Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Trainwreck—Movie Review

by Peter O'Connell

Trainwreck. Released: July 2015. Runtime: 125 min. Rated: R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use.

Potty-mouthed comedienne Amy Schumer now stars in an R-rated comedy that she has written about a potty-mouthed writer named Amy, who works for a snarky men's magazine. Ever since her parents divorced when she was a child, this Amy has believed the advice given her by her departing father (Colin Quinn): “Monogamy isn't realistic.” As an adult, random hook-ups have become her way of life.

Although Amy has no interest in—or respect for—sports, her editor (Tilda Swinton, in a rare comic turn) assigns her to write an article about a sports doctor, Aaron Conners (Bill Hader). Amy treats Aaron as a one-night stand as well as an interview subject. Aaron, however, has genuine feelings for her and seeks to develop a meaningful relationship. This causes considerable confusion in Amy's mind as to what she should do.

As Amy attempts to sort things out, her sister (Brie Larson), in a traditional marriage, becomes pregnant; the two sisters' father dies; and basketball stars Lebron James and Amar'e Stoudemire (as themselves) attempt both to deal with some medical issues of their own and to have a positive impact on the Amy/Aaron relationship. Also: Amy nearly commits a sexual crime, and her article's fate becomes uncertain. Things reach an uproarious climax at a performance involving slam-dunks from a trampoline and the gyrations of the Knicks City Dancers.


Trainwreck, directed by Judd Apatow, comes close to going off the tracks at times but manages to reach its destination of providing an amusing two hours without insulting the audiences's intelligence too much. Schumer, Hader, Quinn and Swinton deliver the goods, and Larson and, perhaps surprisingly, Lebron James are excellent.    

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