Review: Trainwreck
How do you solve a problem like Amy? Perhaps there isn't a problem to begin with as our unapologetic heroine suggests. "Don't judge me," she declares. "I am a sexual girl. I am in control. This is clearly not my first rodeo." Though not quite the absolute trainwreck of the title, Amy drinks, she parties, she makes out whenever and with whomever she pleases, she's happily ensconced in her somewhat stunted ways. In short, Amy behaves like most of the guys that front the majority of romantic comedies, not to mention director Judd Apatow's raunch-to-rehabilitation jokefests.
Amy is not one to let any of her one-night stands sleep over, though she breaks that rule when she wakes up to find herself having to make the walk of shame from Staten Island back to New York. To be fair, her shame results from setting foot on Staten Island rather than facing the morning commuters whilst wearing a gold mini and sky-high stilettos. She has a guy she's sort of seeing, a dim-witted slab of sculptured man meat named Stephen (John Cena). He clearly needs more training in the dirty talk department, what with "Let me fill you with my protein" and "There's no 'I' in team" the best he has to offer. Yet, much to Amy's mortification, Stephen is genuinely sweet on her and is hurt to discover that their relationship has not been exclusive. The ever-thoughtful Amy suggests postponing their talk as she's too high to deal with his feelings.
"Monogamy is unrealistic" was the lesson imparted upon Amy and her sister Kim (the charming Brie Larson) by their alcoholic and adulterous dad (Colin Quinn). While Kim has become a happily married suburbanite with a child on the way, Amy has very much taken her father's words to heart. The sisters love each other, but Amy cannot comprehend Kim's lifestyle nor can she fully understand Kim's reluctant attitude to care for their father, now stricken with multiple sclerosis and living in an assisted care facility. For better or worse, Amy is her father's daughter and her father has set the template for the men she lets revolve in and out of her life.
Which is why she is truly taken aback when confronted with Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), an up-and-coming surgeon to elite athletes that she's been tasked to profile by her fearsome editor Dianna (Tilda Swinton). Swinton, sporting a Farrah flip and enough make-up to bronze the whole of England, is a frightening whirlwind of hilarity, storming in and leaving everyone reeling from her verbal castrations. On a side note, can someone please find a way to pit Swinton's Dianna against Meryl Streep's equally formidable Miranda Priestley from The Devil Wears Prada? That's a film that needs making stat.
By contrast, Hader plays it on the quiet side. As he proved in his exemplary turn in the terrific The Skeleton Twins (see it if you haven't already), Hader is an actor of surprising dramatic depth. He has many a comic moment here, but he delivers some beautiful, almost subtle, moments such as his reaction at hearing Amy direct the cab driver to take them to his address and his address only. The two had been getting to know one another over dinner and drinks, and you can see the transition from tipsiness to slightly panicked sobriety on Hader's face when he realises what Amy has in store. There's a lovely gaze he shines upon her when she's flustered upon being asked to essentially start a relationship. And when he voices his concerns about her drinking and the number of men she's slept with, Hader makes it perfectly clear that he is not condemning her but merely being honest and wanting to talk it out. Hader's could have been a thankless role, but he does the near impossible: he makes decency sexy and appealing.
What's refreshing about Schumer's deeply personal script is the lack of false drama. The conflicts feel natural and uncontrived. Schumer's star has been on a rapid rise on the strength of her edgy and often subversive television show Inside Amy Schumer, and Trainwreck is an exceedingly strong showcase for what is essentially her first starring role. Fans may argue that Trainwreck elides daring for conventionality, that perhaps Schumer may have been Apatow-ed. Perhaps the film doesn't quite hold its nerve (though there's nothing wrong with trying to be a better person just as there's nothing wrong with being a complete mess), but there's no doubting Schumer's comedic voice and no denying that Amy is the one in control all the way, regardless of how one views her decisions.
All seriousness aside, Trainwreck is a deeply and consistently funny film. Even in its most dramatic moments, there's a one-liner or ten waiting in the wings. There's fantastic comedic support from the likes of Vanessa Bayer, Jon Glaser, Mike Birbiglia, Randall Park, and Dave Attell, as well as a surprisingly effective turn from basketball superstar LeBron James as a Cleveland-promoting, penny-pinching version of himself. Look out for the romantic montage, where Schumer verbally vomits on her character's lovey-dovey relationship with Aaron ("I hope this love montage ends like Jonestown.") and pays raucous homage to Woody Allen's Manhattan.
Trainwreck
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Written by: Amy Schumer
Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Tilda Swinton, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, LeBron James, John Cena, Vanessa Bayer, Dave Attell, Mike Birbiglia, Jon Glaser, Randall Park, Ezra Miller
