Trainwreck, starring Amy Schumer and Bill Hader, played to a packed theater at the Village Theatre Tuesday night. Like me, it seemed a lot of people were looking forward to this comedy written by and starring Ms. Schumer, the most celebrated female comedian of the moment, in a movie directed by Judd Apatow. Apatow also directed Knocked-Up and The Forty-Year-Old Virgin, and this film fits within the same genre.
In this story, Amy (the character and the actor have the same name) has had a problematic childhood and this renders her virtually incapable of sustaining a meaningful relationship – romantic or otherwise. To compensate, she boozily moves through a series of one-night stands and wastes her writing talents working for a soul-less publisher of a magazine. The plot turns on her encounter with celebrated sports surgeon to professional athletes, Aaron, endearingly played by Bill Hader.
I haven’t laughed-out loud so much in a movie in a long time, but that is not to say that the movie is perfect. The jokes are hilarious and they are enhanced by the fact that Ms. Schumer makes jokes from a distinctive female perspective; the jokes are fresh, surprising, and wonderful.
Adding to this fun entertainment is Lebron James and a number of other sports celebrities who appear in the film and provide excellent performances. Fellow moviegoer Paul found this to be one of the best aspects of the movie.
By the last half hour, however, I was done. The character is a train wreck, and the plot does do a good job of showing you why and the negative consequences of her lifestyle (somewhat). In the end it just feels a bit sad, and the conclusion is predictable, if not implausible. The balance of comedy and serious character study are at work here, but it doesn’t flow together seamlessly, which becomes acutely obvious as the movie winds down to it’s final big scene.
Trainwreck
Starring: Amy Schumer and Bill Hader
Run Time: 125 minutes
Rating: R
——
Ann Marie Bryan
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
