Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Minutes before his wedding, Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) leaves his pregnant fiancé, Libby (Thandie Newton), at the altar. Five years later, he realizes he made the biggest mistake of his life and wants her back. Unfortunately, Libby has moved on and is dating Whit (Hank Azaria), a super-successful financial manager with a great personality and even better abs. Dennis, on the other hand, is overweight and employed as a security guard at a London mall. In order to prove his worth to Libby, Dennis decides to enter the same London Marathon that Whit has been training for—the big difference is that Dennis has only three weeks to prepare for the grueling 26-mile race.

I'm a fan of British comedy, and I've enjoyed Simon Pegg's other two hits, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Run, Fat Boy, Run isn't a parody—it's a romantic comedy with a decent amount of laughs. The story is implausible, like most movies these days, but that doesn't detract from some truly likeable characters and touching moments.

The high-bitrate VC-1 encode is a crowd pleaser. Detail is outstanding, especially in the background shots of London. The richly saturated color palette emphasizes bright reds and deep blues, and Pegg's pasty skin looks distinctly British. Black levels are solid with good shadow detail, especially in the nighttime shots.

Surprisingly, this romantic comedy boasts a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack that truly rocks. Specifically, when Dennis is having a nervous breakdown before his impending nuptials, he continually bangs his head on the floor—the resulting dynamics are impressive in their depth and impact, utilizing the full array of speakers. Unfortunately, the rest of the track is dialog-dominated, which is always clear and intelligible, but that first scene is something to behold, especially for the genre.

The bonus features include a commentary by Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Gill Pegg (Simon's Mom), and first-time director David Schwimmer. Additional supplements contain deleted scenes, outtakes, and theatrical trailers, all in HD.

The romantic-comedy genre has been in a serious slump the past few years, and Run Fat Boy Run has a lot to offer—likable characters and some laughs. I'm not sure how funny some of the jokes would be after multiple viewings, but it's definitely worth a rental.

Release Date: September 23, 2008

Movie: 6 out of 10
Picture: 8 out of 10
Sound: 9 out of 10

Review System

Source
Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 Amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector