October 30, 2019 at 09:49PM
Dir: Paul Downs Colaizzo. Starring: Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery, Micah Stock. 15, 104 mins
How do we talk about obesity without demonising people over a number on a scale? It's hard. As a society, we're a long way from achieving the right balance. But Brittany Runs a Marathon, an inspirational fitness journey that's still sensitive to the issues of body image, feels about as close as we can get for now. Jillian Bell stars as Brittany, a woman who's thrown all ideas of self-care out of the window. She binge eats. She drinks heavily. She spends most of her free time napping on the couch. It's the trademark cycle of someone hooked on temporary and self-destructive distractions.
Things reach a breaking point on a trip to the doctor – which she only booked in the hope of scoring some Adderall. Her BMI puts her in the obese zone, he tells her. If she doesn't do something about it, her long-term health will be at risk. So Brittany heads straight to the gym. And, when she finds out how much gym membership costs, she heads straight out again. "You do know that people can run outside?" she tells the personal trainer. And so she does. With the encouragement of her neighbour Catherine (Michaela Watkins) and new running club pal Seth (Micah Stock), Brittany sets her sights on the New York City Marathon. There are ups and downs. Sometimes she'll suddenly drop in weight. Other times, she'll stall. Sometimes things will get really bad, and she'll eat cheese straight out of the bin.
Brittany Runs a Marathon feels real because, in part, it is. The debut of writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo, it is based on the experiences of a friend, also called Brittany, who appears briefly in the film's final moments. But this is friendship without flattery. He doesn't go easy on the fictional Brittany. She's obsessed with the idea that everyone around her pities her, and when she lashes out, it's an ugly spectacle.
But even at her cruellest, we understand. There is a weariness in her eyes, even when she's feigning a smile and cracking jokes. She's carrying a lifetime of shame and self-doubt on her shoulders. Given that she has spent most of her career as the wacky sidekick in mainstream comedies, Bell's performance here demands that Hollywood takes her more seriously in the future.
1/21 Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage has a history of taking his roles too far, but the peak arrived with the Ghost Rider sequel, Spirit of Vengeance (2011). Knowing his head was to be replaced with CGI, he covered his face in corpse paint and shrouded himself in a costume covered with Egyptian symbols and magical amulets, terrifying his co-stars in the process. Decades earlier, Cage had pulled out 12 of his own teeth in preparation for the lead role in Birdy (1984).
2/21 Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank's exercise regime for drama Million Dollar Baby was so intense that it almost killed her. She spent so long in the gym (six days a week for three months) that a doctor told her a staph infection – caused by a burst blister on her foot – was hours away from reaching her heart.
Warner Bros
3/21 Heath Ledger
Such was the extent of Heath Ledger's commitment to the role of Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) that he ended up sleeping just two hours a night after locking himself away in a hotel room for an entire month to make a diary comprised of his villainous character's ramblings.
4/21 Val Kilmer
Having lived an entire year in the life of late Doors frontman Jim Morrison, Val Kilmer had to go to therapy after struggling to get his life back on track. The actor had become so obsessed with the role that he ended up learning fifty of Morrison's songs and had everyone call him "Jim" on set of the 1991 biopic.
5/21 Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp risked his life while preparing for the role of Hunter Thompson in Terry Gilliam's 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; he took hard drugs and spent his nights sleeping next to extremely dangerous containers of gunpowder and nitroglycerin.
6/21 Shia LaBeouf
For war thriller Fury (2014), Shia LaBeouf slashed his own cheek and pulled a tooth out during filming. He also didn't wash for an entire month forcing the crew to arrange a separate room for him during night-time shoots.
7/21 Rooney Mara
Rooney Mara completely changed her image to play the role of Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's 2011 adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. She cut her hair, bleached her eyebrows and pierced her nipples to get into the mindset of the cyber hacker at the heart of Stieg Larrson's novels.
8/21 Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman certainly worked for the Best Actress Oscar she received for 2010 film Black Swan. She shunned any suggestion of a body double for the film's extremely challenging dance scenes.
9/21 Joaquin Phoenix
In 2008, Joaquin Phoenix displayed some bizarre behaviour after he quit acting to become a hip-hop artist. It was later revealed that his life upheaval – strange interviews included – was, in fact, a giant hoax for mockumentary I'm Still here
10/21 Ashton Kutcher
After hearing that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had a diet comprised of just fruit, Ashton Kutcher thought he'd do the same in preparation for his role in biopic Jobs (2013). He ended up hospitalised for severe vitamin deficiencies as well as a reduction in bone density. But for the role of Steve Jobs, Kutcher went on a complete fruit diet, just like real-life Steve Jobs. And two days before the filming Kutcher ended up in the hospital with severe Vitamin deficiencies and reduction in bone density.
