Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019)

Jillian Bell stars as Brittany Forgler, a broke and down-on-her-luck woman in her late 20s who moved from Philadelphia to New York to pursue a career that didn’t quite pan out. Her quest for success doesn’t motivate her so much as dropping out for fear of failure. She has a job she is ill-suited for and is overweight, spending much of her time living in the shadow of her perky and pretty roommate Gretchen, going to clubs where she buries her feelings into a toxic combination of drinking, drugs, casual sex, and less-than-healthy food. A doctor’s visit to try to score some Adderall leads her to discover that her weight has gotten quite far away from her, to the point where it is affecting her health, both physically and mentally. She needs to lose about 50 lbs. to get to avoid further health issues of a BMI in the obese range.

Due to the high cost of joining a gym without much income, Brittany begins jogging for exercise, starting with a trip around the block, but discipline is a challenge, as is putting herself out there for the world to see. She soon joins a club for runners in the city along with her soon-to-be-divorced neighbor Catherine (Michaela Watkins) and her newfound running friend, Seth (Micah Stock). She even gets a new job dog-sitting for some well-to-do types who are away for long periods, where she meets the ultimate slacker co-worker in Jern (Utkarsh Ambudkar), who convinces her to squat in their employers’ abode. To keep her motivated, she and her friends set out to compete in the next New York City Marathon, but to do that requires the kind of discipline she’s never known up to that point in her life.

Though we aren’t told this until the very end of the film, Brittany Runs a Marathon is a dramedy inspired by the true story of a woman named Brittany O’Neill. O’Neill is writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo’s friend since college and former roommate, but her story and that of Brittany Forgler are not exactly the same, as there’s no specific scene of the movie that comes from events in O’Neill’s real life. The story is mostly an interpretation of O’Neill’s journey at a twenty-something woman trying to find a niche in the world, and running became the lynchpin for discipline and focus that helped her to also have the internal strength to achieve success in the other areas that also needed tending.

It’s not a film about just trying to overcome body-image challenges, as Brittany’s problems are compounded by each other, also struggling with money, love, friendship, and finding a general direction in life. All of her ailments, including the weight, seem to stem more from a lack of drive, focus, self-esteem, or discipline. Losing weight alone won’t be enough because, without taking care of these basic things, she will just put the pounds back on. This means no more nights of clubbing and debauchery or other potential pitfalls that may cause her to settle back into her habits. While this might strain her relationship with others, Brittany won’t be able to maintain healthy relationships until she can establish a better relationship with herself.

In her first lead role in a feature film, Bell gets to stretch out her acting chops into some dramatic moments, having been used in the past mostly for her penchant for memorably zany improvisational comedy in bit roles. Her take on Brittany feels mostly fully realized, joking as a means of deflecting conversations and avoid having to show vulnerability or reveal something about herself, channeling her inner sense of low self-esteem and doubts about herself that propels her character into someone instantly relatable. Part of the reason that she is so low on herself is that she thinks everyone around her is just so much happier. Of course, how people portray themselves online or in-person can often hide those things about themselves they don’t want to be known, and it’s only when Brittany manages to have some regard for herself that she can see how people hide their pain in drugs or sex or food in order to forget, even if just for a moment, the thorn in their sides. But then she also has to confront her own judgments of others, as well as her own feelings of envy for not having everything she’s ever dreamed of in life.

While Brittany Runs a Marathon may not be a landmark film in any particular regard, it does score up enough laughs and relevant themes to think about to make for a worthwhile viewing for most. It is also accessible for reasons beyond just those who have ever had to diet and exercise to lose a substantial amount of weight. It will even prove to be an inspirational film for many viewers who may feel like they are in a rut, providing a kickstart to motivate us on how we often can and should do something about those parts of ourselves that seem to be holding us back from enjoying life. Or, in some cases, just embracing those parts, regardless of what others may judge. Often times, these things that keep a person from achieving their goals are compounded by others. It’s a little like trying to juggle – one has to take care to try to keep to a balanced approach, as not paying attention to one item can cause them all to fall.

Colaizzo’s film is nicely cast, drawing out good dramatic scenes from a cast of improvisational comedians, including Lil Rey Howery as Brittany’s brother-in-law and sometimes mentor in life. It is a bit of a loose-hanging narrative structure, with noticeable but not overbearing tonal shifts that occasionally mute either the comedy or drama that Colaizzo seems to be striving to achieve on a scene-to-scene basis. One refreshing aspect is diving headfirst into social media as the root cause of many problems with esteem and happiness, as it’s easy to feel like you’re not achieving in pace with your peers when all you see people posting are happy moments and milestones, such as vacations, buying cars or homes, having children, or other notable announcements. Few bother to post about mundane or things that make themselves look bad, so there’s never a sense that anyone has a boring life or any problems at all even though, of course, we all experience these things.

As Millenials have grown up in this internet culture of doing things just to get likes, Brittany Runs a Marathon questions the value in attributing self-worth only to the approval of others. Once you stop worrying about winning the popularity contest among your peers and seek more to win self-respect for yourself, you can finally achieve contentment in being the person you want to be without perpetually painting the plastic picture of popularity on Instagram. As with the marathon at the heart of the story, sometimes winning isn’t about coming in first, but rather, simply accomplishing the things you set out to do. And at your own pace.

Qwipster’s rating: B+

MPAA Rated: R for sexual humor, language, drug use, and a scene of sexuality
Running Time: 104 min.

Cast: Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Micah Stock, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rey Howery, Alice Lee
Director: Paul Downs Colaizzo
Screenplay: Paul Downs Colaizzo