AMY'S ROLLIN' IN 'TRAINWRECK'
Schumer has lewd awakening as comedy star
The title may imply disaster, but “Trainwreck” is anything but.
This raunchy romcom is a high-speed rail line transporting director Judd Apatow back into relevance and writer/star Amy Schumer to the top of the A-list.
Like previous Apatow productions, this is a movie all about a lovable slob who learns to grow up with the help of a cast of colorful characters. But Schumer raises Apatow’s game beautifully. Her biting, pitch-black wit and his penchant for character-driven comedy go together like gin and tonic.
Schumer plays Amy, a magazine writer who spends her days working on tacky articles and her nights boozing it up and sleeping around. Her welladjusted sister (Brie Larson) is always on her case. Her eccentric editor (Tilda Swinton) won’t stop dangling a promotion in front of her.
Then she’s assigned a feature about a respected sports doctor (Bill Hader). They fall in love. A relationship ensues. It gets very real and it gets very funny — and the chemistry between Schumer and Hader is spellbinding.
Schumer, best known for her standup comedy and her television sketch show, reveals herself to be a tremendous and well-rounded actress, comfortable taking pratfalls and delivering tearful monologues. Hader is as effortlessly good as ever, finally given the leading man role he’s earned.
These two comic heavyweights form the heart of the movie, but they have strong support. LeBron James and professional wrestler John Cena make a strong case for being cast in more comedies. The deep bench of the supporting cast includes Mike Birbiglia, Vanessa Bayer and even Method Man.
“Trainwreck” is rarely as laugh-out-loud funny as early Apatow or “Inside Amy Schumer,” but it is consistently amusing and constantly engaging. Schumer’s script is a natural extension of the voice she’s honed on stage and on TV. She gets raw, revealing the truth and pain that power her comedy.
Apatow is smart enough to let Schumer’s voice drive the film, but this unmistakable blend of sweet and sour, of melodrama and raunch, is all him — the good Apatow of “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” not the lesser Apatow of “This Is 40.”
Alas, the authentic and personal “Trainwreck” ultimately embraces formulaic romantic comedy in a third act that belongs in a 1990s movie starring Julia Roberts
But by that point, it doesn’t matter. Apatow has redeemed himself. Schumer is a star. “Trainwreck” is the best comedy of the summer.