Hey everyone! After my marathon day two at this year's SXSW film festival, I took it much easier for day three. As a result, this installment of my "day in the life" coverage will be much more abbreviated.
Once I arrived downtown, Diva del Mar informed me that yet another free party was happening in the warehouse district. When I arrived I found another open bar- this time sponsored by Wired and Jaguar. Since it was merely the crack of 2pm, I decided to take it easy with a glass of water, but soon enough found myself sipping on a delicious champagne/vodka/soda concoction that had smashed raspberries in it- likely the first fruit I'd consumed in days. Since it wasn't even a badge or RSVP event, some of our non-SX pals soon joined. In true SX fashion, it was a pretty random assortment of tech and booze, featuring a Maker Bot 3D printer that was fabricating toy Jaguars, a virtual reality gaming system set up, free charging stations, and apparently a souped-up Jaguar on the rooftop bar. I repeat, a Jag on the roof. As we sipped our drinkie drinks, charged our devices, and marveled at how and why they put a luxury car on the rooftop section of a bar, I snapped a few shots. One would expect a party like this to be more packed on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, but people are already getting spoiled- or too hungover- around here I guess.
Dang, I thought I got a shot of the Jag-on-the-roof, but I'm sure you all can use your imagination.
Even though I was starting to get a bit comfy with my friends, it was time to head to my first film of the day. I made my way to the already winding line at the Paramount theater for a film I have very much been looking to- Judd Apatow and Amy Schumer's TRAINWRECK.
TRAINWRECK
I don't have cable, so sadly I've never seen Amy's show, however every viral clip or quote from this gal has made me giggle endlessly. Whereas Chelsea Handler's brand of irreverent humor sometimes comes off as bitter and a tad venomous, something about Schumer's raunch seems so much more honest and accessible to me. She doesn't give two shits about what people think of her, and completely dismisses the obvious double standard when it comes to women with healthy sex lives by never even acknowledging it in the first place. All of these lovely and sometimes questionable attributes translate perfectly to the big screen in Schumer's first foray into film.
The film is the semi-autobiographical tale of Amy, a thirty-something journalist in NYC. When she's not pitching her latest shock value article idea to her hilariously cut throat editor (Tilda Switon), Amy can be found boozing and sleeping her way around the city. Again, there is no moral judgement calls being made or hard knock consequences for her behavior. She is just a human doing what humans do. That is until her editor assigns her an article about a prolific orthopedic surgeon who is pioneering new and better techniques to fix the $20 million dollar busted joints of today's most famous professional athletes. Enter Bill Hadar as Aaron, said prolific surgeon. When things inevitably get sexy between the two, Amy suddenly finds her usual "love em and leave em" credo a bit harder to stand by.
A sub-plot line about Amy's sister (Brie Larson) and sickly father (Colin Quinn) help to explain Amy's fear of commitment and otherwise provide a platform for her more emotional side. We get to see that although she can be quite cold in the dating pool, she is fraught with stress and despair about her father's failing health and her difficult relationship with her more traditional younger sis.
At its heart, TRAINWRECK is a romantic comedy with much more emphasis on the comedy side. It is pretty damn funny throughout, with plenty of cringe inducing laughs that had me rolling from beginning to end. Hader's turn as a leading man is exceptional. The SNL style mugging for the camera is replaced with a quiet charm that seriously took me by surprise. Another huge surprise- one of my favorite supporting roles in the film is LeBron James playing himself. When he's first introduced in the film I thought, "Oh, this is a funny one-off." But, no! He is a full-on side kick of Hader's throughout and provides just as many chuckles as his seasoned co-stars.
If I have any complaint about the film, it might be that there is an instance where Amy attempts to change her self destructive ways. Though, it's totally ok for someone to pour the booze out and put the bong down for a bit, I felt this arc was totally incongruous with the character who is established so vehemently. Though I can agree that it is an obvious choice for a plot device, I just felt that they could've somehow achieved that vibe without forsaking all the questionable behavior that made us fall in love with her in the first place. The screening I attended was touted as a "work in progress", so I'm hoping some of this stuff hits the editing room floor, or um trash bin, as they tighten up the film.
All in all, TRAINWRECK is an absolute delight, once again reaffirming that comedy is (and never has been) a boys-only club. This film is no chick flick, and I think everyone can relate to Amy's honest brand of raunch.
Here's some pics from the intro before the film.
Well, I decided to pace myself and call it an early night, so sadly no more pics of DJ, rooftop bars, or drunken dancers this round. The music portion of SXSW will soon be starting and that's when shit starts to get truly insane. Though I won't be reviewing the bands I see, I hope to share more sights and sounds of the fest as it continues to unfold.
Rebecca Elliott
Aka Annette Kellerman
