There is a good chance that Trainwreck will go down as the funniest movie of 2015. There doesn’t appear to be a ton of comedies this year, and the one that I was most excited for (Vacation) looks like it’s going to be a dud. Usually, the great comedies of the year are released before September 1st. I have no evidence that backs up this claim, but the good movies reserved for the later portions of the year are the Oscar contenders. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t comedies released in October, November, and December, but there are more average comedies than not. What I am implying here is that the funniest movies of the year have already been released and that Trainwreck seems to be the most amusing of that group. I often mention in my film blog that 2010 was the best movie year of my lifetime. However, there wasn’t that one hilarious comedy you remember from that year. For me, the funniest movie that year was Get Him to the Greek, but that movie had nothing on Trainwreck. Had it been released in 2010, Trainwreck would have made the year that much better.
I will be the first to say that I had no idea who Amy Schumer (Price Check, Misery Loves Company) was before this film. And to be honest, I still don’t. I will in the future, but right now, my Schumer knowledge starts and ends with Trainwreck. But even if she does nothing from this point forward, I’ll remember her for not only delivering a quality performance in this movie but also for writing a pretty darn funny screenplay. While I felt some of the jokes were way too forced and would have been more effective with a bit of ad-libbing along the way, I still thought this was a fun and original movie, and it succeeded because of its acting and directing, for sure, but also because of its story.
Trainwreck was the first movie Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, This Is 40) directed but did not write. And I felt it was noticeable. Schumer has a knack for this, but some of the jokes should have been field-tested and then turned down. 90% of the humor was excellent, but the parts that were supposed to be funny but weren’t (for example, the Alex Rodriguez joke) felt a little uncomfortable because they were so unfunny. However, please don’t get the wrong idea that the movie was cheesy because it wasn’t. These awkward moments were in the minority. Also, you can’t spoil a whole lot with comedy movies. With that said, stop reading here if you haven’t seen the film, as I will be providing a few details.
Schumer stars as Amy, a feature writer for a men’s magazine called S’nuff. Her boss, Dianna (Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer, We Need to Talk About Kevin), is ruthless and cares about nothing more than the bottom line. She’s got a couple of crude male co-workers along with Nikki (Vanessa Bayer – Despicable Me 2, television’s Saturday Night Live), who is also one of her best friends. Though she knows absolutely nothing about sports, she receives an assignment to research an article about Aaron Conners (Bill Hader – The Skeleton Twins, Adventureland), a sports doctor doing some cutting-edge surgeries to help athletes extend their careers. Among the athletes who have very, very strong guest performances are John Cena, Amare Stoudemire, and, the best of the bunch, THE Lebron James. Amy, who despises sports, is assigned the article even though a co-worker pitched it. But, again, this is just Dianna being Dianna.
Things are okay with Amy at work. She’s not at a company she’s overly excited to work for, but it affords her a lifestyle that makes her content. Plus, despite her feelings towards the firm she works for, there is room for advancement. Outside of work, though, Amy is a bit of a trainwreck. She has a boyfriend, Steven (WWE’s John Cena), the one athlete in this movie who does not pay himself but rather a version of himself. He’s head over heels for her, but she has random encounters with men she has just met all the time. Her one rule is not to stay overnight. She’s a girl who likes to have fun. So when Steven finds out, she doesn’t apologize; instead, she breaks up with him. She has a sister named Kim (Brie Larson – Rampart, 21 Jump Street), who has the life that Amy wishes she had. Kim has a husband and a stepson. Amy does her best to pretend that she likes both males, but I think she wishes she could be like them. Unfortunately, people her age are growing up, and Amy isn’t. She’s content with her life, but I think she wishes she were more like everyone else deep down.
Essentially, the story is the romance between Amy and Dr. Conners. The two grow close while she is interviewing him for her story, and even though he’s not her usual type, she has fun with him and finds herself falling for him. Have we seen this a hundred times before? Absolutely. But the jokes are fresh. The payoff at the end is what most of us expect, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of fun getting there. The movie is relevant to many 20- and 30-somethings in today’s world. We’re just trying to find happiness in a complicated world where the values we were raised with aren’t necessarily true. Like any couple, Amy and Aaron disagree, fight, reconcile, fight again, break up, and so on. And like any couple that believes the relationship could be worth it, they both battle to make it work. Could the same story be told as a drama? Of course, it could. But that’s a story we’ve seen thousands of times, and it’s tough to convey it in a meaningful, relevant way.
The humor is what makes this movie work. And, of course, that should be the case, considering this movie is a comedy.
Schumer is terrific, as is Hader. Colin Quinn (television’s Saturday Night Live, television’s Last Comic Standing) embraces his role as Amy and Kim’s aging father. He crushes the movie’s first scene (a flashback) and remains a consistent source of humor throughout. Famous basketball player Amare Stoudemire is also great in the movie. He plays himself and is one of Aaron’s patients scheduled to go under the knife. But it’s Lebron James who steals the scenes in this movie. In terms of being a polished actor, he’s not quite there. But LeBron is personable and funny. He plays one of Aaron’s patients and a good friend of his. The pals play one-on-one basketball, text each other, and coach each other up. This is much more than a cameo for Lebron. He’s in a good 10-15 scenes, and he’s great (even at times where you can tell he’s trying a little too hard) in all of them. The movie didn’t succeed because of him, but it did make it even more enjoyable. His Q Score just went through the roof because of this movie. And it was great that he continued to show how important Cleveland was to him in this movie, just as he does in real life.
In short, Trainwreck is not one of the 15-20 best comedies I’ve ever seen, but it is on that next tier. Next January, when we look at all of the movies of 2015, this will be the comedy of the year. So I recommend it, though it’s unnecessary to see this one in the theater.
Plot 9/10
Character Development 8.5/10
Character Chemistry 8.5/10
Acting 8.5/10
Screenplay 8/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 8/10
Sound 8.5/10 (Music was a big part of this movie, but outside of Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl, it wasn’t as memorable as I expected it to be)
Hook and Reel 9/10 (I LOVE when comedies have a hilarious first scene. Ones that come to mind are American Pie and There’s Something About Mary)
Universal Relevance 9.5/10 (We’re all looking for love in one way or the other…we all have self-doubt in one way or the other)
85.5%
B
Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie
- Bridget Jones’s Diary
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- How To Be Single
- Love and Other Drugs