Trainwreck has landed on screens and given us our first truly great romantic comedy of the year. In fact, it may be the best rom-com we’ve seen in some time.
The film has two things going for it and without either, nothing about Trainwreck would be the same.
Amy Schumer, the comedienne/It-Girl of the moment, wrote and stars in the film that is directed by Judd Apatow, comedy helmer extraordinaire. The combination of these two talents has created a film that is always hilarious and often surprisingly heartfelt. Yes, you might even shed a tear in between those fall-out-of-your-seat-laughs!
Schumer plays Amy, a woman whose father (an outstanding Colin Quinn) raised her in the mold of “monogamy does not work” and she has lived her laugh quite happily in that manner. She has a successful job as a writer at a men’s lifestyle magazine (run by an unrecognizable and absolutely incredible Tilda Swinton) and is “dating” Steven (John Cena). We put dating in quotes because she doesn’t necessarily think they are as she sleeps with many other men and goes to the movies and out to dinner with Steven.
When Steven catches wind of this, he breaks it off. This happens just as Amy gets an assignment to do a story on a sports doctor who is making waves with a who’s-who list of patients. Aaron (Bill Hader) is a bit dorky, a complete sweetheart, and somehow wiggles his way into a relationship with a woman who swore she’d never have one.
Will they make it work or not has not been this unpredictable or charming in recent cinematic rom-com memory, and although the film is not as subversive as fans of Schumer might think her first film would be, it still manages to not take the usual rom-com turns that so many do. There might be a large gesture conclusion that feels a bit like something we’ve seen before, but in the hands of those who are delivering us the movie goods with Trainwreck, the audience will leave with the brightest and goofiest of smiles on their collective faces.
Apatow has had a few misses of late, such as This Is 40, but with Schumer’s script and comedic collaboration, he hits all the right notes. There’s something about working with Schumer that has Apatow finding his rom-com groove that produced some of our favorites of the last 10 years, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.
Hader is a revelation. We are so happy for the SNL alum who proves that he is leading man material. He plays Aaron as sensitive, but smart and strong. He may have famous friends (such as LeBron James, who plays himself) and clients, but he is as grounded as they come. Hader, we hope, will be making more romantic comedies in the future with the pitch-perfect performance he turns in for Trainwreck.
Speaking of James, he is hilarious. And although he is playing a version of himself, that is not always easy to do for non-actors. We know that the basketball superstar has visions of going Hollywood after his NBA days are over, and if his work in Apatow’s film is a preview of things to come, he should do quite well. And for that matter, ditto for Cena, who actually shocked us with his ability to be funny, firm and play the jaded boyfriend for laughs in a manner that we think his fellow former wrestler The Rock could only dream of successfully achieving.
In the end, Trainwreck is a triumph for Schumer. The actress shows range beyond the shock and awe comedy that has made her famous. If her first film does not make her a huge movie star, that would be an enormous crime. The Movie Mensch would be shocked, in fact, if Trainwreck failed to do just that.
Grade: A-