Brittany Runs A Marathon
Amazon Studios | Release Date: August 23, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattAug 31, 2019
The thing that truly makes the movie, though, is Bell. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranAug 22, 2019
A singular amalgam of humor, heartache and self-help that won the U.S. dramatic audience award at Sundance, “Brittany” resolutely goes its own way, entertaining us as richly as anything that’s come out in awhile. Read full review
90
TimeStephanie ZacharekAug 21, 2019
There are no noisy meltdowns or hyper-dramatic revelations in Brittany Runs a Marathon; even the lines that sting have some buoyancy. Brittany has a tough outer shell — you need it in New York, and you need it just being a woman. But Bell makes that shell translucent; her character’s vulnerability shimmers through it, in a gorgeous everyday way. Read full review
90
VarietyDennis HarveyJan 30, 2019
This terrifically engaging debut feature by playwright Paul Downs Colaizzo is the best kind of “crowdpleaser”: one that earns every emotional beat that might seem formulaic in four out of five similar enterprises. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Chandler LevackAug 27, 2019
Things other studios might frown upon are its greatest strengths, including a charming ensemble of actors often relegated to bit roles (Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery and Micah Stock are all fantastic), frank vérité-style cinematography and intimate storytelling. Read full review
88
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiAug 21, 2019
The tone of “Brittany,” and its emotional impact, reminds me of Amazon’s other heartfelt winner, “The Big Sick,” which netted Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon an Oscar nod for original screenplay. Colaizzo should get one, too. Read full review
83
IndieWireKate ErblandJan 30, 2019
Colaizzo’s script weaves in enough detail to explain some of Brittany’s demons, but Bell sells the tough stuff too, doing more with a cautious look in the mirror and a slow smile than other performers can do with an Oscar-ready speech. Read full review
80
Total FilmNeil SmithNov 1, 2019
Jillian Bell goes the distance in an inspirational comedy that’s funny, fresh and feelgood. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter TraversAug 21, 2019
A fun ride, spiked with touching gravity, is not a shabby way to end the movie summer. Thanks to Jillian Bell, a comic force of nature with real dramatic chops, that’s what you get in Brittany Runs a Marathon. Read full review
80
Time OutTomris LafflyFeb 3, 2019
Colaizzo successfully walks a fine line between inspiration and caution, never presenting Brittany as a patronizing role model for weight loss, nor a clichéd case of inner beauty. The film grasps the complex nature of Brittany’s self-image without ignoring its dark side. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleAug 28, 2019
Brittany certainly deserves a happy ending, just perhaps not quite in the time allotted. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerGary ThompsonSep 5, 2019
The movie sometimes seems (like its title character) to drag its feet. It’s messy, but with the untidiness of real life. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperAug 29, 2019
Thanks to an ambitiously layered script from Paul Downs Colaizzo (who also directs with a steady grasp of comedic pacing and a nice visual eye), and a resonant and rich performance by the terrific Jillian Bell in the title role, Brittany Runs a Marathon has some refreshingly sharp edges and occasionally charts a relatively unorthodox course for such a comfort food-type movie. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrAug 28, 2019
Thankfully, the movie approaches this subject the way one might a used car, with suspicion and an extra helping of mordant humor. It just folds in the endorphins gradually, until you understand why audiences voted it their favorite film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayAug 28, 2019
An engaging, modestly amusing, sometimes laugh-out-loud hilarious comedy of manners in which the usual millennial excesses are skewered, from the invidious hellhole of social media to the mendacities of online dating. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonAug 28, 2019
Calaizzo’s script is sharp, funny and honest, and nicely avoids movie cliches about obesity. Bell’s performance is very good, both physically — the actress herself lost 40 pounds for the role — and emotionally. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 26, 2019
The movie is very hard on its protagonist, and not all the obstacles, humiliations and setbacks escape the realm of cheap pathos. Bell and company keep it honest, though. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloAug 23, 2019
Far from being just a simple comedy about fitness and weight loss, Brittany’s journey includes the healing and forgiveness it takes to really meet those goals. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJake CoyleAug 22, 2019
Brittany Runs a Marathon starts comically; its first moments, with Brittany working as an usher at an off-Broadway theater are its funniest. But it grows increasingly earnest. That’s part of the movie’s charm but also what leads it a little off track. Read full review
75
The Film StageDan MeccaFeb 2, 2019
Brittany Runs a Marathon mostly succeeds, and it’s all thanks to Bell. That Colaizzo is trying to do something more is icing on the cake. Read full review
75
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodJan 30, 2019
Where it surprises is in Bell’s fantastic performance and the fact it eventually stops becoming a laugh out loud comedy. It soon dives into much more of a heartwarming drama with a few random jokes thrown in. Read full review
70
Film ThreatAsher LubertoSep 11, 2019
Bell is as hilarious as ever. But she also emotes great empathy. Those smiles and tears are genuine. Fittingly, she’s given all of us going through the same thing what we have been looking for: a step in the right direction. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghAug 28, 2019
Brittany is funny and authentic, but she can also be prickly and stubborn, even hard to like. You know, the way real people are. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinAug 27, 2019
On balance, I admire the hell out of Collaizo for choosing to tell a more emotionally convoluted story, even if it sometimes kills the momentum. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Simran HansNov 4, 2019
There’s a note of truth in Bell’s finely tuned performance as a character whose insecurities have calcified over the years, hardening her to genuine goodwill, which she frequently misreads as pity. Read full review
60
The GuardianCath ClarkeNov 1, 2019
It’s a film with charm and sweetness but a twinge of anxiety, a little gravitational pull to darker places. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'HaraOct 28, 2019
An uneven but essentially likeable story about the joys of setting yourself improbable goals and the tribes you can find as a result, with a strong, committed performance from Bell at its heart. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJan 30, 2019
Colaizzo’s dialogue often crackles with modern idioms and good pithy comments, flowing from the distinct characters in easy fashion. As a director, he’s paced the action well. He knows what he’s doing, even when he’s doing the wrong thing. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubCaroline SiedeAug 20, 2019
Brittany Runs A Marathon winds up feeling like a story told by an outsider who’s empathetic toward, but not fully immersed in, a specific lived experience. Read full review
55
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanAug 22, 2019
The script is stocked with amusing one-liners, and there are just enough caustic observations to keep viewers nodding in agreement. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 13, 2019
She’s not unattractive, except when the movie goes out of its way to make her so. But Bell’s screen presence isn’t warm or engaging and the script’s jokes aren’t good enough to transform that. Read full review
50
The New York TimesTeo BugbeeAug 22, 2019
Bell imbues Brittany with humanity and wit, but all too frequently she is working within the framework of a story that seems hellbent on robbing her character of joy. Read full review
38
Slant MagazinePat BrownAug 19, 2019
The film is inspirational only in the sense that it may inspire an uptick in Amazon searches for running gear. Read full review
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