Aah, another charming, droll romantic comedy from across the pond, in the tradition of Death at a Funeral, Four Weddings & a Funeral, and The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down For A Funeral… Wait, what? This came from us??
Yep, call it our American Invasion. Finally it’s our chance to take something the Brits invented, perfect it, and sell it back to them. And in fact, Run Fatboy Run opened at #1 in the UK, taking in £2,010,250–which translates into roughly $5 kajillion US dollars.
And so, triumphant, expecting Fatboy-mania, it opened in America… and finished 13th at the box office. 13th. Behind College Road Trip. Was it just pacing itself for the marathon? Keepin’ a bit in the ol’ tank for the long haul? No. Try to find it in theatres in a few weeks. Won’t be there.
So what happened? It’s a likable enough movie with the charismatic Simon Pegg, the frail but inimitable Thandie Newton, and the kind of grossly ripped Hank Azaria. An aside: voice actors should not look like that with their shirts off. It makes me uncomfortable.
With all that talent, the only way the film could go wrong is if it leaned on all those inspirational movie cliches that get lampooned in Will Ferrell movies. And that’s exactly what happens; Fatboy is Rocky, except if Adrian was getting nailed by Apollo Creed. With a script writing credit attached to Michael Ian Black, who actually put out one of the best comedy albums of the last few years last year, it’s a little disappointing to have nary a trace of his unique brand of absurdist humor. Maybe the blame belongs on the shoulders of David Schwimmer, the rookie director, who really only succeeds here when he stays out of the way and allows Pegg space to do his thing.
So maybe we haven’t quite perfected the British comedy yet. But with all that pounds sterling rolling in, just don’t tell the Brits.
1 Comment
April 11, 2008 at 9:55 pm
kajillion…your idiots….do you have any rec’s for me to rent yet?