The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, March 31,2008 - 5A
SING AND A MP41
ARTS IN BRIEF
'Hot Fuzz'
director's new
film falls short
By SARAH SCHWARTZ
DailyArts Writer
A runner needs to be aware of
a marathon's phases. There's the
energetic high at the beginning,
the lagging mid-
dle, the "wall"
- when it's pain-
ful to go on - and
finally the sprint Run,
to the finish line. Fatboy, Run
It's a little disap-
pointing to find At Showcase,
that "Run, Fatboy, Quality16
Run" plays out the and the State
exact same way. Theatre
It's a shame, Picturehouse
given the talent
involved with
the movie. Michael Ian Black, the
writer/actor from the comedy
group "Stella," and the titular fat
boy, Simon Pegg, wrote the screen-
play. Pegg is well known in United
States for "Shaun of the Dead" and
"Hot Fuzz," both of which he wrote
and starred in. Considering Pegg's
record of intelligent British takes
on action and horror movies, and
Black's sly wit, one would expect
more from their collaboration.
Instead, "Run, Fatboy, Run" comes
off as a happy little British roman-
tic comedy.
Dennis (Pegg) never finished
anything. He left his pregnant
fiance Libby (Thandie Newton,
"Crash") at the altar and five years
later is still a "nearly man" - some-
one who's nearly there, but never
gets the job done. To try to win
Libby back and prove he can
change, Dennis decides to run the
London Marathon.
The beginning of the movie
is full of hilarious bits and quick
remarks by Pegg. Unable to get
his son tickets to "The Lord of the
Rings Musical," he falls victim to a
scalping bust, landing him in jail.
And the "fat boy" issue ends up
surfacing with typical jokes about
being overweight.
But the introduction of the mara-
thon subplot drags the movie down.
While the training lends to enter-
taining segments, such as a blister
the size of a tennis ball, montages
of running across parks or up the Presenting Britain's strongest man.
stairs have been done before. The But the actors do their best to
film marks. David Schwimmer's keep it from falling into made-for-
TV territory. The cast is superb,
and the considerable comedic tim-
Schx in ner: ing of the supporting actors greatly
help the production. Gordon (Dylan
Bad actor worse Morris, "Shaunofthe Dead") stands
out as Dennis's gamblerfriend, who
director is willing to bet his life's savings to
make sure Dennis finishes the race.
And Hank Azaria (TV's "Huff") as
Whit is a great foil to Dennis. Whit
feature film directorial debut; how- is a runner, a successful American
ever, he's been around sitcoms for businessman in London, and is also
years, even directing episodes of dating Libby. Whit is the reason
"Friends" and "Joey." Maybe that's Dennis decides to run the mara-
why some of the camerawork and thon in the first place.
timing feel a bit like a sitcom. The wall appears at the same
time Whit asks Libby to marry
him. It appears because the audi-
ence knows how the movie will
play out. There needs to be shots of
Dennis moping, of him pulling out
of the race and then finding some
reason that pushes him to change'
his mind.
Schwimmer does well building
the anticipation for the climatic
marathon. But while it's a fun
rush to the finish line, the film is
unable to be more than a run-of-
the-mill romantic comedy, featur-
ing a shlubby guy, a hot girl, some
sweet moments and some gross-out
humor. It's just a shame consider-
ing the talent that's wasted.
If David Spade had ever hit puberty.
Music
With debut, Austin-based trio
releases a solid power-pop EP
"Roar!"
The Murdocks
Surprise Truck Entertainment
The Murdocks is a balls-to-the-wall concoction of Rancid-
esque pop-punk energy with Shins-style delicate melodies. The
Austin-based trio, led by singer/guitarist Franklin Morris, creates
power-pop that alienates neither sweaty garage rockers sensitive
basement-dwellers.
"Playhouse Down" and "Sleepy Queen & Charlie Brown" dis-
play both Morris's strained guttural vocals and his knack for
catchy melodies. "Die Together" sounds like a track straight
from Green Day's Warning - a deadpan verse with a raucous
yet morbid chorus of, "And when we die together / It feels like
holding hands / Someday we'll all be laughing cold and under-
ground."
The EP's last two tracks, "Old Xylophone" and "Boy," break
from the mold. The former features - as you might have guessed
- a xylophone and the latter is a six-minute-long ballad. Although
the ballad is rather clich6, the xylophone works nicely to add an
indie-pop feel to their aggressive sound.
Roar! is a promising EP, from a band working hard to cultivate
a unique souhd without giving up hope of commercial success.
Once you get past the frightening album cover, you'll be in for a
pleasant surprise.
A TRXANDER ITKIN
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