Review: “Trainwreck”

Not a wreck, just vulgar and sweet laughs.

Death is easy, comedy is hard, being a female is harder, being a female in comedy is hardest. Amy Schumer, the plucky and outspoken comedian who is more than forthcoming on subjects best kept out of a newspaper movie review, has teamed with director Judd Apatow — possibly the male yang to her yin — to write and star in a movie of her own. It’s a New York romance in the classic sense, modern to a fault, and almost a victim of its own dedication to cliche. However, Schumer’s cleverness and subversion keeps things from getting uninteresting.

The 40 Year Old Virgin filmmaker has an eye for improv and and ear for brash dialogue; two things which Schumer excels at. In Trainwreck, she plays a young woman with a promiscuous lifestyle and a mouth to match. Of course, she’s quick to point out that men aren’t held to the same standards, so she’s righteous too. Perhaps on a mission more than avoiding maturity? She’s a magazine writer, something that goes well with her social dragonfly attitude, allowing her to devour interviewees and subjects without getting too close. Never too close, actually. Where her sister is grounded and stable with family, she’s unwieldy and raucous.

It’s strange to think, in a post Roseanne Barr America, that depicting a woman who behaves this independently is “bold”, but unfortunately, we’re still at this level. It’s an almost backhanded compliment, actually. But, Schumer does her best to throw this stigma and curse back in our faces, forcing us to accept her character, and women at large, on her and their own terms. Why box in a gender to a confined and defined environment? If they want to act against the grain or, more importantly, with the grain, let them.

Going with the grain is something Trainwreck does almost too well. Beat for beat, it follows the typical romantic comedy / dramedy formula to a T. Sort of. There is a devotion to these tactics at play that makes me believe Schumer and Apatow were almost using them as weapons of subverting expectations. There are also times when the story paints itself into a corner, and has no choice but to deliver on stereotypical plot points. It all cancels itself out, leaving one ultimately smiling at the cuteness of the execution. They tried and stumbled here and there, but always got back up from the fall. This deserves most admiration.

Sweet and sour, vulgar with heart. Trainwreck is most certainly not what its name suggests, but it’s no smooth ride. Then again, are the bumps and brakes really what we remember most from being on a train? For me, yes. For others, no. Schumer’s schtick is more than willing to grab your attention with a vice grip. She makes it all look so easy.

3.5 / 5