Getting in shape and putting your life together usually, at the movies, passes in a montage. But for many, the non-Rocky legions of us, such transformations require more than inspiring theme music and lifting weights in the snow. And for the Brittany (Jillian Bell) of "Brittany Runs a Marathon," that's especially true.
Brittany is an aimless and broke 20-something in New York who's startled when her attempt to pry an Adderall prescription from a doctor (Patch Darragh) turns into a recommendation to improve her body mass index. He suggests she changes her hard-drinking lifestyle and lose about 50 pounds.
After a moment, Brittany gets over her initial offense and, after perusing humble-bragging Instagram posts that only increase her self-loathing, Brittany decides to go for a run. She starts with one city block. She eventually sets her sights on 26.2 miles. Along the way, she confronts her body image anxieties, makes new friends and turns into a young, professional adult.
This image released by Amazon Studios shows Jillian Bell, who plays Brittany in the film "Brittany Runs a Marathon," directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo. (Amazon Studios via AP)
The plot, by writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo in his feature-film debut, might sound like the kind of hokey motivational story that only a proselytizing jogger or a sneaker clerk would dream up. And some might understandably turn their nose up at a movie that increasingly equates exercise with righteousness.
Not all self-renewal comes via a pair of New Balances, but it does the trick for some, and part of the fun of "Brittany Runs a Marathon" is how diametrically opposed Brittany initially is to the idea. She snarls at her fit neighbor (Michaela Watkins), cursing her as "Money Bags Martha" even though her name is Catherine. Faced with the exorbitant fees of a gym membership, she subtly disarms an entire industry by reminding the salesman that, you know, going for a run outside is $0.
Really, the main reason to see "Brittany Runs a Marathon" is Bell. A former "Saturday Night Life" writer, she's regularly been a bit player in comedies like "Office Christmas Party" and "22 Jump Street," but this is her first lead role, and she's stellar in it. Her performance is a deeply layered one, rendering Brittany a very human concoction of sarcasm and bitterness: a young woman in search of her sense of self-worth.
Running is only part of Brittany's path toward getting there, and Colaizzo steers his protagonist through a makeover much more interior than exterior. It takes some likable digressions, too, roping in unconventional supporting players. Utkarsh Ambudkar excels as Jern, Brittany's unexpected colleague in an enviable dog-sitting gig. Lil Rel Howery, who gives every film he's a part of a boost, is around occasionally as a brother-in-law. Micah Stock also makes an impression as a jogging pal.
"Brittany Runs a Marathon" starts comically; its first moments, with Brittany working as an usher at an off-Broadway theater are its funniest. But it grows increasingly earnest. That's part of the movie's charm but also what leads it a little off track.
Whereas Andrew Bujalski's terrific and underseen "Results" (with Cobie Smulders as a personal trainer and Kevin Corrigan as her slovenly client) used fitness as an entry point into the messy, striving lives of its characters, "Brittany Runs a Marathon" narrows its field as it ambles toward a conclusion. It doesn't exactly lose its footing — Bell keeps a hold of her character too firmly — but some of Brittany's personality slips away. Losing some weight doesn't mean you have to lose your sense of humor, too.
"Brittany Runs a Marathon," an Amazon Studios release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for language throughout, sexuality and some drug material. Running time: 103 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to speak about the sensitive exchange, said that the plan detailed by the Israelis did not change the U.S. administration’s view that moving forward with an operation in Rafah would put too many innocent Palestinian civilians at risk.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to carry out a military operation in Rafah despite warnings from President Joe Biden and other western officials that doing so would result in more civilian deaths and worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The Biden administration has said there could be consequences for Israel should it move forward with the operation without a credible plan to safeguard civilians.
“Absent such a plan, we can’t support a major military operation going into Rafah because the damage it would do is beyond what’s acceptable,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Friday at the Sedona Forum, an event in Arizona hosted by the McCain Institute.
Some 1.5 million Palestinians have sheltered in the southern Gaza city as the territory has been ravaged by the war that began on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
The United Nations humanitarian aid agency on Friday said that hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel moves forward with the Rafah assault. The border city is a critical entry point for humanitarian aid and is filled with displaced Palestinians, many in densely packed tent camps.
The officials added that the evacuation plan that the Israelis briefed was not finalized and both sides agreed to keep discussing the matter.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday that no “comprehensive” plan for a potential Rafah operation has been revealed by the Israelis to the White House. The operation, however, has been discussed during recent calls between Biden and Netanyahu as well as during recent virtual talks with top Israeli and U.S. national security officials.
“We want to make sure that those conversations continue because it is important to protect those Palestinian lives — those innocent lives,” Jean-Pierre said.
The revelation of Israel's continued push to carry out a Rafah operation came as CIA director William Burns arrived Friday in Egypt, where negotiators are trying to seal a cease-fire accord between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas is considering the latest proposal for a cease-fire and hostage release put forward by U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators, who are looking to avert the Rafah operation.
They have publicly pressed Hamas to accept the terms of the deal that would lead to an extended cease-fire and an exchange of Israeli hostages taken captive on Oct. 7 and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Hamas has said it will send a delegation to Cairo in the coming days for further discussions on the offer, though it has not specified when.
Israel, and its allies, have sought to increase pressure on Hamas on the hostage negotiation. Signaling that Israel continues to move forward with its planning for a Rafah operation could be a tactic to nudge the militants to finalize the deal.
Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israeli forces would enter Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas’ last stronghold, regardless of whether a truce-for-hostages deal is struck. His comments appeared to be meant to appease his nationalist governing partners, and it was not clear whether they would have any bearing on any emerging deal with Hamas.
Blinken visited the region, including Israel, this week and called the latest proposal “extraordinarily generous” and said “the time to act is now.”
In Arizona on Friday, Blinken repeated remarks he made earlier this week that "the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a cease-fire is Hamas.”
The Chahine family prepares to bury two adults and five boys and girls under the age of 16 after an overnight Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2024. An Israeli strike on the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip killed several people, including children, hospital officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
FILE - Palestinians line up for free food during the ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Jan. 9, 2024. A top U.N. official said Friday, May 3, 2024, that hard-hit northern Gaza was now in “full-blown famine" after more than six months of war between Israel and Hamas and severe Israeli restrictions on food deliveries to the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali, File)
Palestinians rescue a woman survived after the Israeli bombardment on a residential building of Abu Alenan family in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, early Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
President Joe Biden walks across the South Lawn of the White House as he talks with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Washington, after returning from a trip to North Carolina. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
