“It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
I decided to run a half marathon. Not because of this movie but because I love my boyfriend. He’s a big runner and since we met he’s been asking me to run at least one race with him. I basically kept telling him, “ok, one day” or “eventually I will” or just kept giving him some other push off response.
I love Disney, Disney World, and all things Disney. So what does this have to do with running? Well, Disney has a program called RunDisney where they hold races at different parks. They have 5ks, 10ks, half marathons, full marathons, and some crazy challenges that include doing a mix of the aforementioned. One day I’m sitting at work and get a notification that the Disney Princess races opened registration. I immediately text him asking if he wanted to do a 10k together. I knew he’d say yes but didn’t want to click register until he actually responded. Well, when he responded the 10k was sold out. The high of Disney magic and love came over me and so I said, “let’s do the half”. And that’s how I decided to run a half marathon.
The race isn’t until late February 2020. So while I train I joined a bunch of Disney Facebook groups for runners. One day someone posted the trailer for an upcoming movie called Brittany Runs a Marathon and I thought, wow this looks funny and motivational, I’ll watch it. I watched it and here’s my review.
Screenplay/Originality – This movie is loosely based on a real Brittany. Writer and Director Paul Downs Colaizzo was actually roommates with Brittany when she decided to change her life and start running. He was inspired by her and decided to write this and in a way, made it a bit of a love letter to her and honestly, millions of movie goers. It’s definitely original and the screenplay is fantastic but there were just two points that I didn’t love, love so I couldn’t give it a perfect score.
Rating – 4.5
Acting – Perfect acting. Jillian Bell was the perfect actress for this role. She really embodied the character and hit every part of her storyline perfectly. The way she takes us along on the ride for Brittany’s personal transformation was just so real and relatable. Now I will say that Jillian Bell looks nothing like the real Brittany but this is an instance where the movie character doesn’t need to look like the real character, minus that the actress starts out a bit overweight (naturally or with prosthetics) since that’s such a crucial point and the reason this film came to be. Also, a huge shoutout to Jillian Bell who actually started to run and lost 40 lbs while working on this film to truly understand the real Brittany’s transformation and journey. Every other actor was also a great match to their role. I’m not sure if anyone represented a real person in real Brittany’s life, but I liked them all for different reasons.
Rating – 5
Entertainment Factor – I thought this was going to be an LOL cutesy and inspiring movie. I did laugh and it was inspiring, but it was also real. There are some hard hitting scenes in the film. Every emotion was touched in this film, purposefully and so eloquently. It really makes you understand why people say “it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” about so many different things in life. Things take time, life is a journey, going from zero to marathon is a journey, and so is this film – a well-rounded trip of emotions.
Rating – 5
Audio – There isn’t any over the top audio in this film but what there was, was good. The music selections were great and fitted at the right time.
Rating – 5
Visuals – I’m not usually a fan of shaky camera angles but the few that are in this film are done at the right moments. There aren’t any annoying camera techniques either.
Rating – 5
Trailer – When I saw the trailer originally I didn’t remember it showing anything emotional or serious. Rewatching it now there’s a little blurb. I think it was hidden in the fact that, for me, it came off as being more comedic, which in a lot of cases it is. Honestly, the trailer doesn’t do the film justice. It makes it seem like there are going to be some dull moments in the film which isn’t the case since the movie flows quite well. Because I didn’t think this was the greatest trailer, this is my lowest rated category for this film.
Rating – 4
Overall, this is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. I was very, very impressed by it. In the end, it received a 4.75 on my rating scale.
Brittany Runs a Marathon is currently on a limited release. They’re planning to open in more theaters depending on how it does in the ones it’s already opened in. If one of your local theaters is showing this film, please go see it. It’s really a good one.
Until next time,
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