“Trainwreck” is good enough, but it’s a painful movie. You see shades of Schumer’s old stand-up in the film, but the compromises are sitting right on the surface. I get that we had to subvert the romantic comedy tropes to create a tale to allow Schumer’s comedy to shine. But, all we got was a “Devil Wears Prada” by way of Nora Ephron crapfest laced with puking and femme profanity. But, Amy is in charge and living life the way she wants.
The best parts of the film belong to a supporting cast who resuscitate the film like Terri Schiavo was in the lead. The marketing would have you think that this is LeBron James’ chance to shine. Well, it doesn’t happen. 1980 called and it wants you to know that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it better. Hell, I would’ve liked to have seen Kareem in the role, but that wouldn’t work now. Stupid young people don’t even realize that Bruce Jenner was an Olympian.
Bill Hader is a serviceable lead, but he doesn’t get much to do other than trying to get Amy Schumer’s character to act like a functional adult. Schumer’s character does get giant moments to shine during the family scenes with Brie Larson and Colin Quinn. What about Tilda Swinton in this flick? If I was Meryl Streep, I’d be worried that Swinton was a Pod Person sent to replace me in the middle of the night.
When I finished watching the film, I wondered how I got suckered into seeing another Judd Apatow directed film again. Then, I wondered why the effort to create a rebellious female driven romantic comedy created such a standard one. Does swearing and shame banging John Cena equal female empowerment now? I’m asking the Tumblr and Twitter crowd because I’m honestly confused.
Also, what was up with forcing a ton of current cast SNL cameos into every nook of the film? Did Lorne Michaels force Bill Hader to find summer work for his new hires? I don’t have this many questions after I watch Schumer’s stellar Comedy Central show. Maybe, some comedians don’t work as well on the big screen. Don’t take the “maybe” as an invitation to changing my mind.
Release Date: 7/17/15
