Bizarre love triangles
”
Run Fatboy Run
”
starring Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton and Hank Azaria
”
Chaos Theory
”
starring Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer and Stuart Townsend
If there is one thing scriptwriters like more than unrequited
love, it is the love triangle. It’s bound to bring mystery,
intrigue and at least one broken heart at the end of the movie. And
in comedies it often brings a lot of laughs. In most comedies, one
of the parties is usually clueless that they are actually part of
the triangle, and that is certainly the case in
”
Run Fatboy Run.
”
Bizarre love triangles
“Run Fatboy Run” starring Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton and Hank Azaria
“Chaos Theory” starring Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer and Stuart Townsend
If there is one thing scriptwriters like more than unrequited love, it is the love triangle. It’s bound to bring mystery, intrigue and at least one broken heart at the end of the movie. And in comedies it often brings a lot of laughs. In most comedies, one of the parties is usually clueless that they are actually part of the triangle, and that is certainly the case in “Run Fatboy Run.”
The movie is directed by David Schwimmer, who has had few good turns since Ross and the other “Friends” left the prime-time line up. But the script from Simon Pegg (the man behind “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead”) and Michael Ian Black offers plenty in the way of laughs.
Dennis Doyle (Pegg) is a loveable loser who just can’t seem to get a break. In all fairness he is the one who screwed up the best thing in his life when he abandoned Libby Odell (Thandie Newton) at the altar. In fact, the two probably would never have seen each other again except that Dennis is best friends with Libby’s cousin. Oh yeah and she was eight months pregnant with Dennis’ child the day of their ill-fated wedding.
Dennis and Libby are cordial enough when they hand off Jake, a precocious 5 year old who enjoys spending time with his dad. But that changes when Whit (Hank Azaria) enters the picture. Whit is a high-powered business man, who runs marathons for charity, and Libby’s new boyfriend. For the first time since Dennis left Libby at the altar, he finally sees her slipping away from him.
He decides to get her back in the only way he knows how – he decides to enter the Nike River Run for charity to prove he can finish something he starts and that he is just as good a man as Whit. Simon Pegg is by no means a fat guy – but sporting a bit of a belly and short shorts is enough to make any man look unattractive, especially a pale, red-headed Brit.
But if you can get over the few scenes in the short shorts, the movie is a nice one about a guy who decides to become the kind of man the woman he loves he deserves.
Chaos Theory
Though marketed as a comedy, “Chaos Theory” has plenty of sad moments mixed in with the laughs. It starts out with a clumsy device to move the plot forward rather than just starting at the beginning of the story. But once it gets going, it is worth the watch.
A young man on his wedding day finds out that when he and his fiancee were on a break, she got involved with another guy for a short time. He now is unsure if he should marry her or break it off.
But before he can sneak out the back door, the father of the bride stops him and sits him down to tell him a story of love, betrayal and trust.
Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds), the father of the bride, is a man obsessed with organization and efficiency so much so that as a college student he carried around index cards to make lists even when he was at New Year’s Eve parties. His best friend is the charming Buddy Endrow (Stuart Townsend) who always seems to get the girl. Despite his quirks about time, lists and having things just so, Susan (Emily Mortimer) picks Frank over the dashing Buddy to share a New Year’s Eve kiss. Flash forward seven years, and the two are happily married.
Frank still carefully plans out everything in his life and writes out an index card for each option before he makes a decision about what to do. But when his wife sets a clock 10 minutes back instead of 10 minutes ahead, she sets in motion something that neither of them can control. Because of Susan’s actions, and Frank’s anger, he ends up on the road late at night after his lecture and nearly runs into another driver. The driver is a pregnant woman who he rushes to the hospital. Once they get there, the staff mistake Frank for the father of the child and word gets back to Susan, who kicks him out of the house before he can explain what happened.
It is an example of one thing leading to another as his quest for a paternity test to prove he is not the father of the baby leads him to discover he has a rare genetic disorder that means he cannot father children – despite the 7-year-old daughter he has been loving as his own. Frank spirals into a reckless period where he does things he never would have done in the past for fear of injury – or worse – death.
The point of Frank’s story, which ends on a positive note, is that love is a rollercoaster and that one should not be surprised at the ups and downs, the lulls, and the chaos it can cause.
