Trainwreck

Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Colin Quinn, John Cena, Dave Attell, Tilda Swinton, LeBron James, Randall Park, Ezra Miller, Brie Larson, Mike Birbiglia, Daniel Radcliffe, Marisa Tomei, Matthew Broderick, Tim Meadows, Amar'e Stoudemire, Tony Romo
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Amy Schumer) who avoids serious relationships struggles when she falls for a kind doctor (Bill Hader).

Review:

Tim: Amy Schumer has had a tremendous year in 2015. One of the highlights is Trainwreck, a film she wrote and starred in. The movie is funny and felt fresh and unique. It's one of the better comedies in recent years. Now, while her first starring vehicle falls short of greatness, it's an impressive debut film for her as writer and star. Schumer's talent is undeniable, but it had never been on full display for so many people to see. I have no doubt that Schumer's meteoric rise will continue and we'll see much, much more from her in the future. As far as Trainwreck goes, this is really the film that announced her talent to the world. This is a very, very good movie.

The story itself isn't especially original. It certainly follows the conventions of the romantic comedy genre. Certainly, making the female character the hard partying, foul mouthed mess was an interesting departure from the expected. The plot does unfold about as you would expect. However, the movie never feels stale for a second. Schumer injects her comedy into every scene. The "R" rating certainly helped, as the film can get away with a lot more than the typical PG-13 rom-com can. I love that Schumer isn't afraid to embrace the vulgar and the embarrassing- yes, that's her shtick, but the results are oftentimes hilarious. The blend of her innocent looks and filthy mouth creates this funny, unexpected character. The film feels like something different, a project infused with real passion, as opposed to so many romantic comedies which feel like a cash grab, delivering the lowest common denominator to the masses. I sincerely hope Schumer writes all her own films, because she gives a great deal of effort to it. That shows up on screen.

As far as her acting, I thought she did a very good job. She's not an incredibly experienced actor, especially in this kind of film, but she seemed natural and believable in the role. I look forward to seeing what she does next. I still don't really like Bill Hader, but he gives a restrained, worthwhile performance here. I loved seeing LeBron James, and he mostly did okay- he was funny, even though his acting isn't great. John Cena was surprisingly funny and memorable here. I liked seeing Brie Larson and Mike Birbiglia, although neither really had a whole lot to do. Colin Quinn was a great casting choice and had some nice moments. Dave Attell was great in a small but surprisingly memorable role. As a whole, there's a lot of good talent in the cast, which certainly helps the movie immensely.

While the movie had a number of laugh-out-loud moments, it was a bit uneven. There were a few stretches that felt less fresh and funny and more full of romantic comedy cliches. That's harmful to the film, but certainly not fatal. The ending of the film was funny, but the whole "big romantic gesture" thing just felt played out. Yes, it did create some laughs, but it felt a little stale.

Still, Trainwreck is far more intelligent and funnier than most comedies we get these days. It certainly elicited a number of laughs and was entertaining throughout. The film shows the great promise that Amy Schumer has- this movie was good enough to make me very, very excited about whatever she does next.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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