Brittany Runs a Marathon

Anchored by Jillian Bell’s unexpectedly impressive performance, Brittany Runs a Marathon follows the actress’ title character as she decides to completely upend her lazy lifestyle by training for the New York City marathon. Filmmaker Paul Downs Colaizzo has infused Brittany Runs a Marathon with a subdued, character-study sort of vibe, and although it’s a sensibility that does pave the way for an uneven narrative, the picture nevertheless, for the most part, comes off as a compelling drama that benefits from Bell’s completely-convincing turn as the sporadically unlikable protagonist. (Brittany is, from time to time, flat-out detestable, which is certainly a bold choice that ultimately contributes heavily to the believable atmosphere.) It’s clear, however, that Colaizzo simply isn’t able to wholeheartedly justify the picture’s 104-minute running time, as Brittany Runs a Marathon does begin to demonstrably run out of steam once it passes the one-hour mark – although there’s no denying that the whole thing rallies for an admittedly moving climactic stretch. The end result is a solid little movie that proves that Bell is more talented than perhaps anyone suspected, and it certainly should be interesting to see where she takes her career going forward.

*** out of ****