Run Fatboy Run

Run Fatboy Run is an English comedy directed by the boring one from Friends. It positively revels in just how quaint and little England is. Therefore, I will treat it like an Englander, and take immense joy in the fall from grace of my idols.

Firstly, it's not a very good story, or even a modestly good one. In fact to call it mediocre would be an insult to the occasional originality of a mediocre script. If you cannot guess how the film plays out after the first 20 minutes you have either never seen a romantic comedy made in the last twenty years or are unfortunately weighed down by that extra chromosome you have saved away for a rainy day. If I were to rather lazily call it a bunch of sketch show skits joined together by reaction shots of Simon Pegg I would not be inaccurate in any way. In fact, if you were to take any five clips from the Fast Show or Little Britain and play them with shots of Simon Pegg saying stuff like, "I thought that ruining your day would be better than ruining your life" to Thandie Newton, you would pretty much have the film down pat.

This brings up just how remarkably pussy-whipped Simon Pegg's character is through this entire film. When your character's only motivation to do anything in the entire film is win over Thandie Newton, then there is a problem. I mean, Matt Dillon got more action in 40 seconds than Pegg gets in 90 minutes. His frequent mugging for the camera makes you wonder what kind of footage Schwimmer left on the cutting room floor, because you'd think that half the script was directions for people to pull a funny face.

Also the final twenty minutes plays out as though my Dad got to rewrite it. He, by the way, thought that The Break Up shouldn't have people breaking up. So you can rest assured that not only does the little shit, who has proved himself to be an utter twat with the social nous of a blind hermit during mating season, manages to win his family back, but that this is (warning Deus ex Machina approaching) because it turns out that the love-rival, despite everything that has been established in the previous 75-odd minutes, is a bipolar baby seal-killing madman.

In the end though, it's just about exactly as good as it has any right to be, and Dylan Moran will probably make a lot of money from future sidekick roles. Also I like watching ginger people in pain.