Run Fat Boy Run on Blu-ray Disc Review
By Brandon A. DuHamel
The Film
I have been a fan of British comedy ever since I was a little kid watching reruns of Benny Hill on the local television station. From
Fawlty Towers and
Monty Python to
'Allo 'Allo,
Yes, Minister and the more recent
Coupling, I have often found British comedy to be a step above its US counterparts. It may come as a surprise, then, when I say that I have been completely unfamiliar with Simon Pegg and his claims to fame
Shaun of the Dead, the spoof on George A. Romero zombie films, and
Hot Fuzz.
Run Fat Boy Run is a different sort of film and an unusual introduction into the world of Simon Pegg, from what I understand.
Run Fat Boy Run is what can only be described as a romantic comedy, but one that won't cause guys in the audience to cringe.
Directed by David Schwimmer of
Friends fame and reworked by Simon Pegg from a script that originally had the story based in -- where else? -- New York City,
Run Fatboy Run has Simon Pegg playing Dennis Doyle, a bit of a self-loathing loser who years earlier ran out on his pregnant girlfriend Libby (Thandie Newton) on their wedding day. Now Libby has found a new boyfriend, Whit (Hank Azaria), who is perfect in every way -- he's rich, he's handsome, he's charming, he runs marathons for charity and both Libby and her and Dennis' son Jake (Matthew Fenton) are completely enthralled with him.
Of course, the fact that Libby and his son are completely in love with Whit gets under Dennis' skin, because he is still in love with Libby and has been trying to convince her to take him back for years. In order to win Libby back and keep her from marrying Whit, Dennis and his best friend Gordon (Dylan Moran), Libby's cousin, hatch a plan to have Dennis run the upcoming Nike River Run marathon to prove to Libby that he has changed.
The film is certainly not groundbreaking in its themes, but it is quaint, believable and warmly humorous. Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton sympathetically portray their characters' relationship and the dialogue is well written. The film never becomes saccharine like most other romantic comedies. The highlight of the film, however, is not Simon Pegg, but Dylan Moran whose wry portrayal of Gordon provides the most comedic moments in the film. Gordon and Dennis' camaraderie is what will draw men into this film and is actually more the focus than the relationship between Libby and Dennis.
The Picture
Run Fat Boy Run comes to Blu-ray in a 1080p/24 VC-1 encoding of its original 2.40:1 theatrical aspect ratio. New Line has been much maligned in the past for their heavy-handed use of DNR on titles such as
Pan's Labyrinth and
The Golden Compass, but
Run Fatboy avoids those issues with a detailed encoding that shows a fine level of film grain and detail. The overall look of the film is warm and emphasized in the mid tones, with verdant lawns and azure skies popping from the screen. This leaves a less than natural look to the overall presentation and to flesh tones, but still, the transfer looks clean and sharp, working well for the material.
The Sound
Run Fat Boy Run comes with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack that may very well be overkill for this sort of release. I believe that all Blu-ray releases should have a lossless or uncompressed PCM option, but the choice to make this a 7.1 release is somewhat perplexing considering it is a relatively stagnant, front-heavy mix that uses the surround channels for nothing more than ambience and extremely subtle atmospheric sound effects such as passing traffic or birds. The liveliest scene is the scene when Dennis first arrives at the Nike River Run Marathon -- the crowd noise fills the room and lends a sense of excitement.
Other than that, the sound is subdued though well balanced, with clean, clear dialogue. The film's rock soundtrack does sound lively and dynamic, particularly in its use of The Fratellis "Chelsea Dagger" and David Bowie's "Queen Bitch."
The Extras
Run Fat Boy Run doesn't come with much in the way of extras, but the few extras offered are quite humorous.
The extras available on this release are:
- Feature Commentary with director David Schwimmer, Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton and Gil Pegg (Simon's Mom). -- This audio commentary is pleasantly engaging, humorous, and unusually easy to listen for an audio commentary.
- Deleted Scenes (2.40:1/high definition/DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1) -- 14 mostly short deleted scenes with optional commentary from director David Schwimmer.
- Outtakes (2.40:1/high definition/DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) -- More deleted and extended scenes.
- Goof (4:3/standard definition) -- This is a brief pre-press interview clip in which Thandie Newton plays a practical joke on Simon Pegg.
- Trailers:
- Domestic Trailer (2.40:1/hig definition/DTS 5.1) -- The original domestic trailer for Run Fatboy Run
- International Theatrical Trailer (2.40:1/high definition) -- The original international trailer for Run Fatboy Run
Final Thoughts
Run Fat Boy Run is a fun film that should appeal to a wide audience. The actors all put in solid performances and David Schwimmer is competent in his directorial debut. This Blu-ray release is not exactly eye candy, but the encoding is solid and sound is as good as can be expected for the material at hand.
Where to Buy
Product Details
- Actors: Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria, Dylan Moran, Harish Patel
- Director: David Schwimmer
- Audio/Language: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
- Number of discs: 2
- Rating: PG-13
- Studio: New Line
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: September 23, 2008
- Run Time: 100 minutes
- List Price: $35.99
- Extras:
- Deleted Scenes (in High Definition)
- Commentary by Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Gil Pegg (Simon's Mom), and Director David Schwimmer
- Thandie's Goof
- Outtakes (in High Definition)
- Theatrical Trailer (in High Definition)
