Brittany Runs a Marathon is the type of title that make me wary immediately. All indications were this movie is going to be a twee maudlin affair, fat shaming the audience while insisting that’s not what it’s doing. Some of those elements are part of Brittany Runs a Marathon, but some subtle tonal choices and Jillian Bell make the movie’s marathon less of a slog and more fun than it probably should have been.
Bell plays the titular Brittany, a jovial happy go lucky carpe diem sort of girl living in New York City. Looking around after a doctor’s appointment, she realizes that her friends are all making moves, and her life has hit stasis. So she starts running to get herself healthy, getting encouragement from her neighbor Catherine (Michaela Watkins). She also seeks out other jobs, like house sitting for rich people, where she meets Jern (Utkarsh Ambudkar), a man who’s life has also hit stasis. As the title suggests, Brittany’s goal turns toward completing a marathon, which helps instill a drive in her that inspires but also alienates some people in her life.
The best insights in Brittany Runs a Marathon are about how personal lifestyle changes affect others around you as well as yourself. Brittany’s process of betterment takes a LONG time, as you can imagine for someone trying to lose a bunch of weight. At first, everyone seems helpful and supportive: Brittany meets new people with shared running interest like hers, and her brother in law (Lil’ Rel Howery) and best friend Gretchen (Alice Lee) are rooting for her from a distance. However, as soon as Brittany’s changes become more permanent and less temporary, that universal support begins to stop. Gretchen’s only real tie to friendship with Brittany was their shared interest of partying and vanity; once Brittany stopped doing that, nothing was there, a tough but necessary lesson for Brittany to learn. Conversely, Jern and Catherine are inspired by Brittany’s drive, and push themselves to try new things because of Brittany’s support. There’s lots of insight to be gained from Brittany herself as well: when drive turns into obsession, how personal betterment isn’t just physical, etc. Not all of themes are artfully conveyed in Brittany Runs a Marathon, but the film at least leaves you with some ideas instead of being hollow entertainment.
Jillian Bell keeps the movie from being a self important gross movie about how awesome running culture is. Bell first hit most people’s radar probably in 22 Jump Street, killing it with her deadpan delivery. Here she takes that dry part of her personality, and pairs it with this affable, winning charm. From early on, she’s clearly the funniest person in the room, joking her way into your heart. Bell has no problem milking laughter out of the audience with her brutal first attempts at running. Bell shows really well how that humor derives from her crippling insecurity and self-loathing from years of playing the put upon friend. Watching Bell struggle to break that crutch is enthralling and sometimes brutal, but its always interesting, a testament to Bell’s performance. She also bounces nicely off of Utkarsh Ambudkar, an also criminally underused comedian and actor who should be in more stuff.
Brittany Runs a Marathon will hopefully be remembered as a movie that launched the careers of people who deserve to be known, like Jillian Bell or Utkarsh Ambudkar. While the movie did NOT make me want to run a marathon, it did certainly make me take stock of people trying to better themselves, and whether or not I’m a Gretchen or a Catherine. I would like to encourage everyone to be a Catherine, it means a lot, as Brittany Runs a Marathon will show you.