BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON
****
Dir: Paul Downs Colaizzo (15, 104 mins)
Jillian Bell shines in this nuanced underdog tale of a slacker forced to take charge of her life by running the New York marathon. Bell, finally getting a real lead performance after making scene-stealing cameos in the likes of 22 Jump Street, Fist Fight and Rough Night, shows dramatic heft as a woman facing health problems, self-esteem issues and a directionless void. She’s tasked with losing 55 pounds – the weight of a Siberian husky – by her doctor. Enlisting the help of Micah Stock’s equally hapless runner and the far more seasoned Michaela Watkins, she sets out on a year-long training regimen. The bickering is comic and believable; Bell even finds a form of love with Utkarsh Ambudkar, who house- and dog-sits with Bell for a mutual friend, tag-team style. With his help she gets a better dating profile, gets people to hold doors open for her and rediscovers her own self-worth. It’s a winning, frequently funny and emotional run well worth taking.
Opens Nov 1
words KEIRON SELF
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