Trainwreck (Revisited)

Becoming a household name isn't easy. After years of solid work on her sketch comedy show and working as a road comic, Amy Schumer truly broke out in 2015 with an Emmy-nominated season of her show Inside Amy Schumer, a stand-up special for HBO, and a hit movie Trainwreck. While that level of success will almost always lead to overexposure and hyper-criticism of your every move, being female and achieving that level of success also leads to a furious backlash from men who think "women aren't funny," and therefore nothing she does is amusing. And since Schumer is about to hit theaters again with Goldie Hawn in Snatched, I thought I would revisit Trainwreck and point out its many charms.

Schumer plays Amy, appropriately enough, a thirty-something party girl who avoids commitment like the plague. However, when her latest assignment pairs her with the sweet and charming surgeon Aaron, Amy begins to rethink her outlook. But will her old habits and hangups prevent her from finding happiness.

Being a Judd Apatow movie, Trainwreck suffers from the same problems as all of Apatow's work, all of which relate to editing. Certain bits run too long, the third act downer wallows in its own misery without enough laughs longer than it should, and the movie should be about ten to fifteen minutes shorter. However, this movie still has plenty of charms working for it.

A Great Premise Reversal

The "barely together hot mess" may be Schumer's go to persona as a comic now, but when it comes to rom-coms this role is almost always played a man. If a woman is a hot mess it's because she's stretched herself too thin and hasn't made time for herself...or love. If a man is a hot mess, he'll need the love of a woman to pull him together. It's a small change, but I'm hard pressed to find another movie that uses it. Not revolutionary, but a welcome change of pace.

The Supporting Cast is Amazing

There's not a bad performance in this movie. You may not like certain character's energies, but everyone nails the roles they're assigned. Tilda Swinton shows a darkly comic side as a callous boss, Bill Hader is great at little barbs, awkward, and restrained frustration, and Colin Quinn leans into his character's unlikable nature. However, as a Clevelander I have to highlight the amazing deadpan performance from Lebron James. This is the kind of role that usually falls flat, but Lebron's commitment to things like him relating his friend's experience to his own life or always looking to save a buck, makes for a winning and hilarious performance.

The Script is Great

A bad version of this script isn't hard to do. Lean into reversed stereotypes, make a couple of dick jokes, Lebron say something about Cleveland and we're done. The reason Trainwreck works is because it balances funny set-pieces with genuine emotion. Based on her memoir and her own admission it's clear that this film is based around Schumer's own experiences and it means that a lot of the film's best moments ring true. Trying to figure out an ideal sleeping position with an unexpected overnight guest? Great stuff. The eulogy where she admits that her father was an asshole but she loved him regardless? Equally great and explains a lot about her character's tendencies. It's a tough balancing act and Trainwreck nails it.

Schumer's Performance

Great lead performances in comedies rarely get their due, but Schumer is great in this movie because she adapts to the needs of the moment. Just after a scene that requires her to be physical and fearless there's another that requires an emotional outburst immediately followed by quickfire dialogue. The script asks a lot of Amy and she delivers.

While not revolutionary, Schumer's Trainwreck is a winning twist on the R-rated romantic comedy that is wonderfully in synch with Schumer's comedic identity and skill set.