Run, Fatboy, Run

Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 09/23/2008 Run time: 100 minutes Rating: Pg13

It only makes sense that a television star would turn to a fellow practitioner for his first film. With Run Fatboy Run--no commas, please--Friends' David Schwimmer doesn't reinvent the romantic comedy, but he finds the perfect lovable loser of a lead in TV vet Simon Pegg (Faith in the Future, Spaced). On his wedding day, London lay-about Dennis (Pegg, who co-wrote with Michael Ian Black) deserts his pregnant fiancée, Libby (Crash's Thandie Newton), seconds before the ceremony. Crippling insecurity--which remains unexplored--prevents him from finishing anything ("Not even a sentence," Libby quips). Flash-forward five years, and he's a loving dad to son Jake (the charming Matthew Fenton), but sports a small potbelly, smokes too much and entertains no ambition beyond his job as security guard at a high-end boutique. Fortunately, he has friends, like gambler Gordon (Shaun of the Dead co-star Dylan Moran) and avuncular landlord Mr. Ghoshdashtidar (Harish Patel). Fit American financier Whit (Huff's Hank Azaria) shakes up his routine when he starts seeing Libby. To win her back, Dennis trains for the same 26-mile charity marathon as Whit. No one believes he can make it to the end, and even Dennis has doubts, but true love is a formidable motivator. It may not have been Schwimmer's intention, but there's more chemistry between the buddies than the couples. That makes the movie a must for fans of Pegg and the scene-stealing Moran--but optional for admirers of Newton and Azaria. --Kathleen C. Fennessy