Brittany is a hard partying 28 year old living in New York, and generally coasting through life with a mixture of alcohol and Adderall. Depressed after the doctor she tries to score drugs from instead tells her to lose weight, she becomes inspired to turn her life around and train for the annual New York Marathon.
This film provides examples of:
- Birthday Party Goes Wrong: After fracturing her leg and being forced to move back in with her family, Brittany gets drunk and lashes out at a guest at her brother-in-law Demetrius's birthday barbecue.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: Jern’s “functional art” rain ponchos are not just for “businessmen and school children” but also for “business children and school men.”
- Chekhov's Gun: In the first 20 minutes of the movie, Catherine reveals she used to have a drug problem but got clean to show Brittany they're no different. Near the end of the movie, her ex-husband uses this against her to get full custody of their kids in their divorce.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Near the start of the movie, Brittany is in debt, had an unfulfilling theater job, and often binge drinks and does drugs with her friends. Her sister, Cici, is a nurse who's married with children and has a stable home life.
- Friends with Benefits: Brittany and Jerm. They decide to drop the “benefits” so they can get their lives more in order before the time skip. After the one-year skip, though, they’re in a serious relationship.
- Gay Best Friend: Downplayed example, but Brittany is closer to Seth than any of her other friends, and he happens to be married to a man.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Brittany at the start of the movie
- Heroic Second Wind: Around the 22nd mile, Brittany nearly collapses and a medic is about to help her off the street when Seth, his husband, and their kids appear in the crowd to cheer her on. Seeing their support (and later Catherine and Jerm's support) encourages Brittany to get up and finish the race.
- Hidden Depths: Catherine seems very responsible and motherly, and Brittany resents her for having a seemingly perfect life. When Brittany lashes out at her for being perfect, Catherine reveals she went to rehab for heroin in her early 20s.
- House Squatting: Brittany discovers that the overnight pet sitter of the dogs she has been hired to care for is actually living in the house, as the owners are away for months. She eventually moves in as well, and they have so much fun that they forget when the owners are coming home...
- Never Gets Fat: Brittany’s friend, Gretchen, refuses to run with her because doing too much cardio makes her lose too much weight too fast. She’s also seen drinking heavily and eating pizza while Brittany struggles to eat healthier.
- Philadelphia: Where Brittany is originally from, where her sister currently lives, and where Brittany moves back to after fracturing her leg.
- Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Brittany fights with Seth and Catherine after they get spots in the marathon and she doesn't.
- Promotion to Parent: After Brittany's mom left and her dad died, her sister and brother-in-law raised her.
- Sad Clown: Brittany uses jokes and funny voices to hide her insecurities.
- Weight Woe: Part, but the not the entirety of Brittany's self-esteem issues can be traced to her weight. She spends the majority of the movie trying to both lose weight and keep it off permanently. The epilogue reveals she has been successful for at least two years after she begins the process.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Demetrius calls Brittany out for pushing everyone away after she ruins his birthday party, and tells her she has to accept help when it’s offered.
