Post by wdm0744 on Nov 13, 2008 12:41:24 GMT -5
Film has had been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and it has probably affected me in more ways than I even realize. Under this permeating influence, I grew up seeing myself as the hero of my own story.
Like any good film hero, I imagined that my whole life was leading up to a grand moment when my conscience and my courage would be sorely tested. If I passed this trial, I could live my life at peace with myself, knowing that I had proven true to all that was right and just, but if I failed, I would have to live on with the crushing knowledge that I was not the man I hoped I’d be. That’s right: delusions of grandeur and an overdeveloped sense of guilt – a veritable perfect storm of neurosis. Welcome to the funhouse.
By necessity, then, it has always been imperative that I prove to myself that I am a good man. But, I’ve discovered as I have gotten older that it is really, really hard to be a good man. Responsibility is a scary-ass thing, and being an adult, and perhaps even to a greater degree, being a man, is all about responsibility. More to the point, it’s about responsibility and commitment, the responsibility to stick your commitments, and the commitment to act responsibly. (Got that?) There are times when it can be so overwhelming that all you want to do is run away.
This is the situation which faces Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) in “Run, Fat Boy, Run”. Terrified that he can never be good enough, Dennis runs away and leaves his pregnant girlfriend, Elizabeth (Thandie Newton), at the altar.
Five years later, Dennis is a physically “unfit” security guard who fills his days chasing after thieving transvestites and gambling with his best friend, Gordon, before stumbling back to his apartment and arguing with his curmudgeonly landlord, Mr. Goshdashtidar. Dennis’ carefree existence is thrown into turmoil when he discovers that an American businessman named Whit (Hank Azaria) is romancing Elizabeth and trying to replace Dennis as a father to his five year old son, Jake.
Whit is annoyingly confident, handsome, and seems to do no wrong. Elizabeth is impressed when Whit signs up to represent a charity and run in the London marathon. Determined to convince Elizabeth that he too can be responsible and selfless, Dennis sets out to run the marathon with only three weeks to train before the big day.
Simon Pegg fans may be disappointed that this film doesn’t feature the same brand of dry and witty humor we’ve come to love in films like “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead”. While there are shades of Dennis’ character that mirror Pegg’s lovable slacker, Tim from “Spaced”; on the whole his part could have just as easily been played by Adam Sandler. In fact, the whole film really feels like a Sandler vehicle.
Like most of those films, there is a heart of gold here buried under a mountain of crass toilet humor. In the case of “Run, Fat Boy, Run”, that heart of gold shines just a bit brighter, even if the humor (including one particularly disgusting foot blister bit) is not as sophisticated as I’d hoped it be.
I’m embarrassed to say it, but, this film touched me. There were even certain scenes, like the one where Mr. Goshdashtidar gives Dennis a new pair of running shoes to “help [him] be a good man” that had me tearing up (with manly, silent tears, of course).
Dennis’ journey in the film is one close to my heart. He has to run a literal marathon to redeem a moment of weakness that has derailed his life. Many won’t find themselves in this situation, but we all make mistakes in our lives, and we all get into situations in which it seems impossible to prevail.
Ultimately, I’ve learned that the true measure of a man is not whether he makes mistakes – this is inevitable - but rather, how he goes about redeeming those mistakes and fulfilling his commitments. As Dennis tells his son in the film, we can’t run from our problems - only by facing them can we conquer them. This is a lesson we all need to be reminded of, even if it takes a somewhat mediocre film to do it.
Like any good film hero, I imagined that my whole life was leading up to a grand moment when my conscience and my courage would be sorely tested. If I passed this trial, I could live my life at peace with myself, knowing that I had proven true to all that was right and just, but if I failed, I would have to live on with the crushing knowledge that I was not the man I hoped I’d be. That’s right: delusions of grandeur and an overdeveloped sense of guilt – a veritable perfect storm of neurosis. Welcome to the funhouse.
By necessity, then, it has always been imperative that I prove to myself that I am a good man. But, I’ve discovered as I have gotten older that it is really, really hard to be a good man. Responsibility is a scary-ass thing, and being an adult, and perhaps even to a greater degree, being a man, is all about responsibility. More to the point, it’s about responsibility and commitment, the responsibility to stick your commitments, and the commitment to act responsibly. (Got that?) There are times when it can be so overwhelming that all you want to do is run away.
This is the situation which faces Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) in “Run, Fat Boy, Run”. Terrified that he can never be good enough, Dennis runs away and leaves his pregnant girlfriend, Elizabeth (Thandie Newton), at the altar.
Five years later, Dennis is a physically “unfit” security guard who fills his days chasing after thieving transvestites and gambling with his best friend, Gordon, before stumbling back to his apartment and arguing with his curmudgeonly landlord, Mr. Goshdashtidar. Dennis’ carefree existence is thrown into turmoil when he discovers that an American businessman named Whit (Hank Azaria) is romancing Elizabeth and trying to replace Dennis as a father to his five year old son, Jake.
Whit is annoyingly confident, handsome, and seems to do no wrong. Elizabeth is impressed when Whit signs up to represent a charity and run in the London marathon. Determined to convince Elizabeth that he too can be responsible and selfless, Dennis sets out to run the marathon with only three weeks to train before the big day.
Simon Pegg fans may be disappointed that this film doesn’t feature the same brand of dry and witty humor we’ve come to love in films like “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead”. While there are shades of Dennis’ character that mirror Pegg’s lovable slacker, Tim from “Spaced”; on the whole his part could have just as easily been played by Adam Sandler. In fact, the whole film really feels like a Sandler vehicle.
Like most of those films, there is a heart of gold here buried under a mountain of crass toilet humor. In the case of “Run, Fat Boy, Run”, that heart of gold shines just a bit brighter, even if the humor (including one particularly disgusting foot blister bit) is not as sophisticated as I’d hoped it be.
I’m embarrassed to say it, but, this film touched me. There were even certain scenes, like the one where Mr. Goshdashtidar gives Dennis a new pair of running shoes to “help [him] be a good man” that had me tearing up (with manly, silent tears, of course).
Dennis’ journey in the film is one close to my heart. He has to run a literal marathon to redeem a moment of weakness that has derailed his life. Many won’t find themselves in this situation, but we all make mistakes in our lives, and we all get into situations in which it seems impossible to prevail.
Ultimately, I’ve learned that the true measure of a man is not whether he makes mistakes – this is inevitable - but rather, how he goes about redeeming those mistakes and fulfilling his commitments. As Dennis tells his son in the film, we can’t run from our problems - only by facing them can we conquer them. This is a lesson we all need to be reminded of, even if it takes a somewhat mediocre film to do it.
"If I'm going to be desensitized into a mindless stock animal, I may as well do it with a cushy ergonomic seat and magnificent THX-certified sound. -Kevin Murphy
