Suddenly Schumer: TRAINWRECK

 T&T’s Look at Trainwreck Starring & Written by Comedian Amy Schumer

 By Tinsel & Tine Editor, Le Anne Lindsay

About 6 months ago I heard my sister cracking up and figured she was watching Comedy Central – which when the day that Comcast is finally forced to allow us the ability to pick and choose channels, CC will be one of her 10, although, without Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, it will no longer be her top choice.  So anyway, I went to see what was so funny and it was an Amy Schumer standup special “Mostly Sex Stuff” (2012), but I didn’t know that at the time cause I’d never heard of Amy Schumer.  Next thing you know she’s got her own show, which friends are telling me I’ve got to watch. And now a movie – TRAINWRECK, a comedy with a rom/com edge (which may be an oxymoron) starring Schumer and SNL alumni Bill Hader.  So it seems this cherub-faced blonde with a promiscuous persona has “made it”. And I’m sure Schumer, like anyone else with a dream, has been at it for years, slowly becoming famous. But I always wonder what it must feel like when the Universe starts raining down success, when the floodgates finally open!

Schumer plays Amy, a journalist at a fictional NY magazine called S’NUFF, which is essentially a stand in for GQ or Esquire. She is given the assignment to cover a rising star doctor in the world of sports medicine named Aaron (Bill Hader). The two hit it off, causing Amy’s entire “monogamy isn’t realistic” world-view to crumble.

I really never doubted that Trainwreck would be funny. Schumer is a comedic genius, part of a sort of degenerate rat-pack of New York comedians who are almost all featured in the film. Colin Quinn is the standout performance of the group, as Schumer’s father. He’s funny in this role, but also very grounded in it – never once feeling like Amy’s comedian friend who got the part, instead nailing it so hard that I can’t imagine anyone else in the role… David Costill CutPrintFilm READ MORE

Amy, like many a modern woman, is not crazy about commitment, much less marriage or kids. She is willing to speak uncomfortable truths. She enjoys wine, weed, and casual sex. She avoids spending the night with the men she beds. Spooning makes her uncomfortable – “I can feel you breathing on me,” she tells Aaron post-coitus, when he attempts to snuggle. She does not mean this romantically… Leah Pickett Consequence of Sound READ MORE

[LeBron] James first appears about 20 minutes into “Trainwreck.” This movie version of James is cheap (he prefers to split the check, or not pay at all). He is an avid “Downton Abbey” watcher, and a huge fan of Cleveland…The camera likes James. You could certainly see him taking on other roles down the road, particularly lighter, comedic parts…Clint O’Connor Cleveland.com READ MORE

T&T Observations:  I missed about 5 minutes of the opening, cause I was too busy getting my Cinema Sneak n Snack ™  – Spicy Chicken and Eggplant from Pagoda Noodle next door to Ritz East – so there’s funny setup stuff I wish I’d seen.  I’m mostly BLOWN AWAY by Tilda Swinton!  I’m so used to her looking like an alien or a ghost or at best a plain jane. In this role she’s got makeup and hair. As Amy’s boss she’s hard driving and self absorbed, it’s a great part.  Someone pointed out to me the boy who plays the office intern (Ezra Miller) played Swinton’s son in We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011).

Bottom Line:  Trainwreck is funny! But a little long, needs some tightening in the middle. I’m still more partial to director Judd Apatow’s This is 40 (click for T&T post) but the stuff with Amy’s sister (Brie Larson) and her new family, and their father needing to be put in a nursing home, gives the movie some meat. Best of all, surprisingly, the romance and chemistry is really good between Schumer and Hader, and it’s got one of the cutest endings.

T &T’s LAMB Score: 3.5 Outta 5

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