Tagline: Love. Commitment. Responsibility. There’s nothing he won’t run away from.
“Run, Fatboy, Run” centers on a charming but oblivious overweight guy who leaves his fiancee on their wedding day only to discover years later that he really loves her. To win her back, he must finish a marathon while making her realize that her handsome, wealthy fiance is the wrong guy for her.
Run Fatboy Run is a British – American comedy film directed by David Schwimmer, written by Michael Ian Black and Simon Pegg, and starring Pegg, Dylan Moran, Thandie Newton, Harish Patel, India de Beaufort, and Hank Azaria. It was released in the UK on 7 September 2007, in Canada on 10 September 2007, and in the United States on 28 March 2008.
About the Story
Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) is about to marry Libby (Thandie Newton), his pregnant fiancée. However, he gets cold feet and runs away on the day of the wedding. Five years later, Dennis discovers that Libby, who has their son, Jake, has started seeing high-flying go-getter Whit (Hank Azaria) and realizes what he has lost. He finds out that Whit is running the Nike River Marathon in London, and to prove himself to his doubting friends and, most importantly, Libby and his son, he decides to run the race himself. He receives motivation from his two “coaches”, Gordon (Dylan Moran), Libby’s cousin and Dennis’ best friend who has made a hefty bet on Dennis succeeding, and Mr. Ghosh Dastidar (Harish Patel) his landlord, who uses unorthodox methods of training, such as using a spatula to spank him.
Days before the race, Whit proposes to Libby at her birthday party. Libby accepts and this puts Dennis in a state of depression. Meanwhile, Jake, who has formed a crush on a girl in his class, runs away angry when he discovers that she prefers another boy just because he has a ponytail. Dennis, upon being informed by a frightened Libby, tracks him down and explains to him that he will find many things he does not like in his life and he should just stand up to them and face them, rather than running away. Having made that mistake himself, he decides to race after all.
Dennis starts the race alongside Whit, who informs Dennis that he intends to move Libby and Jake to Chicago, Illinois. Angered, Dennis insults Whit and they tussle for a while at the start of the race and, in their efforts to out-do each other, they catch up to and then overtake the professional runners, and suddenly Whit trips Dennis and badly injures him. Stretchers prepare to take Dennis to the hospital. Whit continues, but is taken to the hospital after feeling ill and feeling pain in his leg. Libby goes to the hospital to find Dennis, but only finds Whit, who claims loudly that his injuries are the result of Dennis deliberately tripping him. The doctor tells him he is not actually injured and has only “hit the wall”. Whit, in a fit of anger, calls Jake a “little shit” because Jake played with Whit’s hospital bed, to Libby’s horror.
Dennis has in fact refused to be transported to the hospital or even get medical attention and is continuing the race well into the afternoon and evening with a sprained ankle, accompanied by a growing group of supporters, including Gordon and Mr. Ghosh Dastidar. An exhausted Dennis almost “hits the wall” but after an emotional inner struggle, his resolve to complete the race is restored. Later at Whit’s house, Libby, Jake and Whit, watch a television replay of the Whit/Dennis tussle, as the replay shows that in fact Whit had deliberately tripped Dennis up and had fallen over because he had gotten tangled up with Dennis as he was falling.
As Whit tries to justify his behaviour, he blurts out his intentions to have Libby and Jake move to Chicago with him. A furious Libby puts the engagement ring on a table, telling Whit “nobody’s perfect” and storms out with Jake. The two go to meet Dennis as he arrives at the finish line. Dennis falls over just metres from the finish line and cannot get up until he sees Libby and Jake calling to him at which point he gets up, sprints to the finish and collapses in their arms.
Some time later, notably slimmer and no longer limping, Dennis calls at Libby’s house to pick up Jake. He says that he has something to ask her, but is interrupted by Jake, and says he’ll talk to her later. However, just after she shuts the door, he knocks again and asks her on a date. She accepts.
In the film’s postscript, Gordon — on the bridge of a new yacht — tells the tale of the race to two attractive bikini-clad women, whom he invites aboard for a drink. The camera then pans to reveal to the audience that he’s again naked below the waist.
Production notes provided by Picturehouse.
Run, Fat Boy, Run
Starring: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria, Dylan Moran, Jade Ramsey, Nikita Ramsey, Ameet Chana, Harish Patel, India de Beaufort
Directed by: David Schwimmer
Screenplay by: Michael Ian Black
Release Date: March 28th, 2008
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some rude and sexual humor, nudity, language, smoking.
Studio: Picturehouse
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $6,003,262 (18.0%)
Foreign: $27,378,285 (82.0%)
Total: $33,381,547 (Worldwide)