Brittany Runs a Marathon
3.5/4
Starring: Jillian Bell, Micah Stock, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery
Rated R for Language Throughout, Sexuality and Some Drug Material
I didn't like this movie at the start. The characters were unpleasant, especially the lead, and it was depressing. Then a funny thing happened. I started to pay attention. I grew interested in the characters. I started to care. By the end of the movie I was surprised at how involved I got in Brittany's attempt to turn her life around.
Plump party girl Brittany (Bell) is stuck in nowhereland in New York City. She had an internship in advertising that fizzled out, and now spends her days working a dead end job and partying with her roommate Gretchen. While visiting a doctor to con an Adderrall prescription from him, he tells her that she is morbidly obese and risking her health. Initially she scoffs at him and refuses to do anything about it. But the news nags at her and she tries to do something about it. Before she knows it, she's joined a running club, has new friends, and tasked herself with the insane plan to run the Boston marathon the next year. Life is never that easy, though. Along with her new success, she realizes that there are deep issues that need to be worked on if she is going to become a fully functioning adult.
Although "Brittany Runs a Marathon" seems like a sports movie, it isn't. Running is simply the means by which Brittany enters the terrifying world of "adulting." The movie is about how Brittany wakes up, quits her dead end life of partying, and starts to take herself seriously. What's interesting is that this isn't a quick fix. That would be too easy. In fact, doing so creates so much drama for her that there are times when she is close to giving up. It's her personality that changes more than her body, and she begins to drop the cynical and hateful façade and accept help from those who are offering it. Ultimately that aspect of the film is more interesting than whether or not she keeps the pounds off. Or actually runs the marathon.
Jillian Bell was cast in the title role, and that made me reluctant to see this movie. The drawn out sequences of "awkward" humor that have become her trademark in movies like "Rough Night" and "Fist Fight" do not make me laugh. There is a little of that here, but for the most part this is a drama. Brittany has some deep-seated issues with self-esteem and abandonment. As a result, she turned to drugs, alcohol and cynicism to cope. She used cynicism and claims of not wanting pity in order to protect herself. Learning to trust and accept that people do care about her as a person isn't easy, and it leads to some painful scenes.
Bell is supported by a cast of no name character actors, but they're just as good. Her running friends Seth (Stock) and Catherine (Watkins) are pillars of warmth and strength because we accept them as real people. For example, Brittany chides Catherine as being a "Miss Perfect" and rebuffs her offers of help and friendship, but soon realizes that the woman in her building has worse problems than she does. And as the goofy layabout who is in a similar position, Utkarsh Ambudkar is strangely appealing. He's more than just comic relief.
Interestingly enough, in many ways "Brittany Runs a Marathon" bears similarity to "A Silent Voice," the anime film I saw earlier this year. Both are films that understand that redemption isn't easy. It takes a lot of work and honesty to not only do you have to accept your mistakes and insecurities, but you have to accept help and love from those who offer it. This is a much lighter movie, however, but it's that understanding that gives the film its heart.
Starring: Jillian Bell, Micah Stock, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery
Rated R for Language Throughout, Sexuality and Some Drug Material
I didn't like this movie at the start. The characters were unpleasant, especially the lead, and it was depressing. Then a funny thing happened. I started to pay attention. I grew interested in the characters. I started to care. By the end of the movie I was surprised at how involved I got in Brittany's attempt to turn her life around.
Plump party girl Brittany (Bell) is stuck in nowhereland in New York City. She had an internship in advertising that fizzled out, and now spends her days working a dead end job and partying with her roommate Gretchen. While visiting a doctor to con an Adderrall prescription from him, he tells her that she is morbidly obese and risking her health. Initially she scoffs at him and refuses to do anything about it. But the news nags at her and she tries to do something about it. Before she knows it, she's joined a running club, has new friends, and tasked herself with the insane plan to run the Boston marathon the next year. Life is never that easy, though. Along with her new success, she realizes that there are deep issues that need to be worked on if she is going to become a fully functioning adult.
Although "Brittany Runs a Marathon" seems like a sports movie, it isn't. Running is simply the means by which Brittany enters the terrifying world of "adulting." The movie is about how Brittany wakes up, quits her dead end life of partying, and starts to take herself seriously. What's interesting is that this isn't a quick fix. That would be too easy. In fact, doing so creates so much drama for her that there are times when she is close to giving up. It's her personality that changes more than her body, and she begins to drop the cynical and hateful façade and accept help from those who are offering it. Ultimately that aspect of the film is more interesting than whether or not she keeps the pounds off. Or actually runs the marathon.
Jillian Bell was cast in the title role, and that made me reluctant to see this movie. The drawn out sequences of "awkward" humor that have become her trademark in movies like "Rough Night" and "Fist Fight" do not make me laugh. There is a little of that here, but for the most part this is a drama. Brittany has some deep-seated issues with self-esteem and abandonment. As a result, she turned to drugs, alcohol and cynicism to cope. She used cynicism and claims of not wanting pity in order to protect herself. Learning to trust and accept that people do care about her as a person isn't easy, and it leads to some painful scenes.
Bell is supported by a cast of no name character actors, but they're just as good. Her running friends Seth (Stock) and Catherine (Watkins) are pillars of warmth and strength because we accept them as real people. For example, Brittany chides Catherine as being a "Miss Perfect" and rebuffs her offers of help and friendship, but soon realizes that the woman in her building has worse problems than she does. And as the goofy layabout who is in a similar position, Utkarsh Ambudkar is strangely appealing. He's more than just comic relief.
Interestingly enough, in many ways "Brittany Runs a Marathon" bears similarity to "A Silent Voice," the anime film I saw earlier this year. Both are films that understand that redemption isn't easy. It takes a lot of work and honesty to not only do you have to accept your mistakes and insecurities, but you have to accept help and love from those who offer it. This is a much lighter movie, however, but it's that understanding that gives the film its heart.
Comments
Post a Comment