 |
| Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in "Trainwreck" |
Attention all modern women living in the 21st century, according to "Trainwreck", the new Judd Apatow movie written by Amy Schumer, you can be an alcoholic, pot-smoking, narcissistic, and emotionally immature mess just like most men. And that's ok, because ultimately you'll find the right person to settle down with. You'll change for the better. You'll give up drinking, smoking, sleeping with whatever loser smiles at you and you'll want the happy relationship with stability and children and blah blah blah. But does Amy Schumer really want this? I know our heroine Amy Townsend, played by Schumer, does. Yet anyone who has watched "Inside Amy Schumer", the Comedy Central sketch series created by and starring Schumer that just finished its third season earlier this summer, might be scratching their heads at this shockingly old-fashioned and formulaic romantic comedy. I know I was. I still liked the movie, even if I didn't believe a word of it. It was sweet, but left a familiar and bitter aftertaste. Amy Townsend, a writer for a magazine called S'NUFF, is assigned to write a profile on Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), a sports medicine doctor, who is too good to be true. He's level headed, super tall, friends with LeBron James, lives in Soho, and is a freaking doctor, for famous athletes. They fall for each other, of course. And surprisingly he's not an asshole, or closeted, or a freak, like most of the men Amy sleeps with. The rest of the movie I won't spoil for anyone wondering how it could possibly end. Why is "Trainwreck" getting so much attention if at its core, is like every other romantic comedy, reinforcing the same moralistic relationship tropes we see again and again? Simple, because of Amy Schumer. Through her Comedy Central series with its post-feminist commentary, wickedly sharp observations, and devastating delivery, Schumer has earned the reputation as the most daring and progressive comedian working today, male or female. No one is off limits, especially young women, and even more so, Schumer herself. Is Amy Townsend, the character in this movie, the same as Amy Schumer, the persona from her series? I don't think so, if anything she is Judd Apatow's Amy Schumer. You can't deny his influence. He is the director after all. And "Trainwreck's" retrograde ideas about an idealistic family life with monogamy at its center, which we've seen in Apatow's other films like "Knocked Up", "This is 40" and to a lesser extent "Funny People", can't help but shape the film. It's becoming increasingly evident that Apatow is a crusader for funny, outspoken women. He is a producer of Lena Dunham's HBO television series "Girls" as well as being one of the producers behind 2011's "Bridesmaids". Yet, why does it seem like he's holding Schumer back, reigning her in? "Trainwreck" contains flashes of her brilliance. There are small asides and moments, and jokes that linger, and not just because they're laugh out loud funny, but because they say something new. But "Trainwreck" isn't the story of a modern woman finding happiness. Almost 15 years ago we had Carrie Bradshaw in "Sex and the City", who at the end of that series second season is seen letting go of Mr. Big, or vice versa, depending on how you watched it. He walks back to his boring, brunette fiance in front of the Plaza Hotel, and Carrie is left wearing a form fitting white dress, without irony, walking away slowly, her blonde curls swirling in the wind, as she wishes for someone just as wild as her to be with forever. Bradshaw was a modern creation, and so is Schumer. Sadly though, the heroine of "Trainwreck" isn't. So what is there to like? The cameo by John Cena and LeBron James' easy chemistry with Bill Hader. What about Tilda Swinton's tan, or Vanessa Bayer smiling, or New York City in the summer. And I believe most importantly, the emotional authenticity of Brie Larson, who plays Amy's kid sister Kim. (Amy Schumer's actual sister, Kim Caramele, is a writer and producer of "Inside Amy Schumer".) Why couldn't we have gotten a movie about that relationship? Growing up with a sick father and the different paths they took, their different ideas about men and relationships forming their adult selves. Or how about instead of "Trainwreck" we got a movie called "Trailblazer", the story of a young and gifted female comedian who rises to cultural importance through the sheer force of her talent and jokes, not a story about some girl who gets a boyfriend.
