Review of Run Fatboy Run (2007) by Abby W — 25 Jun 2009

I?ve declared it right here and now?Run Fatboy Run is the perfect date movie.

Seriously.

Although I don?t know from experience, I?ve declared it anyway.

Why, you may ask?

It is a story of love, of triumph, of betrayal, and it has hilarious scenes with Simon Pegg and Hank Azaria, and all the while, it?s completely PG-13 rated, so it doesn?t get awkward at all with gratuitous sex scenes or vulgar jokes that could make your mom cringe. I?m not saying that ?Superbad? or ?Knocked Up? weren?t funny movies, but those are more movies that you?d go see with your pals with the intent of almost peeing your pants.

Run Fatboy Run is still heartwarming without being cliched.

First of all, Simon Pegg is the ultimate anti-hero. The film starts out with him leaving his fiance, Thandie Newton, at the alter pregnant. Yeah, kind of a douchebag right? But, as the film goes on, you see how great he is with his son, played by Matthew Fenton, who at the age of 5-8, according to IMDB, already has a plethora of accents to choose from. Also, I knew that I?d seen him somewhere. He was the kid in the Orville Redenbacher?s Microwave Popcorn commercial. I knew it! But he was adorable.

But back to Pegg. I ABSOLUTELY LUUUURRRRVVEEEE ?Shaun of the Dead? and ?Hot Fuzz,? so I knew that I?d like this one, because it was written by Pegg and Michael Ian Black, 1/3 of the comedy genius of Stella. But Pegg?s comic timing and wit mixed with his genuine acting chops made for a perfect romantic comedy. But you couldn?t really classify this one as a romantic comedy, or a British Import comedy, since David Schwimmer, formerly known as ?Ross from Friends,? was the director. And may I say, bravo David on your directing debut! This film really has no classification. I guess it could be called the ?Perfect Comedy.? Maybe I?m getting ahead of myself, but I have to be honest. There was everything that I like in a comedy. There was plenty of swearing, a loser complex, a hero complex, some fist fights, short instances of completely safe, not-gratuitous nudity, and a love story to boot.

But I think the thing that set this movie apart from other films that made it so special was the ending. We were left with a happy ending, but not something overly cheesy like in ?27 Dresses.? And 27 Dresses was pretty damn cliched. I mean, cliches are okay sometimes, but endings do much better without cliches. Run Fatboy Run ended on a positive note, in more ways than one, but it still left the viewer with something for the imagination. Books and movies go hand-in-hand that way.

Back to why it?s the perfect date movie?hmmm?well, it?s ?Officer and a Gentleman,? only with more British insults and jokes about itchy balls. In other words, genuine love story+cleanish man jokes=awesome.

I think that explains it.

So you should go see it. You won?t regret it.