“Friends” star and director David Schwimmer presents this weekend a new romantic comedy, “Run, Fatboy, Run.”

Because many of us have been one of the thousands of teens or twenty-something fans of the TV series, from the very beginning we are inclined to be oblivious of any potential flaw of the movie and to be ready to cheer his directorial debut on the silver screen. However, our clemency will be challenged so many times during the movie, that only the most delicate of us can say without being ironic that they enjoyed the comedy in the end.

Dennis, played by Simon Pegg, is the protagonist of the freshly released comedy, a not-so-accomplished man who is struck by a ‘revelation.’ A security guard at a ladies’ shop, he realizes some five years after he got cold-feet and left his very pregnant fiancée on the day of their wedding that he is still in love with her and he is determined to win her back.

Dennis’ mistake in the past is not the only hindrance, as his former girlfriend Libby (Thandie Newton) has found someone new, a caring man eager to settle down. Dennis’ adversary is Whit (Hank Azaria), a rich man who runs in marathons for charitable causes who charmed both Libby and Jake, the former couple’s son.      

In order to be with the love of his life, our protagonist takes into consideration that Libby usually reproaches him that he never accomplishes his plans (“You can’t even finish a sentence”) and sets his mind to beat Whit in his domain. So he enters the marathon.

The title of the movie seems confusing at a first look, as Dennis is not that overweight to deserve the “fatboy” appellative; however, when he starts practicing for the running contest, his extra pounds become an issue. He is also stubborn and reluctant to give up his unhealthy habits like smoking or eating junk food.

No matter how paradoxical it may sound, this comedy’s main flaws are the moments that are meant to be funny, even though Schwimmer promised a hilarious work after he read the script: “made me laugh out loud all the way through….” There are some scenes intended as funny but they are so gross that you wish you skipped the last meal and forgot about the popcorn. Dennis and his son Jake sit in a tree and make farting noises (haven’t we had enough of this kind of humor when we used to watch cartoons?) or the moment when a huge blister is popped (we don’t know in what culture popping a blister is an amusing thing to do, but definitely not in ours!).

The script was originally written by Michael Ian Black, to which Pegg brought his contribution to add a more British shade and make it appropriate for the movie to be set in London. At least the movie allows the audience to (re)indulge in the exquisite scenery of the city, including iconic venues like the Millennium Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral. 

The characters are insufficiently developed, and sometimes the script-writers forgot that in a movie there are an infinite number of other ways of constructing characters, besides talking. Libby does nothing more than be beautiful, Whit talks so much that he becomes a loser equal to Dennis, Jake is sweet, Gordon (Dylan Moran) is just Dennis’ friend and that’s approximately all.  No background, no development, no depths.

We repeat, we like Schwimmer, but we really hope that the next time he will be more inspired.  

Movie Type: Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some rude and sexual behavior, nudity, language and smoking
Running Time: 1 hr. 40 min
Directed By:David Schwimmer
Cast: Simon Pegg, Hank Azaria, Thandie Newton, Ameet Chana, Dylan Moran
Released: March 28th, 2008 (wide)