"RUN FAT BOY RUN"
(2008) (Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton) (PG-13)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Heavy	Moderate	Heavy	None	Minor
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	None	None	*None	Heavy
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Extreme	Moderate	Moderate	Mild

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QUICK TAKE:

Comedy: An unfit security guard trains to run in a marathon in hopes that doing so might win over his ex-girlfriend who he ran away from, pregnant with his child, years ago on their wedding day.

PLOT:

It's been five years since Dennis (SIMON PEGG) , suffering from cold feet and a fear of long-term commitment, ran away from his pregnant fiancée, Libby (THANDIE NEWTON), on their wedding day. He's now employed as a security guard at a lingerie store, while she works at a bakery when not raising their son, Jake (MATTHEW FENTON). Since she allows him to see their boy, Dennis harbors hopes that Libby might forgive and let him back into her life.

Yet, she's now dating hedge fund manager Whit (HANK AZARIA) and seems quite happy with him. Besides, Dennis is late with his rent to Maya (INDIA DE BEAUFORT), the adult daughter of his landlord, Mr. Ghoshdashtidar (HARISH PATEL), while his best friend, Gordon (DYLAN MORAN), is a gambling addict, none of which would likely impress Libby.

Instead, she likes that Whit follows up and completes anything he commits to, such as running a marathon for charity. Learning of this, Dennis decides he'll do the same. Unfortunately for him, Dennis has never undertaken such a quest, particularly since he's anything but fit. Nevertheless, he starts training, hoping that Libby will take notice and have a change of heart.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

Fans of Pegg or anyone else in the cast might be interested.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13

For some rude and sexual humor, nudity, language and smoking.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

SIMON PEGG plays a lingerie store security guard who still laments having run away from a pregnant Libby on their wedding day five years ago. Jealous of Whit and wanting Libby to take him back, he decides to race in a charity marathon, and must overcome not being in shape for such an undertaking. He uses profanity, drinks, smokes, and briefly fights with Gordon.

THANDIE NEWTON plays his former fiancée, abandoned at the wedding altar five years ago while pregnant with his child. Now a single mom, she's resistant to Dennis trying to get back into her life (for a variety of reasons, including dating Whit), but does allow him to see Jake. She drinks some and it's implied she has sex with Whit.

HANK AZARIA plays her boyfriend, a hedge fund manager who initially appears to be an okay guy, but he turns into a jerk upon pressure of Dennis trying to reenter the picture. He drinks, uses some profanity, and presumably has sex with Libby.

MATTHEW FENTON plays Dennis and Libby's young son who lives with his mom, briefly repeats some profanity he heard, and briefly runs away from home.

DYLAN MORAN plays Dennis' best friend who appears to be a gambling addict, smokes, drinks, uses profanity, briefly fights with Dennis, and is occasionally seen conversing with others sans pants.

HARISH PATEL plays Dennis' landlord who eventually becomes his unofficial assistant coach in training for the marathon.

INDIA DE BEAUFORT plays that man's adult daughter, who evicts Dennis for being late with his rent. She wears cleavage-revealing tops and takes a photo of Dennis nude in case she'll need it later.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a quick look at the content found in this comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue and innuendo are present, sexual encounters are referenced, and male nudity occurs on screen (bare butts) and off (where characters see everything, but viewers don't). Varying amounts of cleavage are also present, as is sexually related visual humor.

Violence includes a comedy-based fight between friends, other contact between people, and several instances of slapstick style material. Bad attitudes are present, as is tense family material. Some behavior may be enticing for some kids to imitate, while various bits of crude humor (one with gross, eruptive results) occur. Various characters drink and/or smoke quite a bit.

Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are varying amounts of handheld camerawork and some of it's rather bouncy.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

We see people holding glasses of champagne before a wedding.

We see a flashback to miscellaneous people drinking at a party.

We see beer and drinks on a table by Gordon and others as they play poker.

Dennis invites Whit out for a pint (beer), but they end up at a spinning class instead.

We see beer at another one of Gordon's poker games.

We see a beer bottle on Dennis' nightstand.

Gordon and his poker associates drink.

Approaching Whit's place, Gordon makes a tongue-twister type comment and then jokingly says to try saying that while smashed (drunk).

People have champagne at Whit's party, including Whit, while Dennis holds a drink. Later, at the same party, people are still drinking.

After Whit proposes to Libby, Dennis drunkenly walks down the street, sloshing his bottle about, and then he drinks some more.

Libby has wine.

The poker players have beer.

Dennis is given a beer (rather than water or a sports drink) during the marathon, and he takes a swig and then pours the rest on his face.

BLOOD/GORE

Jake picks his nose and holds his finger up.

While seated up in a tree, Dennis and Jake make fake farting sounds with their mouths, sometimes as people pass by, to amuse themselves and each other.

Dennis ends up with a enormous blister on the bottom of his foot and wants Gordon to pop it. Gordon won't, but gives Dennis a nail for that. Dennis can't do it, so Gordon decides he will and drives the nail into Dennis' foot, causing him pain (played for laughs). Gordon then yanks out the nail, causing all sorts of thick blister goo to spray all over Gordon's face. Gordon then says that's the second most disgusting fluid he's ever had in his eye.

Needing a charity to enter the marathon, Dennis and Gordon fake Mr. Ghoshdashtidar having some sort of condition where one of the symptoms is flatulence. Mr. Ghoshdashtidar then strains to do that, but can't (however, he does moments later when not trying).

Preparing for his training, Gordon asks Dennis if he's used the bathroom, and Dennis replies both number one and two.

Dennis jokes to Whit that he sees someone in the distance peeing on Whit's car.

Dennis has a little bit of blood from his nose and a scratch on his cheek after a comedy-based fight with Gordon.

Whit purposefully trips Dennis during the race, resulting in both of them falling to the street, along with others who trip or fall over them (both men's legs have bloody scrapes as a result).

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Dennis runs off and leaves Libby, his pregnant bride-to-be, on their wedding day.

Dennis chases a transvestite or transsexual who has stolen some lingerie from a store where he works as a security guard.

Dennis is late with his rent to his landlord.

Dennis gives "the finger" to Whit behind his back.

A miscellaneous boy gives "the finger" to Dennis on a bus.

Dennis refers to Whit as a "sh*t-head" in front of Jake.

Dennis is jealous of Whit being involved with Libby.

Gordon places a large bet with his poker associates about whether Dennis will be able to finish the marathon, and is then mad when Dennis says he might not run.

Needing a charity to enter the marathon, Dennis and Gordon fake Mr. Ghoshdashtidar having some sort of condition where he's wheelchair bound, cusses a lot, and supposedly has flatulence issues.

Dennis comes out of the bathroom in just a towel and is shocked to find Maya lying (clothed) on her side on his bed. She then whips his towel away, sees his full nudity (we don't), and takes a photo of that for later potential blackmail purposes.

Whit jokes that as is the case with a marathon, being with Libby (sexually) requires a lot of stamina.

Some may view Whit publically proposing marriage to Libby (thus putting her on the spot) as being a bad attitude.

Trying to goad Dennis as the marathon begins, Whit says that Libby was so appreciative about something earlier that they jumped on the bed (a play on Jake's earlier misunderstanding about hearing them having sex).

Whit yells at Dennis, "Run, fat boy, run!"

Whit purposefully trips Dennis during the race, resulting in both of them falling to the street, along with others who trip or fall over them.

Whit progressively acts like a jerk toward everyone, including Jake. When the boy keeps reconfiguring Whit's hospital bed, he yells at the boy, "G*ddamn, will you stop messing around with the bed, you little sh*t."

To get to the marathon, Gordon's poker associates steal a cab, including yanking the driver from it.

Gordon's poker associates say discouraging things to Dennis to try to make him quit the marathon (but then cheer him on moments later).

FRIGHTENING SCENES

None.

GUNS/WEAPONS

Whit holds a fake sword under his arm after playing with Jake.

Some miniature cannons fire on Hank's remote controlled schooner.

A starter pistol is fired to start the marathon.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "Ah, sh*t," "Little sh*t," "What a sh*t-head," "G*ddamn, will you stop messing around with the bed, you little sh*t," "I looked like a pr*ck," "You pr*ck," "Keep your hands out of the scrotal zone," "You can stick it up your ass, you American pr*ck," "He's running for erectile dysfunction," "Bastard," "I'm not fat, I'm unfit," "Who the hell are you?" "My whole night was screwed," "Open the bloody door," "For Pete's sake," "Cuz you're a lazy bastard," "Do you want to feel my spatula?" "I thought you said he was an asshole," "You're such an idiot," "Screwed up," "Hello, snot-face," "Run, fat boy, run," "I can loose weight, but you'll always be an asshole," "Not so bloody fast, mate," "Where the hell is he then?" and "Get out of the bloody way."

