The Movies

Recently I watched two movies that both had marathon-related plots. When I'm on a roll with something, whether it's marathon running or whatever, I tend to become thirsty for information and inspiration about my passion du jour. This prompted me to rent the broad romantic comedy Run Fatboy Run and buy the documentary feature Spirit of the Marathon. Here's my review of both.

Directed by David Schwimmer, of Friends fame, and cowritten by British star Simon Pegg, Run Fatboy Run is the story of an unmotivated loser, Dennis Doyle (Pegg), who, after jilting his too-hot-for-him, and pregnant girlfriend Libby (Thandie Newton) on their wedding day decides some years later that in order to win her back, prove he can actually achieve something and simultaneously help fend off her new love, health nut Whit (Hank Azaria), he will run a marathon. Spurred on by his landlord (Harish Patel) and best friend Gordon (Dylan Moran), the latter of whom has money on Dennis to finish the race so he can pay off a gambling debt, the story covers his training, and various interactions with Libby and Whit, and concludes with the London River Run Marathon.

Anyone expecting an uplifting tale of overcoming adversity will likely be disappointed. Schwimmer and Pegg eschew any sense of the realities of training for a marathon in favor of sight gags and contrived plot turns. That wouldn't be so bad if the movie was consistently funny, but it simply falls short on too many occasions.

The cast do their best. Pegg generates a few good laughs here and there with his befuddled expressions and goofy pratfalls, and Dylan Moran uses his off-kilter delivery to good effect. Unfortunately, that isn't enough to disguise the contrived plot and poor pacing. Azaria's character is a particular casualty, starting out as pleasant and likable and then at some point apparently deciding that might have led to too interesting a tale, and before long, he assumes the position of traditional romcom cad in the interests of steering things toward their inevitable conclusion.

Perhaps the biggest flaw is the concluding marathon itself, which starts out like an episode of Keystone Cops and never really recovers. It doesn't have a sniff of realism from start to end, from the silly entanglements of Whit and Dennis at the start to the hokey, cartoonish up and down at the end. It's also the movie's least funny segment.

Maybe it was too much to expect to be inspired by Dennis' journey, but a few more laughs would have been nice.

Jon Dunham's 'Spirit of the Marathon' is a documentary about six different runners preparing for the Chicago Marathon. Daniel Njenga, the elite Kenyan runner, trains in Japan, runs all over the world, and does it to pay for such things as his sister-in-law's funeral (she was murdered), and pay for a better life for his family in his poverty-stricken homeland. He grew up running a 10 mile round trip to school each day and now runs in excess of 140-150 miles per week. Leah Caille, a first time runner, uses the training, and the goal of the race itself, as shock therapy to help overcome her divorce and be strong for her daughter. At 70 years old, Gerald Meyers, having run five or six marathons already, agrees to do another, but this time with his daughter, who will be running her first. Deena Kastor, an elite American, eyes a first win in the marathon distance, but has to endure a foot injury during training that might keep her from even competing, let alone winning. Ryan Bradley, a 30-something aiming for a spot in Boston's prestigious starting field, finds that even experienced marathoners can encounter hurdles that might not be able to overcome. Lori O'Connor, 26, is looking to complete her first marathon, running for a non-profit adoption agency that matched her with her parents as an infant.

The format is pretty standard - some back story, some coverage of the training challenges, some input from elite marathoners past and present, and a conclusion at the race itself. What was clear for all, even the top runners, is the absolute mental and physical toll running this mighty distance has on a human being.

I didn't find all the stories equally compelling, though I suspect this has a lot to do with my own background. I was moved by Njenga's tale, and related to Caille's and Bradley's, so these were the ones that stayed with me after the show had ended, but that might well differ from viewer to viewer.

Whoever you relate to, and whatever your running background, the Spirit of the Marathon does a terrific job of inspiring, yet informing about the absolute monster of an event the world's most famous distance race is, and the excitement, fear and elation, particularly those of the amateurs, as they close in on completing one of man's biggest tests of endurance, is worth the price of admission alone.