11/21 Halle Berry
After "begging" Spike Lee to let her play the role of crack addict Vivian in his 1991 film Jungle Fever, Halle Berry proved her dedication to the role by refusing to bathe for two whole weeks.
12/21 Dustin Hoffman
Meryl Streep has recounted the time Dustin Hoffman slapped her on their first take filming 1979 divorce drama Kramer vs Kramer, something everyone can agree was an unacceptable step too far.
13/21 Daniel Day-Lewis
Known to be one of the biggest method actors around, Daniel Day-Lewis spent six months alone in the wilderness in preparation for his role in The Last of the Mohicans (1992).
14/21 Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway may have won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Les Misérables (2012), but the role of Fantine – which saw her cut off her hair and eat nothing but lettuce and oatmeal paste – left her in "a state of deprivation, both physically and emotionally".
15/21 Christian Bale
Christian Bale has since vowed not to mess with his weight again following his Oscar win for Vice earlier this year but, back in 2004, he lost such an alarming amount of weight for the role of Trevor Reznik in The Machinist that he became virtually unrecognisable. "I was intrigued by a perverse nature of mine just to see if I can go beyond what I've been told is actually safe and okay, and see if I could push the limits," he went on to tell the BBC.
16/21 Charlize Theron
While many would expect to see Charlize Theron here for her Oscar-winning turn as Aileen Wuornos in Monster, it's her role in spy film Atomic Blonde (2017) that saw her take things too far. Theron was so adamant she perform her own stunts that she bruised her ribs and clenched her teeth so hard she broke two of them.
Focus Features
17/21 Danny DeVito
The entire cast of 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest stayed in a real mental asylum to prepare for the film. DeVito went so far as to dream up an imaginary friend, one he became convinced was real.
18/21 Adrien Brody
To get into the lead role of Oscar-winning film The Pianist (2002), Adrien Brody upheaved his life so much that it took him over a year and a half to get things back on track; not only did he starve himself to a staggering degree, but sold his home and broke up with his long-term girlfriend.
19/21 Jared Leto
The Oscar-winner got so into his role of Joker in 2016's Suicide Squad that he sent his co-stars, including Margot Robbie and Will Smith, stray bullets and used condoms in the post. He event circulated a video of himself with nothing but a dead pig for company to the entire crew.
20/21 Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet took her role of the former Nazi concentration camp guard at the heart of drama The Reader (2008) so seriously that she spoke with a German accent while at home with her family. She compared leaving the character behind her to escaping a serious car crash.
21/21 Robert De Niro
For Taxi Driver, most actors wouldn't have got themselves a fake license and cruised around New York City throughout the night to get into the role of the deranged Travis Bickle, but that's precisely what Robert De Niro ended up doing in 1976.
1/21 Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage has a history of taking his roles too far, but the peak arrived with the Ghost Rider sequel, Spirit of Vengeance (2011). Knowing his head was to be replaced with CGI, he covered his face in corpse paint and shrouded himself in a costume covered with Egyptian symbols and magical amulets, terrifying his co-stars in the process. Decades earlier, Cage had pulled out 12 of his own teeth in preparation for the lead role in Birdy (1984).
2/21 Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank's exercise regime for drama Million Dollar Baby was so intense that it almost killed her. She spent so long in the gym (six days a week for three months) that a doctor told her a staph infection – caused by a burst blister on her foot – was hours away from reaching her heart.
Warner Bros
3/21 Heath Ledger
Such was the extent of Heath Ledger's commitment to the role of Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) that he ended up sleeping just two hours a night after locking himself away in a hotel room for an entire month to make a diary comprised of his villainous character's ramblings.
4/21 Val Kilmer
Having lived an
Dir: Paul Downs Colaizzo. Starring: Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery, Micah Stock. 15, 104 mins
How do we talk about obesity without demonising people over a number on a scale? It's hard. As a society, we're a long way from achieving the right balance. But Brittany Runs a Marathon, an inspirational fitness journey that's still sensitive to the issues of body image, feels about as close as we can get for now. Jillian Bell stars as Brittany, a woman who's thrown all ideas of self-care out of the window. She binge eats. She drinks heavily. She spends most of her free time napping on the couch. It's the trademark cycle of someone hooked on temporary and self-destructive distractions.
