Review – Trainwreck

Amy Schumer with Bill Hader directed by Judd Apatow.  That’s certainly enough to get any comedy fan’s attention.

Amy (Schumer) has grown up taking her father’s (Colin Quinn) mantra to heart – monogamy is not realistic.  Now a thirty something who jumps from one man’s bed to another, Amy is happy enough with her lifestyle, even if meaningless sex has gotten a bit stale.  Sure she has a more than one night boyfriend, loveable lunk Steven (John Cena), but she’s not kidding herself about him being permanent material.  Besides, she doesn’t have time for commitment to another person – she’s busy climbing the corporate ladder at a magazine that seems to be one part Buzzfeed, one part Gawker, one part Playboy, and one part something else extra trashy.

Tilda Swinton, Brie Larson, Ezra Miller, and LeBron James also star, along with an odd assortment of unexpected cameos.

When Amy’s assigned an article about Dr. Aaron Conners (Hader), athletic surgeon extraordinaire, she’s not exactly thrilled.  After all, she views anyone who’s into sports as less of a person.  Dr. Conners is interesting enough though, at least interesting enough for her to invite herself over to his place.  What Amy couldn’t see coming – though we can – is that this somewhat odd man is going to make her feel things she never thought were realistic.

Amy Schumer is in top form here, brandishing her signature comedy style fearlessly.  Creating reality through satire, caricature and raunchy comedy, Trainwreck feels, somehow, exceedingly real.  Even when it dips either into bizarre comedy world or predictable Hollywood land, it still comes off as genuine, not to mention funny.  Rated R for many, many reasons, it somehow manages to only offend in the funniest of ways.  And LeBron James will surprise you with his comedic chops – I’m not kidding.  John Cena’s not bad either, which is good since both have larger roles than you might expect.

While it doesn’t seem like it should, this film works.  It’s got a surprising amount of heart, and keeps the downers to a minimum.  It also knows how to temper itself, cutting the various comedy bits short every time they threaten to prolong themselves into annoyance.  With material for both men and women, it’s sure to have you laughing if you’re not easily offended.  Schumer succeeds by just being herself without rubbing your face in it.

I never felt like any particular point of view was being pushed by this film, but at the same time it has a lot to say, simply by starting a conversation and being real.  It won’t really keep you guessing when it comes to the plot, but it still has some surprises in store.  A rare modern comedy that gets things mostly right.

Mrs. Hamster says:

“It’s nice to see a Judd Apatow movie that’s not only sex and poop jokes.  This was my first time seeing Amy Schumer and I thought she was pretty funny.”

My rating: Four out of five hats

Trailer:

Trainwreck chugs into 3,157 theaters July 17