Film Review: Amy Schumer plays gender for laughs in ‘Trainwreck’
Amy Schumer has built her relatively young career on (among other things) transgression.
“Inside Amy Schumer” — tied with “Key & Peele” as the funniest Comedy Central sketch show — is dominated by satirical views of gender issues, unhampered by concerns of “good taste.”
(At least once her outrageousness was magnified after the fact: In her career-boosting appearance on “The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen,” she joked about fellow comic Patrice O’Neal’s diabetes. The jape was on the cusp of really bad taste when she said it. But it retroactively crossed the line, if such a thing is possible, when O’Neal died from diabetic complications several weeks later. It turned out to be his last TV appearance.)
In the hilarious “Trainwreck” — her first film vehicle, directed by Judd Apatow from her original screenplay — Schumer naturally elaborates on her gender shtick. Her character, Amy Townsend, is some people’s notion of the Modern, Post-Liberation Woman. She has a promising career writing for a glossy magazine called “S’Nuff” — a male “Cosmopolitan” by way of a Rupert Murdoch tabloid. (Among the articles: “Ten Ugliest Celebrity Kids Under 6,” “Where Are They Now? A Look at the Boys Michael Jackson Paid Settlements To,” and “You’re Not Gay, She’s Boring.”)
She parties hearty, with a string of one-night stands, and a taste for alcohol. It’s her rule to never stay overnight or give the man her phone number.
She behaves, in short, exactly like the stereotyped young stud. You could compare her character, point by point, to Frank Sinatra in Neil Simon’s “Come Blow Your Horn” (1963) or the hero of any number of “swingin’“ Rock Hudson or Tony Curtis comedies from that period.
As in those films, her life gets rattled when she falls in love with someone — Aaron (Bill Hader), a top-tier sports surgeon — who’s as straight as she is peripatetic. Like heroines in these stories, Aaron has a best friend to confide in. But, in his case, the best friend is Lebron James, who portrays himself terrifically. (Of the several other sports figures who pop up, John Cena is next best.)
The old films generally ended with the guy surrendering completely, accepting the social construct represented by the woman and approved by the dominant culture. (In return, the woman would learn to be a little less rigid or frigid.) “Trainwreck” seems to end in exactly the same way, except with the genders reversed. I say “seems” because Amy’s capitulation is symbolized by a production number that makes no sense either plot-wise or thematically.
So: “Trainwreck” is not exactly the Feminist Revolution, but that in no way makes it less enjoyable, even though, like some other Apatow films, it begins to drag by the end. (It’s more than two hours long.)
We don’t begrudge it that because of its strong points. At the top of the list is the simple fact that Schumer writes great jokes. Secondly, the movie is wonderfully cast. I’ve never liked Colin Quinn, but he brings a rough charm to the role of Amy’s caddish father. I kept wondering who was doing such a brilliant job as Amy’s editor, only to discover at the end that it was Tilda Swinton, made up beyond recognition. And it’s always fun to see the centenarian Norman Lloyd still kicking it nearly 75 years after falling off the Statue of Liberty in Hitchcock’s “Saboteur.”
Like many comedies, “Trainwreck” turns serious about two-thirds through, but it stays there longer than most. Things get seriously moving, without feeling unfairly manipulative.
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ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on “FilmWeek” on KPCC-FM (89.3).