Directed By: Judd Apatow
Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader (many other celebrities)
I'll start out my review of Trainwreck by saying this: Its not usually my type of movie. You can look back at my older reviews full of sci-fi/action/corny remakes to realize that. I had no intention of going to see it, but was invited by some friends to a showing. So if rom-coms are your deal, maybe you'll appreciate it more than I did.
Amy Schumer is a very funny standup comedian. Her show on Comedy Central is pretty funny and equally insightful. Trainwreck, on the other hand, is peak mediocrity.
This stock image lady feels the same as I do. Three "mehs" out of five.
Trainwreck follows the sexual exploits of Amy (Amy Schumer). Taught by her father that monogamy is unrealistic, she leads a life of one night stands. Trainwreck is played out as a "reverse" rom-com in the sense that its the promiscuous female that needs to be tamed by the noble male, not the other way around. Working for a magazine, Amy is assigned to do a story on a high profile sports medicine physician (Bill Hader). It quickly progresses into a one night stand instigated by Amy. The good doctor wants something more, so he seeks to tame Amy's wild streak and form a more serious relationship.
Many of the promos marketed this as a "different" romantic comedy. Besides the role reversal I mentioned above, it is about cliche a rom-com you can get. Two unlikely souls meet. Fall in love. Fall out of love. Both have moments of somber introspection. Both realize they were meant for each other. Roll credits. To me, its a flaw. To others, it could just be a normal rom-com genre plot. Like I said, not usually my type of movie.
But is it funny? Sometimes. Its usually funniest at its raunchiest, I could not have enjoyed this movie in the slightest if it had gone with a PG-13 rating. (If you ever wanted to see a 98% naked John Cena, this is your flick) Where the funny bits fall flat are the bit celebrity parts. Some of the cameo roles are not actors and it shows, big time. Other celebrities, actual actors, feel shoehorned in and serve no purpose, kind of rendering the scene pointless (I'm looking at you, Mathew Broderik). The presented style feels odd too, like they couldn't settle on the style of comedy they wanted to do. Sometimes its played straight, sometimes there's a narration, sometimes theres fourth wall smashing jokes that did nothing but make me confused.
Honorable mention: Even if it was a bit part, I was surprised to see comedian Mike Birbiglia as Amy's Flanders-esque brother in law. He was pretty funny.
Bottom Line- 5/10: Those who are die hard fans of Amy Schumer and rom-coms will appreciate this flick. Otherwise, its just another tired, if a bit raunchier than average, romanic comedy fare.
