Running in Heels

Is using men and then complaining about how tough it is being a single woman funny? Maxted apparently thinks so, since that is the basis for the first third of her sophomore comic effort (following the well-received Getting Over It), before it veers without warning into the psychology of eating disorders and self-hatred. Natalie Miller, 20-something Londoner, is less than enthusiastic about her sensible boyfriend, Saul. To make matters worse, her best friend, Babs, is getting married, leaving Natalie feeling abandoned. So Natalie takes up with a bad boy who wants to teach her how to be bad, too. Soon, Natalie's hair begins falling out an early warning signal that she's taken her flirtation with anorexia too far and it's Babs to the rescue, functioning as both savior and voice of reason as Natalie gets her comeuppance, finally realizing that people shouldn't be judged by their bodies and that she needs to accept herself. While Maxted, former associate editor of Cosmopolitan UK, understands anorexia well, she has crafted a singularly unsympathetic heroine, one for whom taking up Pilates represents a major life-change. When self-absorbed and childish Natalie complains to her mother that she's sick of being quiet, three-quarters of the way into this bloated whine-fest, fatigued readers will wish that not talking enough really was her problem. Never mind the breakneck pace implied by the title; this one plods along in plimsolls, far too long for a Britcom. Agent, Deborah Gelfman. (June 1) Forecast: Maxted scored big with Getting Over It, and her latest, with its sassy yellow jacket, will likely be a popular beach accessory this summer. Still, this isn't the frothy fun one might expect, and sales probably will slump when word gets out.