Run, Fatboy, Run

No.

Of all of my negative reviews, this is the one I regret the most. I wanted to LOVE this movie. I liked it. Should you pay $10 to see it in the theatre? No.

This movie (contrary to what the title would have you believe) has a lot of sweet moments. It also has a lot of funny moments. The problem is, I went in with pretty high expectations. Every movie I've seen Simon Pegg in has been one of my favorite movies of the year it came out. Shaun of the Dead is one of my favorite movies... ever. Hot Fuzz was great... even Mission Impossible III. While I enjoyed Run, Fatboy, Run, it probably won't make it through the summer in my top 20 of the year. If Simon Pegg is trying to fill in the romantic comedy space on his resume, mission accomplished.

Part of the problem with this movie is the progression of Pegg's and Hank Azaria's characters. When we meet him, Whit (Azaria) is great. He is a perfectly reasonable guy who makes perfectly reasonable decisions for the situation that he is in. We're meant to hate him simply because he's the antagonist to the funny slacker with the heart of gold. Meanwhile, Dennis (Pegg), is a prick. He left his pregnant fiancee at the alter on their wedding day. He's a deadbeat who hangs out with rejects and degenerates and can't pay his rent. About two thirds of the way through the movie, the writers realized that they had it backwards. At that point Dennis becomes a determined, dedicated go-getter and Whit turns into this "it's all about me, I do petty things to make myself feel better and curse at children when things don't go my way"... guy. It also relies very heavily on slapstick and gross-out humor. This isn't always a bad thing, but it's not why I go to see a Simon Pegg movie.

Run, Fatboy, Run is a strong rental. Look for it at Blockbuster, put it at the top of your Netflix queue. It's a satisfying, entertaining movie... but I really didn't feel like it was worth the trip to the theatre.