There is little original about Run Fatboy Run, the feature directorial debut of David Schwimmer (yes, that David Schwimmer). Unable to decide whether it wants to be a charming and polite comedy or a Farrelly Bros. gross-out knock off, it settles somewhere in the middle, embracing pleasant enough, if instantly forgettable, middle ground that ultimately could have used a few more laughs.

Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) plays Dennis, a going nowhere fast security guard at a lingerie shop who, five years earlier, left his pregnant fiancée, Libby (Thandie Newton), at the altar. Now Libby’s about to marry Whit (Hank Azaria), a wealthy American hedge fund manager and Dennis realizes his mistake. But how can he compete with the successful Whit when he can’t even keep up with his rent, something his landlord, Mr. Ghoshdashtidar (Harish Patel) and his daughter Moya (India de Beaufort) remind him of daily.

In a last-ditch effort to prove to Libby and his son, Jake (Matthew Fenton), that he’s a changed man, Dennis impulsively announces that he will run in the same charity marathon for which Whit has been religiously training. But does Dennis have what it takes to stay the course, even when the going gets tough? After all, true love, like a marathon, isn’t about speed — it’s about endurance.

Why Schwimmer chose to make his directorial debut with a British farce is anyone’s guess. The screenplay, written by Pegg and Ed’s Ian Michael Black is comprised of the usual, only moderately funny ingredients, even though putting them into the mouth of Brits automatically makes them sound smarter and funnier.

The funniest scenes in the film are between Pegg and his inept best friend, Gordon, (Dylan Moran), a gambler with a penchant for running around without pants, who’s motto seems to be, “There’s no such thing as a fun run.” Amen to that.

Run Fatboy Run grants us a nice, and even moving, finale. However, that is but candy coated criticism for a film that should have had many more sincere laughs than it did, no matter how semimetal it chose to get in the end.

Anyone who has ever seen Simon Pegg before may be a bit befuddled by the film’s title. “I’m not fat,” Dennis insists, “I’m unfit.” Indeed, the chain-smoker isn’t chubby, just a bit round about the middle. And therein lies the biggest absurdity of the film — it’s title. What, was The Runaway Groom already taken?

It would have been funnier, though far less realistic in every conceivable way, if, instead of Pegg, his frequent collaborator, Nick Frost had taken the role. Then we would have a film worthy of its name. And maybe even a few more genuine guffaws.

© Copyright 2008 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.