In an opening scene from the latest Judd Apatow-directed work TRAINWRECK, we see Gordon, a bitter father (a note-perfect Colin Quinn) attempting to explain to his two young daughters why he and their mother are splitting up, as well as instilling in them his fundamental belief that monogamy isn't realistic. It's a funny scene, but as the film goes on, that moment and message resonates throughout everything that happens in the life of the older daughter, Amy, played as an adult by the film's writer, comedian Amy Schumer, who has based a great deal of the story on her on life experiences.
One should keep in mind going into TRAINWRECK that, like many Apatow films, it's more than a raunchy comedy about a woman who gets drunk every night and ends up sleeping with different man every night. There's an underlying thread of pain in Amy's life that makes it impossible for her to see herself as someone worthy of actually falling in love with. She looks at guys who want to spend the night or make her breakfast the morning after or see her for a second date with disdain: "You know how this is going to end up, so why bother?" Some may just see her as someone who is having fun, but I would argue that the two aren't mutually exclusive.
Amy is poised to rise through the ranks at a trashy men’s magazine run by Dianna (an almost unrecognizable Tilda Swinton), and the film is so strong that you could have made an entire movie just about the work environment at this hellhole. Amy's co-workers include the likes of Randall Park, Jon Glaser, an intern played by Ezra Miller, and Amy's best pal Nikki, a doormat of a person (both personally and professionally) played by "SNL's" Vanessa Bayer. Some of the film's most inappropriate material happens in the office, and be prepared to cringe during the editorial meetings.
Amy's latest assignment is to interview a renowned sports doctor Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), taking on the role of the straight man to Schumer, as well as his best friend LeBron James as himself. I'm sure by now you're heard this from multiple places, and rest assured the truth is funnier than the hype: James is one of the funniest elements of TRAINWRECK. His revealing and personal conversations with Aaron are hilarious, and their friendship is one of the key driving forces of this film. Another very funny athlete putting in a fine appearance here is pro wrestler John Cena as the one guy in Amy's life she goes out with on a semi-regular basis, mostly because he's ripped and decent in bed. But in a scene in which she ends things with him, it's actually a tiny bit sad, primarily because he's taking it so hard.
Lest we believe that two girls growing up with the same shitty father would end up the same, we discover that younger sister Kim (Brie Larson) is married to dweeby Tom (Mike Birbiglia), and they have one child with a possible second on the way. Self comparing to her sister's life isn't doing Amy any favors, but when Dr. Aaron starts showing an interest in dating her, Amy isn't sure how to handle it. One thing to remember is that, in real life, Schumer trained as an actor in college, so her stand-up success wasn't exactly planned. In the scenes in which she's torn between her old beliefs that committed relationships are confining and her thriving because she's being loved and respected by Aaron, we see Schumer the actress shine through in a way that she's never given herself a chance to in comedy sketches on her "Inside Amy Schumer" series on Comedy Central.
In particular, the moments between Amy and Kim are some of the best because they represent the disparate responses to be exposed to their father philandering ways. Kim responded by vowing not to repeat her father's mistakes, while Amy took his messages about monogamy to heart and closed herself off to the idea of one man for her. The film moves into a couple of dark corners of this idea split when Amy and Kim are forced to deal with their father's living arrangement after his long-term struggle with multiple sclerosis makes it necessary to put him in an assisted-living facility. Kim wants to put him in the worst possible home, while Amy is willing to spring for just slightly better than the worst. In moments where Amy must deal with her father after she's deep into the relationship with Aaron, she sees that maybe Gordon's advice to her as a child wasn't the most sound.
If the film has one weak spot, it's the ending, which I won't ruin, but not surprisingly, Amy's long-engrained ideas about coupling sneak in and threaten to ruin the relationship. The question then becomes, will it be Amy or Aaron who makes the big public display of commitment to bring that happy ending we know is coming. There's a weird, totally unnecessary intervention that LeBron James sets up for his friend involving random cameos by Matthew Broderick, Chris Evert and Marv Albert that is so out of left field that it threatens to pull you right out of the movie; thankfully it doesn't last long.
Unlike other overlong Apatow offerings, TRAINWRECK feels more compact and better paced, even with its two-hour running time; there are still dead spots, but I actually didn't mind them as much because they give the film a chance to focus on character and admire Schumer the actress. TRAINWRECK may seem like it's in the Apatow wheelhouse, but it's just far enough afield to make this feel fresh for his abilities as a director capable of extracting the funniest material from his actors. Schumer's version of herself is a perfect combination of charming and abrasive. When "Amy" is doing things that are somewhat self-destructive, she owns them. She's not looking for pity or sympathy, but that doesn't mean she isn't open to ideas on bettering her outlook on love. It's a much-needed twist on the romantic-comedy formula, and I'm glad it was the highly capable Schumer who brought it to us.
