Thursday, September 19, 2019

Movie Review: "Brittany Runs a Marathon" (2019)

Movie poster for Amazon Studios's 2019 film Brittany Runs a Marathon, starring Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Micah Stock, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery, Patch Darragh, and Alice Lee
Image Source
Director: Paul Downs Colaizzo
Year: 2019
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes

Brittany is ready to make a change to her unhealthy lifestyle. She uses the goal of running the New York City marathon to inspire her to achieve new, healthier goals. 

Movie still for the 2019 comedy film Brittany Runs a Marathon where Jillian Bell stands in a New York City street preparing to run for the first time
"We find validation in very unhealthy places because life is overwhelming." (Image Source)
"Brittany Runs a Marathon" certainly delivers on its title. This film is written and directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo and serves as his feature film directorial debut. The movie is inspired by a true story and focuses on a woman named Brittany (Jillian Bell). She is at a place in her life where she has been leading an unhealthy lifestyle for years. She is overweight, has high blood pressure, has a high resting heart rate, and spends her nights drinking, getting high, and eating unhealthy foods. She desperately needs to make a change, so she decides to start running. She starts running one block at first, but eventually, the more she gets into it, her goal is to run the New York City marathon and is determined to make it happen.
Brittany Runs a Marathon 2019 movie still where Jern (Utkarsh Ambudkar) and Brittany (Jillian Bell) make her an online dating profile in her living room
"It's hard to start a new life." (Image Source)
For some people, making a change in their life is a necessity. Making that change is like coming to a fork in the road. Taking the path to the right means continuing to make bad choices that could possibly be detrimental to your health. The road to the left, however, is the opposite. It's often the longer, more winding, much more arduous road, but these changes add up over time to positively improve one's situation. "Brittany Runs a Marathon" is about one woman who finally chooses to turn left after years of turning right.

In many ways, this film is an honest portrayal of the things that can happen when someone tries to change their health by losing weight. It's an honest look at the highs and lows, the ups and downs, the ins and outs of bettering yourself and changing who you are inside and outside. As depressing as it is, it's an unvarnished insight at how the public at large perceives and treats people when they are overweight. Take it from us, we know what it's like. The things that happen to Brittany in this movie have happened to us in real life. We know all too well the sting of sneers and jeers and unnecessary rude comments about our appearance and our weight. We know what it's like to have doors slammed in our faces. We know how it feels to be solely judged by how we look on the outside. One day, out of nowhere, we turned left. BigJ and I have been on our own wellness journey for the last one-and-a-half years, not because we wanted people to open doors for us, but because our long-term health problems were being exacerbated by our bad decisions, which made us prisoners in our own bodies. Together, we have collectively gotten rid of 325 lbs. in the last 19 months, so needless to say, we had a little more to lose than Brittany.

The difference between us and Brittany is that (we like to think) we're nowhere near the same amount of an asshole she is. This will be the most significant turnoff for some viewers: Brittany is not the best nor the most delightful person. There are times she is downright cruel to the people around her, including her family and pals. Part of her journey is about learning how not to be a closed-off jerk who pushes everyone away, but her attitude will still rub people the wrong way. Jillian Bell's stellar performance somehow makes Brittany a relatable person even when she's mean. Despite doing some dreadful things, it is this authenticity and believability that helps sell "Brittany Runs a Marathon" because it's not some sunshine-and-rainbows, unfeasible portrayal of life. Even when the story is predictable where the romantic and friendship aspects are concerned, we were there every step of the way. Heck, even Brittany's journey to get into better health is formulaic, montage included! We knew every beat that was coming before it happened since the film is ripe with genre tropes and cliches, but familiarity doesn't make it unenjoyable. Our biggest gripe with this movie is that, while it still asserts that you should love yourself no matter what your body size/type, this message of body positivity is pretty much gone once Brittany "gets thin" because, in so many words, thin is always seen as "better than." It's not like we didn't expect this to be the ultimate message, Hollywood has been cramming this crap down our throats for decades, but we had hoped for something a little bit different from this particular story.
Michaela Watkins, Micah Stock, and Michaela Watkins jog together in New York in a movie still for "Brittany Runs a Marathon" (2019)
"We're all runners when we need to be, right?" (Image Source)
While "Brittany Runs a Marathon" moves at a leisurely marathon pace as opposed to a quick, jaunty sprint, we think it's worth watching for its excellent performances and its engaging journey to betterment. Check it out!

My Rating: 7/10
BigJ's Rating: 7/10
IMDB's Rating: 6.6/10
RT Rating: 90%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?

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