Things reach a breaking point on a trip to the doctor – which she only booked in the hope of scoring some Adderall. Her BMI puts her in the obese zone, he tells her. If she doesn't do something about it, her long-term health will be at risk. So Brittany heads straight to the gym. And, when she finds out how much gym membership costs, she heads straight out again. "You do know that people can run outside?" she tells the personal trainer. And so she does. With the encouragement of her neighbour Catherine (Michaela Watkins) and new running club pal Seth (Micah Stock), Brittany sets her sights on the New York City Marathon. There are ups and downs. Sometimes she'll suddenly drop in weight. Other times, she'll stall. Sometimes things will get really bad, and she'll eat cheese straight out of the bin.
Brittany Runs a Marathon feels real because, in part, it is. The debut of writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo, it is based on the experiences of a friend, also called Brittany, who appears briefly in the film's final moments. But this is friendship without flattery. He doesn't go easy on the fictional Brittany. She's obsessed with the idea that everyone around her pities her, and when she lashes out, it's an ugly spectacle.
But even at her cruellest, we understand. There is a weariness in her eyes, even when she's feigning a smile and cracking jokes. She's carrying a lifetime of shame and self-doubt on her shoulders. Given that she has spent most of her career as the wacky sidekick in mainstream comedies, Bell's performance here demands that Hollywood takes her more seriously in the future.
1/21 Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage has a history of taking his roles too far, but the peak arrived with the Ghost Rider sequel, Spirit of Vengeance (2011). Knowing his head was to be replaced with CGI, he covered his face in corpse paint and shrouded himself in a costume covered with Egyptian symbols and magical amulets, terrifying his co-stars in the process. Decades earlier, Cage had pulled out 12 of his own teeth in preparation for the lead role in Birdy (1984).
2/21 Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank's exercise regime for drama Million Dollar Baby was so intense that it almost killed her. She spent so long in the gym (six days a week for three months) that a doctor told her a staph infection – caused by a burst blister on her foot – was hours away from reaching her heart.
Warner Bros
3/21 Heath Ledger
Such was the extent of Heath Ledger's commitment to the role of Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) that he ended up sleeping just two hours a night after locking himself away in a hotel room for an entire month to make a diary comprised of his villainous character's ramblings.
4/21 Val Kilmer
Having lived an entire year in the life of late Doors frontman Jim Morrison, Val Kilmer had to go to therapy after struggling to get his life back on track. The actor had become so obsessed with the role that he ended up learning fifty of Morrison's songs and had everyone call him "Jim" on set of the 1991 biopic.
5/21 Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp risked his life while preparing for the role of Hunter Thompson in Terry Gilliam's 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; he took hard drugs and spent his nights sleeping next to extremely dangerous containers of gunpowder and nitroglycerin.
6/21 Shia LaBeouf
For war thriller Fury (2014), Shia LaBeouf slashed his own cheek and pulled a tooth out during filming. He also didn't wash for an entire month forcing the crew to arrange a separate room for him during night-time shoots.
7/21 Rooney Mara
Rooney Mara completely changed her image to play the role of Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's 2011 adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. She cut her hair, bleached her eyebrows and pierced her nipples to get into the mindset of the cyber hacker at the heart of Stieg Larrson's novels.
8/21 Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman certainly worked for the Best Actress Oscar she received for 2010 film Black Swan. She shunned any suggestion of a body double for the film's extremely challenging dance scenes.
9/21 Joaquin Phoenix
In 2008, Joaquin Phoenix displayed some bizarre behaviour after he quit acting to become a hip-hop artist. It was later revealed that his life upheaval – strange interviews included – was, in fact, a giant hoax for mockumentary I'm Still here
10/21 Ashton Kutcher
After hearing that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had a diet comprised of just fruit, Ashton Kutcher thought he'd do the same in preparation for his role in biopic Jobs (2013). He ended up hospitalised for severe vitamin deficiencies as well as a reduction in bone density. But for the role of Steve Jobs, Kutcher went on a complete fruit diet, just like real-life Steve Jobs. And two days before the filming Kutcher ended up in the hospital with severe Vitamin deficiencies and reduction in bone density.
