I felt like the film was a little schizophrenic. It tended to awkwardly flit back and forth between slapstick/random humor and heartfelt moments. I like a mix of comedy and heart, especially when Judd Apatow is dishing it out, but here it made the parts that were supposed to feel genuine feel like a joke.

My main problem with the film is that I'm almost too used to Seann William Scott playing really unlikable characters. It made it difficult to sympathize with him in this film, as he doesn't really do anything signaling him as a nice guy until the end of the movie. His voice over work in the parts featuring his internal monologue didn't really blow me away, either. It felt a little forced for me, especially when compared to Will Smith's internal monologues from "Happyness."

On the other hand, John C. Reilly's character is impossible not to love. I would have been happy with an entire film based on Reilly's character, who at times reminded me of his Steve Brule character from Adult Swim's "Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!" In "The Promotion," Reilly had some spectacular moments where he conveys everything with a prolonged silence or a unique facial expression that had the audience in stitches.

So "The Promotion" was decently entertaining, but it couldn't hold a candle to David Schwimmer's directing debut, "Run Fatboy Run."

I say these films are similar because they both feature protagonists with something to prove to themselves and to the community. The characters in these films are essentially earning respect as well as their manhood. But I really felt that Simon Pegg's struggle in "Run Fatboy Run" trumped the admittedly more realistic trials of the characters in "The Promotion," at least in terms of entertainment value.

In "Run Fatboy Run," Simon Pegg ("Hot Fuzz") plays Dennis, a generally "unfit" individual who bolts on his wedding day, leaving his pregnant fiance, Libby (Thandie Newton, "Crash"), at the altar. Five years later, Dennis continues to be a loser, working as a security guard at a women's clothing store. But he has a solid relationship with his son, Jake (Matthew Fenton). When Libby gets engaged to a wealthy American marathon runner (Hank Azaria, "The Simpsons"), Dennis decides to prove to himself and Libby that he can do something worthwhile by training for and running a marathon. Dennis is helped along by his best friend (Dylan Moran, "Shaun of the Dead") and his landlord (Harish Patel).

Though the trailers (and really, the above description) make the film seem like the marathon is an effort to win back Libby's heart, Dennis is really running to prove his worth as a man and as a father. This has to be one of the best fatherhood themed films in some time, thanks to the really genuine scenes between Pegg and Fenton.

"Run Fatboy Run" finds the right combination of heartfelt and hilarious that "The Promotion" struggled with. Every joke was hysterical, even a particularly disgusting one involving a blister. Every performance is brilliant and Schwimmer's work is actually quite wonderful for a first-timer. Hell, he's good even compared to someone who's been doing it for a while. "Run Fatboy Run" was definitely my favorite film at SXSW so far.