Another movie that I absolutely loved at Sundance this year was Brittany Runs a Marathon (it won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award) so I was very excited to see it again yesterday. I loved it just as much, if not more, upon a second viewing. Brittany Forgler (Jillian Bell) drinks too much, smokes too much, arrives late to her dead-end job every day, and has one night stands in bathroom stalls at clubs every night. She is the life of the party but she doesn't have any real friends. She pretends to have ADHD so a doctor will prescribe her Adderall but, instead, he gives her a wake-up call about her health and admonishes her to exercise and lose 50 pounds. Because a gym is too expensive she challenges herself to run just one block (in an absolutely hilarious scene). Soon she joins a Saturday running group, runs her first 5K, and trains for the New York Marathon. What I loved about this movie is its authenticity because we see Brittany's setbacks as well as her triumphs. Even though she loses weight and achieves many of her fitness goals, she must learn to love herself in order to be successful and that is what makes her story so meaningful to me. Bell gives a fantastic performance as an unsympathetic character that you end up rooting for (I love movies that feature flawed characters finding redemption). It is a feel-good movie that will have you laughing out loud but it is also quite heart-warming and I had tears in my eyes during an especially poignant scene. This movie includes a bit of profanity and the realistic depiction of questionable behavior but it is so inspiring and I highly recommend it!
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