I’m sure I’m not the first person to look at themselves in
the mirror then at the exercise bike in the corner. You know the one with dust
on it as its been some time since you’ve taken that out for a spin. Then vow to
themselves that they will make a change. But 10 minutes later they’re back at
the computer or watching a film eating off brand Oeros. Writer and director
Paul Downs Colaizzo was inspired by his roommate Brittany who did in fact turn
her life around and run a marathon to write a story, not entirely about her but
inspired by her. This morphed into ‘Brittany Runs a Marathon’ and it is by far
more about than a story about a woman who goes running.
Brittany is 28 years old; she leads a very unhealthy lifestyle.
All her friends and people she knows seems to be getting their life together
except her. She works at a theatre in the evenings, parties until the very
early hours then slumps home and sleeps most of the day away. She’s broke, in
debt, drinks, takes pills, gives blow jobs to guys in bathrooms at clubs and
eats junk food. But after going to the doctor who tells her she needs to lose
weight, she is spurred on to start running. But this pathway was never just
about the weight, she wants to improve her life and feel good about herself.
For a film title that is very literal, the film itself is about
much more. Brittany doesn’t just run an actual marathon; she runs a life
marathon and goes through so many stages. The repetition of her standing ready
to go running for the first time is used whenever she feels like she’s going to
relapse or when she is about to take the plunge. Its showing that we will always
have a fear in the back of our mind that we end up revisiting time and again
but it is possible to overcome it. Brittany goes through changes, not just the
satisfaction of losing weight and feeling like a lady again. Being happy that ‘people
hold doors’ for her is a small but great feeling, which I understand. She also
changes her attitude to how she takes care of herself, including her own
relationships, particularly with Jern, who hasn’t got it together yet by the
time she has. They like each other but she knows she can’t look after him and
herself and they’re grown up enough the know this.
Another aspect of the film that I admired were the
friendships. Brittany and her ‘best friend’ Gretchen live together, party
together but the latter doesn’t support the former. It can be appreciated they
each have different goals in life and their own form of happiness, but this toxic
friendship, rarely explored on screen beyond superficial arguments, is
something Brittany decides to leave. Better for her and probably better for
Gretchen too as she can realise what kind of friend she was. Leaving this toxic
environment behind, Brittany is then free to cultivate her new and supportive
friends who want nothing more than to help and be her friend, through all the
ups and downs she goes through. It’s true that at your toughest times, you know
who your real friends are.
I would say, aside from a few characters in TV shows where I
felt represented on screen, this is the first time I’ve seen a character that
feels like me. Some of the things that Brittany even says about being the ‘fat funny
sidekick’ or how guys say things to her that they wouldn’t to other girls, I had
a lot of that during college, Uni, work places where this happened, I was
treated like one of the guys and not in a good way. I also had the same
struggles she has with not being able to focus and just feeling less than. On
personal level I can connect. I’ve also tried to turn my unhealthy life around
a few times. I was on track about 5 years back where I even lost weight but I
had a trampoline accident where I injured my back. I was misdiagnosed by a few
doctors which meant my recovery was longer. I ended up in physio which helped
but I will forever suffer with back problems. This really set me back, I put on
weight again, I was stuck at the same old job, but very slowly I moved on. I
swam every week and gradually stopped regular heavy drinking then I busted my
knees, back to square one. I ended up in a hell cycle again last year when my
contract ended with a job I really loved and to be honest have been having a
terrible time all round, health, money, career wise BUT seeing this film, with
a character I can really relate to was inspiring on more than ‘what a great film’
level.
The film was a hit at Sundance and was picked up by Amazon
BUT the film will be in cinemas for a limited time (I heard) so please go see
this, if not for the story then for the amazing Jillian Bell who plays
Brittany, a real person and a real inspiration.
