REVIEW: Trainwreck

Courtesy of Universal

Amy Schumer, one of the funniest, most insightful comedians working today, has been on the verge of her big break for a while. Now, after years of hard work, it seems like everything’s happening all at once. Her show on Comedy Central keeps getting better, Chris Rock just directed her latest stand-up special and her new movie (which she also wrote) is a hilarious, surprisingly touching look at modern romance directed by Judd Apatow. It’s easily his best work since Knocked Up.

Schumer (in a nuanced lead performance) plays the aptly named Amy, a young woman who believes monogamy is unrealistic – mostly because that’s what her dad (Colin Quinn) has told her since she was a toddler. As such, her personal life is a revolving door of one-night stands since she refuses to get close to anyone. But that changes when Amy’s editor (Tilda Swinton, almost unrecognizable) at the gross men’s magazine she writes for tells her to interview a successful sports doctor named Aaron Conners (Bill Hader, great as always).

The two hit it off immediately and she finds herself falling for him despite her best efforts to sabotage the relationship. Now she’s wondering if her sister (Brie Larson, one of my favorite actresses) and her goofy brother-in-law (Mike Birbiglia) are onto something when they talk about how wonderful it is to be in love.

Trainwreck is a fascinating film, mostly because of the way Schumer subverts standard romantic comedy tropes by reversing them. Usually, it’s the man who wants to sow his wild oats rather than settle down with the right woman. And it’s typically the patient, secure woman who waits for her man to wise up and realize just how great he has it. But in this movie, Schumer plays the traditional “guy” role and Hader is the selfless, long-suffering love interest.

Subscribing to those tropes means that Hader’s character needs an advice-dishing “girlfriend” to serve as his comedic sidekick, so – in the narrative’s most ingenious touch – Schumer gives him one: Lebron James, playing a fictional version of himself. And he absolutely kills it. In just a few scenes, the guy steals the entire movie. If the basketball thing doesn’t work out, he’s got a future in comedy.

Like most of Apatow’s work, Trainwreck is a bit shaggy. It lays a lot of groundwork to establish Amy’s life before she meets Aaron, which – despite a shockingly funny, ego-free performance from pro wrestler John Cena – adds an unnecessary half-hour to the running time.

Still, those who don’t mind the raunchiness that typically accompanies Schumer and Apatow’s work will find plenty to love about Trainwreck. The mixture of bawdy humor, heart and shrewd cultural analysis makes it one of my favorite movies of 2015.

Trainwreck is rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use.

Grade: A-