Nervous about his pending wedding to Libby, Dennis repeatedly bangs the back of his head onto the floor.

Dennis practices kissing a mirror and does so in an exaggerated fashion.

Dennis gives "the finger" to Whit behind his back.

A miscellaneous boy gives "the finger" to Dennis on a bus.

We see miscellaneous graffiti on a bus, as well as on various exterior walls.

While seated up in a tree, Dennis and Jake make fake farting sounds with their mouths, sometimes as people pass by, to amuse themselves and each other.

Dennis has various tattoos.

We see Dennis in extremely small shorts as he prepares to go running. After that, he suffers from chafing in the crotch area, and thus rubs himself there. When some teenage schoolgirls give him bad looks, he does exaggerated scratching.

Playing the part of his assistant coach, Mr. Ghoshdashtidar uses a spatula to whack Dennis on his clothed butt to motivate him to run (this occurs several times).

Dennis ends up with a enormous blister on the bottom of his foot and wants Gordon to pop it. Gordon won't, but gives Dennis a nail for that. Dennis can't do it, so Gordon decides he will and drives the nail into Dennis' foot, causing him pain (played for laughs). Gordon then yanks out the nail, causing all sorts of thick blister goo to spray all over Gordon's face.

As part of his training, Dennis tries to down a glass of raw eggs, but can't do it.

Not wanting Whit to see him while he's training, Dennis flips himself over into some bushes to hide.

Dennis is given a beer (rather than water or a sports drink) during the marathon, and he takes a swig and then pours the rest on his face.

JUMP SCENES

None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

None, but some songs had lyrics that we couldn't fully hear and/or understand, thus presenting the possibility of them containing something objectionable.

PROFANITY

At least 1 "f" word (another possible one, and three bleeped out words that we couldn't make out), 9 "s" words, 4 slang terms using male genitals ("pr*ck"), 1 for sex ("humping"), 1 for breasts ("boob"), 7 hells, 5 asses (4 used with "hole"), 2 uses of "G-damn" and 1 use each of "God" and "Jesus."

SEX/NUDITY

Gordon walks up and sees Libby with a wedding cake and states, "That looks good enough to eat." She says it does, but he says he's referring to her and not the cake. She then reminds him that he is her cousin, but he then says that didn't stop the royal family.

Dennis chases a transvestite or transsexual who has stolen some lingerie from a store where he works as a security guard. That other person knocks down someone during the chase, allowing Dennis to catch the thief, struggle with him/her, and retrieve a pair of panties the person stole. When he returns those to the store, the thief shows that he/she still has the bra.

Libby often shows cleavage, sometimes a lot, in various outfits. The same holds true for Maya.

We see Jake in just his underwear.

We see a flashback to Dennis and Libby passionately kissing at a party.

We see Whit in just a towel in a locker room, and then a brief view of his bare butt. He then stands nude in front of Dennis who looks uncomfortable with this (we don't see anything explicit). When the camera switches angles, Dennis' head blocks our view of Whit's crotch (although we see the sides of his bare hips), including when Whit applies a lot of powder to his crotch area. At one point, Whit puts one foot up on the bench, thus making Dennis even more uncomfortable with his view. Talking about something else, Whit asks Dennis if he can see his point, and Whit says he can (a double entendre).

We see Dennis in extremely small shorts as he prepares to go running. After that, he suffers from chafing in the crotch area, and thus rubs himself there. When some teenage schoolgirls give him bad looks, he does exaggerated scratching.

Libby playfully mocks Dennis, stating that they could come back to her place with Whit and have a three-some, with him asking if she is joking, and her saying she is.

Jake tells Dennis that Whit stayed overnight at their house, and that Whit and his mom were jumping on the bed (meaning he heard them having sex, but obviously didn't know what they were doing).

We see various forms of lingerie on store mannequins.

We see Dennis still scratching his crotch area from his earlier chafing, and he comments on it occurring in the "scrotal zone." His female boss then tells him to keep his hands out of the "scrotal zone." When the itching becomes unbearable, Dennis uses a mannequin's hand to scratch his crotch. A mother and her teenage girls pass by and see him doing this, but since the hand is still attached to the mannequin, and he is moving his body to perform the scratching, it appears as if he is humping the mannequin.

