The film Brittany Runs a Marathon surprises in its impact mainly because its approach to its subject matter is at once unusual and challenging. It takes the cliché of a person attempting to achieve what seems to be an impossible goal, but it highlights the flaws in the character.
The eponymous Brittany is shown at the outset as a failure in her career, virtually broke, living with a less than pleasant roommate, unsuccessful in having a relationship, drinking too much alcohol, over-eating, and, above all, overweight. Faced with this plethora of problems, albeit most of them self-imposed, Brittany attempts the easy way to allay her misery, by asking a doctor to prescribe Adderall. Instead, he tells her she has high blood pressure, is drastically overweight, and needs to exercise.
Brittany is loath to take her doctor’s advice but eventually decides to start running, though her attempt to run one block almost dissuades her. However, she is fortunate to meet others, including a woman who lives in the same building and who has her own problems to deal with, and a gay man who wants to be fitter as he and his partner are adopting a second child.
Brittany comes up with the apparently idiotic idea to run the New York City Marathon the next year – not with any idea of winning, but simply to complete it. The film follows her journey.
The journey does not simply follow the predictable path of admirable grit and determination paying off, though that is part of it. Instead, the film shows Brittany coping with a range of problems, including coming to terms with her sad past; dealing with naysayers; falling prey to temptations of drink, drugs, and food; struggling for money; and dealing with loneliness. What’s unexpected is that Brittany is often unlikeable, especially in a scene in which she gets drunk and viciously attacks an overweight woman. Though difficult to sit through, that scene helps Brittany Runs a Marathon stand out from the usual sports success story.
This is not to say that the film is without flaws. A chance encounter with a man who, like her, has been hired to dog-sit in an opulent house, is decidedly unlikely. The film is plentifully laced with objectionable language. A scene of a sexual encounter is both unnecessarily graphic and redundant. However, much in the film is relevant to many of us – not merely those who are struggling with their weight.
One of the great pieces of our literary heritage is the medieval morality play Everyman, which relates the journey of a man travelling to heaven. He attempts to find someone to accompany him on his journey and in the end discovers the only one who will so serve is Good Deeds. Brittany is a kind of Everyman who finds that if she is to achieve her goal, she needs to shed the baggage of her past and present. There is no sense in dwelling on the negatives, in floundering in self-pity, in blaming others. One must simply undertake one’s journey one step at a time through one’s own efforts, while drawing in the support of the genuine people whose respect and affection one has earned. This worthwhile message is conveyed entertainingly.
Brittany Runs a Marathon is being advertised as a comedy-drama. In reality, it is not that funny and is often difficult to watch as a drama. However, thanks to Jillian Bell’s beautifully nuanced performance as Brittany, for the filming of which she lost 40 pounds, and the talented supporting cast, it is certainly going to prove popular. In fact, it was chosen as the audience favourite at the Sundance Festival.
At the end of the film we are shown a glimpse of the woman on whom writer and director Paul Downs Colazzo based it, a friend of his. It’s Colazzo’s work that has made Brittany Runs a Marathon something of a morality story for our times.