11/21 Halle Berry
After "begging" Spike Lee to let her play the role of crack addict Vivian in his 1991 film Jungle Fever, Halle Berry proved her dedication to the role by refusing to bathe for two whole weeks.
12/21 Dustin Hoffman
Meryl Streep has recounted the time Dustin Hoffman slapped her on their first take filming 1979 divorce drama Kramer vs Kramer, something everyone can agree was an unacceptable step too far.
13/21 Daniel Day-Lewis
Known to be one of the biggest method actors around, Daniel Day-Lewis spent six months alone in the wilderness in preparation for his role in The Last of the Mohicans (1992).
14/21 Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway may have won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Les Misérables (2012), but the role of Fantine – which saw her cut off her hair and eat nothing but lettuce and oatmeal paste – left her in "a state of deprivation, both physically and emotionally".
15/21 Christian Bale
Christian Bale has since vowed not to mess with his weight again following his Oscar win for Vice earlier this year but, back in 2004, he lost such an alarming amount of weight for the role of Trevor Reznik in The Machinist that he became virtually unrecognisable. "I was intrigued by a perverse nature of mine just to see if I can go beyond what I've been told is actually safe and okay, and see if I could push the limits," he went on to tell the BBC.
16/21 Charlize Theron
While many would expect to see Charlize Theron here for her Oscar-winning turn as Aileen Wuornos in Monster, it's her role in spy film Atomic Blonde (2017) that saw her take things too far. Theron was so adamant she perform her own stunts that she bruised her ribs and clenched her teeth so hard she broke two of them.
Focus Features
17/21 Danny DeVito
The entire cast of 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest stayed in a real mental asylum to prepare for the film. DeVito went so far as to dream up an imaginary friend, one he became convinced was real.
18/21 Adrien Brody
To get into the lead role of Oscar-winning film The Pianist (2002), Adrien Brody upheaved his life so much that it took him over a year and a half to get things back on track; not only did he starve himself to a staggering degree, but sold his home and broke up with his long-term girlfriend.
19/21 Jared Leto
The Oscar-winner got so into his role of Joker in 2016's Suicide Squad that he sent his co-stars, including Margot Robbie and Will Smith, stray bullets and used condoms in the post. He event circulated a video of himself with nothing but a dead pig for company to the entire crew.
20/21 Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet took her role of the former Nazi concentration camp guard at the heart of drama The Reader (2008) so seriously that she spoke with a German accent while at home with her family. She compared leaving the character behind her to escaping a serious car crash.
21/21 Robert De Niro
For Taxi Driver, most actors wouldn't have got themselves a fake license and cruised around New York City throughout the night to get into the role of the deranged Travis Bickle, but that's precisely what Robert De Niro ended up doing in 1976.
1/21 Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage has a history of taking his roles too far, but the peak arrived with the Ghost Rider sequel, Spirit of Vengeance (2011). Knowing his head was to be replaced with CGI, he covered his face in corpse paint and shrouded himself in a costume covered with Egyptian symbols and magical amulets, terrifying his co-stars in the process. Decades earlier, Cage had pulled out 12 of his own teeth in preparation for the lead role in Birdy (1984).
2/21 Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank's exercise regime for drama Million Dollar Baby was so intense that it almost killed her. She spent so long in the gym (six days a week for three months) that a doctor told her a staph infection – caused by a burst blister on her foot – was hours away from reaching her heart.
Warner Bros
3/21 Heath Ledger
Such was the extent of Heath Ledger's commitment to the role of Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) that he ended up sleeping just two hours a night after locking himself away in a hotel room for an entire month to make a diary comprised of his villainous character's ramblings.
4/21 Val Kilmer
Having lived an entire year in the life of late Doors frontman Jim Morrison, Val Kilmer had to go to therapy after struggling to get his life back on track. The actor had become so obsessed with the role that he ended up learning fifty of Morrison's songs and had everyone call him "Jim" on set of the 1991 biopic.
5/21 Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp risked his life while preparing for the role of Hunter Thompson in Terry Gilliam's 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; he took hard drugs and spent his nights sleeping next to extremely dangerous containers of gunpowder and nitroglycerin.
6/21 Shia LaBeouf
For war thriller Fury (2014), Shia LaBeouf slashed his own cheek and pulled a tooth out during filming. He also didn't wash for an entire month forcing the crew to arrange a separate room for him during night-time shoots.
