Powered by Pegg’s Leg
Run, Fatboy, Run
(PG-13)
originally published April 2, 2008
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg may be the funniest Englishman not named Ricky Gervais. He has conquered both the small screen (“Spaced”) and the big (Shaun of the Dead) with his perfected British slacker, a Peter Pan more interested in comic books and videogames than 401Ks and IRAs. (The nerd as hero is all the rage right now. See any Judd Apatow comedy, NBC’s “Chuck,” or The CW’s “Reaper” - all of which are predated by “Spaced”’s Tim Bisley.) Clueless, slightly overweight (“I’m not fat; I’m unfit”) Dennis is another of the so lame he’s cool protagonists in which Pegg specializes, and his abject uselessness may well make him the lamest. Five years ago, Dennis left his fiancé, Libby (Thandie Newton), on the day of their wedding. Did I mention she was pregnant? Now the father of a cute as a British button, Lord of the Rings-obsessed little boy, Jake (Matthew Fenton), Dennis still hasn’t grown up, meaning he will never get Libby to forgive and forget his wedding day cowardice. But the entrance of a new beau, Whit (Hank Azaria), forces Dennis to prove he has changed (though he hasn’t) with more immediacy. Thus, Dennis decides to run in a charity marathon. That seems logical, right?
Written by Pegg and Michael Ian Black, Run, Fatboy, Run has a subtle, steady, British hilarity about it. The movie’s nowhere near as zany as it would be if it was made in America by the Farrelly Brothers, and that’s okay. Run, Fatboy, Run knows its strength lies in Pegg, and director David Schwimmer wisely gives his actor free rein in which to act. Proudly pushing his pregnant paunch - a pint-filled potbelly - to its popping point, Pegg makes Dennis’ transformation believable and funny. Pegg doesn’t let Dennis’ downtrodden situation sadden the grown man’s gleeful outer child. In another comic’s hands, Dennis would have been overbearingly twee or unlikably pathetic, but Pegg’s genius rests in melding cute and pitiable. The actor also understands that many of the biggest laughs are generated by reactions, at which he excels (he pops his eyes like a pro). Cameos by other notable British comedians (Gervais’ buddy, Stephen Merchant, and David Walliams of “Little Britain”) and a silly supporting turn by Shaun of the Dead’s Dylan Moran provide some nice assists. Run, Fatboy, Run isn’t perfect. Character inconstancy played for laughs is still character inconstancy, and Dennis isn’t an easy suitor to pull for. But neither issue changed the fact that I watched the entire movie with a silly grin and a perpetual laugh.
Not a Bad Hand
21
(PG-13)
originally published April 2, 2008
Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess
Based on the true life story of card-counting MIT kids who bilked some Las Vegas casinos for millions, 21 is a crowd-pleasing slice of instantly forgettable entertainment. Shy Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess from Across the Universe) needs $300,000 for Harvard Medical School. Fortunately, he’s got a big, bad brain that attracts the attention of unorthodox math professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), who also heads a handpicked group of stat savants that travel to Vegas on the weekends to win big at blackjack. Soon, Ben thinks his financial and social prayers have been answered. The life of a high roller sure beats building robots with his nerdy buddies (Josh Gad from “Back to You” and Sam Golzari from American Dreamz), and he even gets it on with MIT’s resident hottie, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth). But then Ben breaks Rosa’s number one rule - he stops counting and starts gambling - and runs of afoul of Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne), a menacing casino enforcer. Now Ben’s deep in the hole, and he doesn’t have many cards left to play.
21 isn’t a bad story, but it deals some clichéd cards. From the first hand, you know Ben is going to fall victim to the charms and excesses of Vegas. It’s inevitable. Ben’s also a wimpy protagonist. Sturgess may be the next big thing, but he won’t get to the top portraying lukewarm milquetoasts. He needs a big, juicy role to sink his pretty teeth into. The rest of the college kids, especially Bosworth, are either window-dressing or comic relief. The film’s most intriguing characters are its adults. Rosa may be just another serving of Spacey’s sarcastic special, but the twinkle in the prof’s eyes, and the anger boiling beneath the surface, makes you wonder why he is what he is. If I saw Spacey’s mocking puss more often, I’d probably have grown weary of his sardonic shtick, but he shows up on the big screen just rarely enough to remain charming. Fishburne’s Williams is the film’s most sympathetic figure, even if he is a sadist that likes beating the crap out of cheaters. Williams is as good a counter as Ben, but he’s chosen the side of right (at least I think the house is right; Vegas’ amorphous morality makes value judgments difficult). A better director (Rounders’ John Dahl would have given this PG-13 pap the edge that Legally Blonde’s Robert Luketic cannot) and a more challenging script could have turned 21’s true tale into something significant.
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