A failed attempt to score some Adderall from a new doctor leads Jillian Bell to unexpected places in a new trailer for “Brittany Runs a Marathon.” The Sundance Audience Award winner sees the “Rough Night” actress playing Brittany, a 27-year-old who can’t help but notice that everyone else’s lives are going places while hers remains stuck. Years of partying hard and being chronically underemployed have taken a toll on her physical and mental health. And she’s ready for a change.
A doctor turns down Brittany’s misguided request for prescription meds that he’s convinced she’ll abuse. Instead, he suggests she gets healthy — and in his view that entails trying to lose 55 pounds. Aghast, Brittany complains that he’s asking her to shed the equivalent of a Siberian husky. “You want me to pull a medium-sized working dog off of my body,” she says.
Despite her initial reluctance, Brittany is committed to changing her habits and her life. She can’t afford to join a gym, so she takes to the streets of NYC, gradually adding more blocks to her daily runs.
As Brittany’s confidence and mileage grows, she sets a major goal for herself: she’ll join the 50,000 people from around the world running the New York City Marathon.
Yes, Brittany loses weight, but the trailer makes it clear that her journey can’t be encapsulated by her shrinking waist size. “You changing your life was never about your weight,” her friend observes. “It was about you taking responsibility for yourself.”
“Idiotsitter,” “Workaholics,” and “22 Jump Street” are among Bell’s previous credits. She co-stars in “Sword of Trust,” Lynn Shelton’s improv-based comedy about a group that teams up to sell a sword from the Civil War. The pic opens in NY July 12 and LA July 19,
“Brittany Runs a Marathon” arrives in theaters August 23.
