Run Fatboy Run

One of Britain's top comic actors, Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), collaborated with original-story writer Michael Ian Black to transform this initially New York-set comedy into a London-based yarn, but even though the location and cast members are British (mostly), Run Fatboy Run still has the feel of a Hollywood romp. The film opens with a prologue that finds nervous working-class stiff Dennis (Pegg) abandoning his pregnant fiancée Libby (Thandie Newton) at the altar. Five years later, Dennis—who is living in a shabby basement flat and working as a lingerie-store security guard—realizes that he did the wrong thing, but while Libby lets him spend time with their son Jake (Matthew Fenton), she throws cold water on his pathetic attempts to rekindle their relationship. Of course, her current boyfriend, financial wizard Whit (Hank Azaria), is everything Dennis isn't: handsome, rich, attentive, and a marathon runner. Naturally, this being a comedy, the mildly pudgy Dennis impulsively vows to run against Whit in a 26-mile charity marathon—an event just three weeks away. Most of the movie's broad slapstick gags revolve around Dennis' efforts to train for the marathon, and first-time director David Schwimmer (Friends) occasionally resorts to bathroom humor to beef up the laugh quotient in this fairly amiable if also rather uninspired bit of fluff. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (by director David Schwimmer, costars Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton, and Simon's mom Gill Pegg), 14 deleted scenes with optional commentary (7 min.), seven minutes of outtakes, “Thandie's Goof” on Pegg (3 min.), and trailers. Also included is a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a halfway decent comedy.] (E. Hulse)