what he does, he is trying his hardest. As the film goes on I got a bit of an attachment to his character and was really willing him on.

The other characters in the film play their characters fairly well. They do all seem to play fairly minor roles though, compared to Simon Pegg's role. I thought Matthew Fenton who played Jake, was quite good in his role. Sometimes children aren't always the best actors, but he was believable.

One character I particularly liked was Mr Goshdashtidar. He was probably the funniest character in the film and his part made it a bit less serious and a bit more like the comedy film you expect it to be. When you first see him you think he is just the grumpy landlord but he soon becomes more of an important role in Dennis's life.

One thing I found a bit strange about the film was the fact it wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. As far as I know the film is supposed to be a comedy. The storyline is good as a fairly serious storyline but there was definitely more scope for some more humorous moments. Harish Patel and also Dylan Moran, who played Dennis's friend and Libby's cousin Gordon, also provided a few laughs. There still wasn't quite enough funny moments for my liking, especially when after watching other films Simon Pegg was in I was expecting it. Dennis as a character didn't actually have many funny moments of his own, so I think there was more scope here for some.

Overall the film was pretty average. The storyline was OK and the characters were good but it just didn't have anything special. It also really wan't as funny as I was hoping it would be.

The DVD is available for around five pounds from Amazon. The DVD I had did not have any special features on it, but other DVD's could have.

Also posted on Ciao.

Summary: An OK film