“Having thought that monogamy was never possible, a commitment-phobic career woman may have to face her fears when she meets a good guy.”–IMDb
Trainwreck (2015)
Starring
Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn
Directed by
Judd Apatow
Box Office:
$140,795,793 Worldwide
Review
I’ve been a fan of Judd Apatow’s comedies for years. While his movies are usually a huge “hit” or a disappointing “miss”, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Trainwreck. I laughed numerous times. I also appreciated all of the great stars and cameos that were featured.
Before I begin speaking more about the film, I want to pay my respects to the two who lost their lives in Louisiana during a screening of the film. I respect Amy Schumer for responding to the open letter a Sandy Hook Survivor’s Daughter sent her concerning the shooting that occurred on July 23, 2015.
The shooter had casually walked into Grand 16, past the concession stand, and into the theater. 20 minutes into the film, he opened fire. He killed two and injured nine others before he shot and killed himself. The letter by Sarah Clements stated that she hopes Amy will “be a voice for our generation and for women” against gun violence. Amy responded today by tweeting:
I admire people who are in the public eye on a grand scale and who use their popularity to do good things for others.
Now, back to the film…
I had, of course, heard of Amy Schumer being the rising comedic star. Being the way I am, I let the hype die down before allowing myself to watch anything that featured her; no award shows, nothing. I’m glad that I watched this for my first “Amy experience”. Her character is very relatable. While some jokes made me do the slow “har-har-har” laugh, the majority of the film made me actually laugh out loud.
The film opens with Colin Quinn, who plays Amy’s father. To be honest, there’s something about his voice alone that makes me laugh. John Cena starring as Amy’s boyfriend (if you want to even call him that), was a huge surprise for me. No matter what you think of him and his WWE career, I would almost bet money that his scenes will make you laugh. It was nice to see him being actually funny. And, no, not the “we’re laughing at you because you’re so cheesy and overly dramatic” kind of funny.
Bill Hader, was his usual quirky self. While he was just a tad more serious in this role, I can’t imagine his character being played by anyone else.
LeBron James’ role was one of my favorites in the film. I’m sure you know what I mean when I say that most athletes, or social icons, can be extremely awkward when they’re in movies. Did anyone else just have Michael Jordan in Space Jam flashbacks?
The short cameos with Daniel Radcliffe, Marisa Tomei, Tim Meadows, Method Man and Matthew Broderick were also fun to see. Even if they were featured for a short amount of time, they chose the perfect people for cameos.
The end of the film, however, while it was cute, was a bit predictable. I was expecting it to continue on, even for just a few more minutes. Nope! It was over. I thought they would have images etc during the credits to maybe show us what happened in the characters’ lives later on. Or maybe even bloopers so we could have a better conclusion to it all. It could’ve ended much worse, so I guess I’ll just take the end for what it is and not complain.
Overall, it is a classic Judd Apatow comedy but Hader helps elevate it to one of my Top 5 Apatow films.
Have you seen it? What were your favorite moments?