Movie #4: "Run Fatboy Run"

To say that Simon Pegg's newest film "Run Fatboy Run" isn't as funny as the two films he's best known for isn't exactly a criticism. Few films are as funny as "Hot Fuzz" or "Shaun of the Dead." The question is how less funny is it. The answer: not enough to make it unwatchable, but too much to wholeheartedly recommend it.

Pegg plays Dennis, an underachieving security guard who literally runs away from his pregnant fiancee Libby (Thandie Newton) on their wedding day. A few years pass and Dennis decides he made a massive mistake and wants her back. The only problem, other than that he left her at the altar, is that she is now seeing a seemingly perfect guy Whit (Hank Azaria). In a bid for, if not her love, then at least her respect, Dennis decides to run the marathon that Whit's been training for.

As anyone who has watched his previous films knows, Pegg has a great comedic presence. Unfortunately, while Nick Frost gave him someone to play off of in "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun of the Dead," here the only real, consistent comic support he gets is from "Shaun" vet Dylan Moran as Dennis' friend and Libby's cousin. Newton and Azaria are talented actors, but Azaria's character isn't that interesting, and Newton is playing a woman whose perhaps sole identifiable trait is her bad taste in men. Consequently, the jokes hit less frequently and produce more chuckles than belly laughs. Director David Schwimmer (yes, that David Schwimmer) also allows the storytelling to get a bit flabby, keeping the film from ever developing any real comedic momentum. Still, though, it is a pleasant enough movie, and enough of the jokes will land that you'll have lines you're quoting on the drive home. It just seems too strikingly average when you hold it up against Pegg's previous comedies that you can't help but be a bit disappointed, even if it isn't a bad film.