ReelBob: ‘Marathon’ ★★★
By Bob Bloom
A good mockumentary should take itself seriously to succeed.
If the actors are earnest, stay in character and don’t wink at the camera, then the film is funny because of the situations and the personalities of its subjects.
The gold standard of this genre, of course, are the films of Christopher Guest — “This Is Spinal Tap, “Best in Show,” “For Your Consideration,” “A Mighty Wind” and others.
Since the success of Guest’s movies, others have tried their hand, some have been disastrous, while others accomplish their goal of making you laugh at the absurdities of people and situations.
“Marathon” is in the latter category. The movie centers on the little-known Devil’s Canyon Marathon, a local, underfunded race organized by shoe store owner Ed. Clap (Jimmy Slonina).
He has prepared this race for the past 15 years, without funding or a city permit.
“Marathon” begins three months before the race and follows the lives and training of five participants.
Like Clap, most of these runners overestimate their abilities. In reality, their judgment is quite suspect.
The most delusional of them is Ryan O’Brien (Andrew Hansen), who, the year before, missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon by nine seconds.
Ryan is a douchebag, who challenges all his failures and anger into his running. He is a judgmental individual who takes himself much too seriously.
The late, great Stan Laurel said nothing is funnier than a dumb person who thinks he’s smart. That accounted for the success of his screen partner, Oliver Hardy.
Ryan is that kind of person. He thinks he’s a world-class athlete who is better than anyone else. Since the Devil’s Canyon Marathon is a qualifier for the Boston run, Ryan is confident he will be participating in that event.
Then there’s Shareef Washington (Tavius Cortez), who wants to prove to his bullying sister — a triathlete who continually mocks and degrades him — that he can be an athlete as well.
Shareef’s main problem is that when he is training, he always gets stopped or tackled by the police because he is black.
Jenna Kowalski (Natalie Sullivan) aims to break the record for the fastest marathon dressed as a fruit. She almost is derailed by a growing relationship with Ben (Roberto Raad) who, like Jenna, dresses as a banana. However, he is not a serious runner, but an actor hired by Dole as product placement for the race.
New mom Abby Dozier (Anais Thomassian) missed the race the year before because she was pregnant. She is ready to begin training again and compete. Abby, it seems, wants to race so she can get out of the house and escape the chores of motherhood.
Finally, there is Emilou Paunch (Kimia Behpoornia) who, after receiving a map of the marathon course doesn’t even bother to enter. Instead, she decides to binge-watch a television series the day of the race.
The laughs are situational as each would-be participant faces various challenges and injuries, none of which deter them from their goals.
Co-directors and co-writers Keith Strausbaugh and Anthony Guiduvbaldi keep “Marathon” moving. The film is about 82 minutes, short enough so the characters do not wear out their welcome.
Not all of the movie’s jokes work. Still, enough pass muster to afford enough laughs to make “Marathon” a silly and fun endeavor worth experiencing.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.
MARATHON
3 stars out of 4
Not rated, language