Trainwreck

This aptly titled romantic comedy from writer Amy Schumer and director Judd Apatow follows a vapid, selfish woman in her early thirties as she takes the scarring life lessons from her deadbeat father and translates them to her own bedroom, where her fear of commitment is not only poached for its humor, it's also given the old role-reversal. As in all rom-coms, there are situational comedy scenes set up to precipitate a life-altering change in behavior, and the crowd is supposed to cheer for the happy ending, but Trainwreck is a bit off key.

Amy is a writer who is slaying men in the bedroom like they are going out of style. Then, while on a job working on a column for her unforgiving witch of a boss Dianna (Played flawlessly by Tilda Swinton), she meets Aaron (Bill Hader), a sports doctor who has a heart of gold. They fall in love, while the background stories around her pointlessly ebb and flow with unnecessary dramatic storylines. Amy and Aaron have their peaks and valleys, then ultimately reach the cliche climax that everyone saw coming, but for those who peered deeper into the characters, didn't exactly want.

Amy Schumer is hilarious, but I wonder if starring in her own writing hit a little too close to home. Everything is pushed a little too far, with an unbelievably shallow and self-centered character. From her alcoholism, to her relationship with her sister, and her few friends. She is dysfunctional in a way that most people would mature out of. The film delves beyond funny to kind of sad. Not in the typical romantic comedy type of sad where you are rooting for the couple to make it in the end, but sad in the "what is wrong with her?" kind of way where you wonder what anyone sees in her as a person. She makes terrible choices, and it's prefaced with the daddy issues, but there simply aren't many redeeming qualities in her, even after her acceptance phase. The character would be great in a stand-up routine, but doesn't stand a chance as the headliner in a major motion picture.

Judd Apatow is a comedy king, and has been cranking out box office hits for the last decade. The problem is that nothing he has done in the last decade has measured up to the 40 Year Old Virgin. Kudos to him for riding this tidal wave of success despite continually declining quality being written, produced, or directed. I think he is having a lot of fun and making a lot of money, but I think the well may have dried up for him. Sorry Judd.

Some bright spots do appear though. There are some very funny moments, most of which are delivered by supporting cast members. Particularly the handful of scenes with Pro-Wrestler turned Action-Star John Cena (Think a poor man's Dwayne Johnson). He delivered the type of comedic performance that nobody saw coming. He reminded me of Channing Tatum in 21 Jump Street, where you are watching and all of a sudden think "This guy is freakin' hilarious!" He will be in this Christmas' comedy Sisters with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and I am looking forward to seeing what he does. The pro athletes put up impressive turns as well; LeBron James as the stingy penny-pincher, and Amar'e Stoudamire as Bill Hader's patient show that they aren't afraid of cameras, and Tilda Swinton absolutely steals the show as Dianna.

The good news is that there is enough humor scattered throughout to carry this film to its conclusion, but it's contributed by wholly pleasant yet unexpected parties. It should also be noted that the irony isn't lost on me, that Trainwreck is as accurate as it could be when describing the main character, but she just doesn't translate to a successful traditional romantic comedy.

There is little to no chemistry between the two leads. And how could there be? It's hard to see what anyone could see in Amy Schumer's character besides her being fun and funny. It's like Mindy Kaling in the Mindy Project. The character isn't believable enough to be seriously pursued by truly good guys, which Bill Hader happens to be in this film. Sorry, just speaking the truth.

I guess in the end, I laughed out loud a bunch, but left the theatre wishing there wasn't the heavy family drama, or the feeble attempt at the traditional romantic comedy. Amy Schumer and Judd Apatow had the opportunity to do something genre-breaking, but they simply conformed to the old industry standard in the end, and it truly didn't work for this film. 5/10.