Mr. Ghoshdashtidar makes a reference to his wife being dead, but says that most of all he remembers all of the "humping" he did with her (and then makes a pleasurable "mmm" sound).

Dennis ends up running for the National Erectile Dysfunction Awareness charity (seen written on a T-shirt and later mentioned).

Mr. Ghoshdashtidar is shirtless while giving Dennis a massage (whose lower half is under a towel).

Dennis comes out of the bathroom in just a towel and is shocked to find Maya lying (clothed) on her side on his bed. She then whips his towel away, sees his full nudity (we don't), and takes a photo of that for later potential blackmail purposes.

After accidentally spilling something onto Libby, Dennis tries wiping that off, and then jokes about whether he should do her other "boob."

Whit jokes that as is the case with a marathon, being with Libby (sexually) requires a lot of stamina.

Some wrapping paper shows scantly clad (and cleavage-revealing) women, including some wording about a naughty boy.

We briefly see Gordon's bare butt as he stands at a door.

Gordon pulls out some lubricant normally associated with sexual behavior, prompting Dennis to joke that he's not really in the mood. Gordon then says that it's for Dennis' nipples in terms of preventing his shirt from chafing him there.

Trying to goad Dennis as the marathon begins, Whit says that Libby was so appreciative about something earlier that they jumped on the bed (a play on Jake's earlier misunderstanding about hearing them having sex).

Two women in cleavage-revealing bikinis chat with Gordon on his boat, and we then see his bare butt.

SMOKING

Dennis and Gordon each smoke more than 7 times, while several miscellaneous characters smoke.

We see footage from one of the "Lord of the Rings" movies where a character smokes a pipe.

Preparing for his training, Dennis shows Gordon that his nicotine patch is ready.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

Dennis runs off and leaves Libby, his pregnant bride-to-be, on their wedding day. She then ends up raising their son, although Dennis gets to see Jake.

Mr. Ghoshdashtidar makes a reference to his wife being dead, but says that most of all he remembers all of the "humping" he did with her (and then makes a pleasurable "mmm" sound).

Libby panics when she discovers Jake is missing (he runs off after learning Whit will be his new dad). Dennis then takes off running, trying to find him (and does, in a park, and the boy is okay).

Whit progressively acts like a jerk toward everyone, including Jake. When the boy keeps reconfiguring Whit's hospital bed, he yells at the boy, "G*ddamn, will you stop messing around with the bed, you little sh*t." This causes Libby to leave Whit, her fiancé.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

Having/getting cold feet in a relationship.

Being a single parent.

Trying to make amends for a past wrong.

Running in a marathon.

Gambling addiction (what Gordon seems to have).

Having forgotten his tickets, Dennis buys some from another man, unaware that the latter is an undercover cop. Other cops then tackle and arrest Dennis for buying scalped tickets.

Libby states that Dennis has never finished anything in his life.

VIOLENCE

Dennis chases a transvestite or transsexual who has stolen some lingerie from a store where he works as a security guard. That other person knocks down someone during the chase, allowing Dennis to catch the thief, struggle with him/her, and retrieve a pair of panties the person stole.

Having forgotten his tickets, Dennis buys some from another man, unaware that the latter is an undercover cop. Other cops then tackle and arrest Dennis for buying scalped tickets.

Dennis accidentally falls down some stairs and knocks a person off an exercise ball.

A wheelchair rolls down some steps and strikes a person, knocking him down.

Played for comedy on the part of the film, Gordon and Dennis end up shoving and then struggling with each other (including tugging on an ear). Gordon then slaps Dennis, followed by punching him. Dennis then hits Gordon on the head with a trashcan lid, dumps the trash onto him, and then tries to dive onto him (but Gordon moves and Dennis hits the pavement hard). Gordon then kicks Dennis in the crotch, followed by Dennis doing the same back to him.

A runner is accidentally knocked down.

Whit purposefully trips Dennis during the race, resulting in both of them falling to the street, along with others who trip or fall over them (both men's legs have bloody scrapes as a result).

Some thugs grab Gordon by his coat (when he says he doesn't have the money to cover a large bet).

To get to the marathon, Gordon's poker associates steal a cab, including yanking the driver from it.

Reviewed March 4, 2008 / Posted March 28, 2008

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