Run, Fatboy, Run
Picturehouse Entertainment | Release Date: March 28, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
16
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Amiable, consistently amusing and surprisingly affecting, it has the flavor of a Nick Hornby novel, with its focus on an overgrown boy struggling to grow up and be a man. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Filled with moments that will make you smile. Read full review
70
Film ThreatZack Haddad
Schwimmer impresses with this film. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis Harvey
David Schwimmer's first bigscreen directing effort reveals something very different: a thoroughly competent mainstream craftsman who imposes no individual character on formulaic material. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJim Ridley
Pegg has staked out a peculiar slant on genre material that ventures beyond irony toward rehabilitation--and nobody plays blithe humiliation with more style. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
Suggestion: When making a film called Run Fat Boy Run, how about hiring a fat boy? Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Run, Fat Boy, Run stays out of sitcom quicksand long enough to make you think that Schwimmer has a knack for this comedy-directing thing. Read full review
60
The New York TimesMatt Zoller Seitz
The kind of movie that’s apt to be dismissed a goofy lark. It is that. But it’s also a rare comedy that believes in its own message, and that could inspire the depressed and the demoralized to grit their teeth and keep running. Read full review
60
SalonStephanie Zacharek
If you can get past its toothpick of a premise, Run Fatboy Run is a perfectly enjoyable light comedy. It's also just good enough that I wanted it be better. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeFore
The pic benefits from a loveable-loser turn by Simon Pegg, but the "Shaun of the Dead" star's presence may also lead to disappointment for those familiar with his work. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Fatboy nearly succeeds in spite of itself, thanks to Pegg, who makes a character who does some detestable things seem strangely likeable. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
The humor tends toward the mildly crass -- bare buttocks and inappropriate scratching are Schwimmer's go-to comedy staples -- and the story is ridiculous. But Pegg, who co-wrote the script, plays to his strengths. You can't help but root for the loser. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Simon Pegg, of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz," is onscreen almost constantly in Run Fatboy Run, and his mugging and smirking and preening wear out their welcome fast. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The film's bright spot is Irish comedian Dylan Moran, who plays Libby's charmingly dissolute cousin and who also happens to be Dennis' best friend. He's fresh, unpredictable and genuinely funny -- everything the film isn't. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
It lacks the invention of Pegg's comedies with Edgar Wright, which buzz and crackle with ideas and energy. This one simply plods through, just like Dennis. Only Pegg's doggedness gets this effort across the finish line. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kamal AL-Solaylee
Its peculiar strain of anti-Americanism aside, Run, Fat Boy, Run tries to bridge the gap between self-deprecating Brits and self-aggrandizing Yanks, settling down somewhere between the two. Don't ask me where, exactly, but this mid-Atlantic meeting point is an ultra-neutral zone. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesGene Seymour
Snarkiness and sentiment are in constant battle for supremacy throughout Run, Fat Boy, Run with no chance of a comfortable draw. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The result is tepid humor and a less-than-compelling feel-good story of redemption and re-kindled romance. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
I wouldn’t believe that Run, Fat Boy, Run was co-written by Simon Pegg (of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) if he weren’t up there on the screen in teeny briefs and with his gut stuck out, trying to endear himself to the American audience in material maybe a notch above Rob Schneider’s. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
One of the problems with the new comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run is that it’s not English enough, even though its antagonist is a thoroughly detestable American go-getter. Read full review
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Rather like the faltering way Dennis runs the race, Pegg the performer insists that we keep watching, ever hopeful for a decent gag. And we spend most of our time thinking back to movies that better showcased his talents, such as "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Dylan Moran has a few funny moments as Pegg's shiftless pal, and Mike Leigh regular Ruth Sheen puts in an all-too-brief appearance. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
This British rom-com is all soft and plodgy, a by-the-numbers redemption tale that careens uncomfortably from sentimentality to stomach-turning sight gags. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Every ounce of comedy is so forced and full-on ridiculous that when characters express even a smidgen of sentiment, it feels like a parody. That's because nothing in "Fatboy" feels real. Read full review
38
PremiereGlenn Kenny
The heretofore nothing-but-delightful Simon Pegg stumbles in the long-anticipated feature film directorial debut of -- ta-da! -- David Schwimmer, who takes the sow's ear of a script given him by Pegg and Michael Ian Black and deep-fries it into a burnt pork rind of a movie. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Might as well have been written by a rushed piece of software. The program calls for a surprise engagement, a street fight complete with crotch punches, an apartment eviction, and a runaway child - all in about five minutes. As an obstacle course, this is mighty efficient. As comic storytelling, it's painful, not too far from being socked in the crotch. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Simon Pegg has what it takes, but he's saddled himself with a script (co-written by Pegg and Michael Ian Black) that Adam Sandler wouldn't have pulled out of his bottom drawer. Read full review
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