7/21 Rooney Mara
Rooney Mara completely changed her image to play the role of Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's 2011 adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. She cut her hair, bleached her eyebrows and pierced her nipples to get into the mindset of the cyber hacker at the heart of Stieg Larrson's novels.
8/21 Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman certainly worked for the Best Actress Oscar she received for 2010 film Black Swan. She shunned any suggestion of a body double for the film's extremely challenging dance scenes.
9/21 Joaquin Phoenix
In 2008, Joaquin Phoenix displayed some bizarre behaviour after he quit acting to become a hip-hop artist. It was later revealed that his life upheaval – strange interviews included – was, in fact, a giant hoax for mockumentary I'm Still here
10/21 Ashton Kutcher
After hearing that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had a diet comprised of just fruit, Ashton Kutcher thought he'd do the same in preparation for his role in biopic Jobs (2013). He ended up hospitalised for severe vitamin deficiencies as well as a reduction in bone density. But for the role of Steve Jobs, Kutcher went on a complete fruit diet, just like real-life Steve Jobs. And two days before the filming Kutcher ended up in the hospital with severe Vitamin deficiencies and reduction in bone density.
11/21 Halle Berry
After "begging" Spike Lee to let her play the role of crack addict Vivian in his 1991 film Jungle Fever, Halle Berry proved her dedication to the role by refusing to bathe for two whole weeks.
12/21 Dustin Hoffman
Meryl Streep has recounted the time Dustin Hoffman slapped her on their first take filming 1979 divorce drama Kramer vs Kramer, something everyone can agree was an unacceptable step too far.
13/21 Daniel Day-Lewis
Known to be one of the biggest method actors around, Daniel Day-Lewis spent six months alone in the wilderness in preparation for his role in The Last of the Mohicans (1992).
14/21 Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway may have won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Les Misérables (2012), but the role of Fantine – which saw her cut off her hair and eat nothing but lettuce and oatmeal paste – left her in "a state of deprivation, both physically and emotionally".
15/21 Christian Bale
Christian Bale has since vowed not to mess with his weight again following his Oscar win for Vice earlier this year but, back in 2004, he lost such an alarming amount of weight for the role of Trevor Reznik in The Machinist that he became virtually unrecognisable. "I was intrigued by a perverse nature of mine just to see if I can go beyond what I've been told is actually safe and okay, and see if I could push the limits," he went on to tell the BBC.
16/21 Charlize Theron
While many would expect to see Charlize Theron here for her Oscar-winning turn as Aileen Wuornos in Monster, it's her role in spy film Atomic Blonde (2017) that saw her take things too far. Theron was so adamant she perform her own stunts that she bruised her ribs and clenched her teeth so hard she broke two of them.
Focus Features
17/21 Danny DeVito
The entire cast of 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest stayed in a real mental asylum to prepare for the film. DeVito went so far as to dream up an imaginary friend, one he became convinced was real.
18/21 Adrien Brody
To get into the lead role of Oscar-winning film The Pianist (2002), Adrien Brody upheaved his life so much that it took him over a year and a half to get things back on track; not only did he starve himself to a staggering degree, but sold his home and broke up with his long-term girlfriend.
19/21 Jared Leto
The Oscar-winner got so into his role of Joker in 2016's Suicide Squad that he sent his co-stars, including Margot Robbie and Will Smith, stray bullets and used condoms in the post. He event circulated a video of himself with nothing but a dead pig for company to the entire crew.
20/21 Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet took her role of the former Nazi concentration camp guard at the heart of drama The Reader (2008) so seriously that she spoke with a German accent while at home with her family. She compared leaving the character behind her to escaping a serious car crash.
21/21 Robert De Niro
For Taxi Driver, most actors wouldn't have got themselves a fake license and cruised around New York City throughout the night to get into the role of the deranged Travis Bickle, but that's precisely what Robert De Niro ended up doing in 1976.
As a whole, the film takes too many predictable turns to feel truly revolutionary, from its "opposites attract" romantic interest (Utkarsh Ambudkar) to the inspirational, patriotic montage before the final race. But it doesn't let Brittany become some one-note cheerleader for body positivity, even poking fun at the movement's superficial extremes. When Brittany's first told she's technically obese, she responds, "OK, I feel like you totally missed the point of those Dove ads."
Everyone's relationship with their own body is different and, more often than not, infinitely complicated. But the strength of Brittany Runs a Marathon is that it doesn't claim to capture a universal experience. It tells one woman's story – and it tells it well.