Run Fatboy, Run

It is undoubtedly the pairing with Edgar Wright that has made Simon Pegg our latest national treasure. Following up classic TV comedy Spaced with the equally classic cinema comedies Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, it's no surprise that the first sight of the blonde funster instantly raises our expectations. With Run Fatboy, Run, Pegg has left Wright to work with former Friends star David Schwimmer as he turns to direct his first feature. It's a bold move, but apparently the pair became friends way back when they were making Band Of Brothers. Main character Dennis is an overweight security guard who left the love of his life (Thandie Newton) at the altar.

However, when he sees her shacked up with buff investment banker Whit (Hank Azaria), his feelings and man-pride are re-kindled, causing him to enrol in a marathon, despite how unlikely the paunchster's chances are. The immediate question is whether this new film can match Pegg's best films, and the answer sadly is no. Run Fatboy, Run is much more the standard, predictable comedy that waves the banner of its British idiosyncrasies a little too keenly. At times the comedy is patchy - a weak, Little Britain-apeing cameo by David Walliams being a key example. However, the film remains chucklesome throughout thanks to Pegg's presence, a force which also stops the film’s predictability from becoming too bitter a pill.

Released 7th September 2007 by Material Entertainment.

Written by Andrew Williams.