Let me say, right off the bat, that this is one of those films that does not work on a cinematic level. There are strong performances, good jokes, funny bits, sight gags that elicited laughs at the showing I went to, and moments of genuine humanity and emotional heft. Every possible ingredient that one would need to carve out a solid, even a very good, movie is present, but they never congeal into anything other than 120 minutes of un-assembled pieces.
Amy Schumer does not have a direction credit on Trainwreck. According to the credits the film was directed by Judd Apatow, edited by William Kerr, and shot by Jody Lee Lipes (whose Ballet 422, I reviewed last week), but I am suspicious because there are shots, cuts, and lighting decisions in Trainwreck that feel familiar, not from any previous work of the director, editor, or cinematographer, but from Schumer's other major project Inside Amy Schumer a truly excellent sketch show that runs on Comedy Central. I suspect that Schumer here exercised a role in this production like that nebulous TV honorific "showrunner." This is purely a theory, but it would explain to me why three professionals whose work (even if you haven't enjoyed it has at least functioned as coherent cinema) should simultaneously suffer significant regression in their technical skills.
That probably sounds like it is coming down on Schumer harder than is strictly necessary. Maybe it is. She is one of the most talented comedic voices in the world. Her stand-up is inspired, her sketch show is in a league that includes only her's and Key & Peele, and the script in this movie has moments when it is crisp and lively and exciting. There is an old Mitch Hedberg bit that I kept thinking of through the movie: Hedberg says that show business isn't fair because he is a comic, and worked his ass off to be a great comic, and all anyone ever wants him to do is "stuff that's related to comedy, but not comedy" like acting and writing scripts. No other profession will ask that kind of shift in priority from its best and brightest. No one says to a chef, Hedberg argues, "oh, you're a chef, that's great...can you farm?" Trainwreck feels like Schumer farming.
None of this is to say that there aren't great parts of this film as well. Bill Hader is a revelation. He's always been a good comic actor--and has even turned in fine performances for Apatow in the past--but here he churns past his previous high water mark and shows chops that make me think that if he wanted to he could turn his career towards the kinds of roles that are currently going to Michael Shannon and Sam Rockwell. There were moments when I couldn't believe how good he was. Schumer herself gives a solid performance that has moments when she breaks through good into great. Vanessa Bayer, Randall Park, and Jon Glaser are all terrific as Amy's co-workers, and Tilda Swinton is unrecognizable as Diana, Amy's boss, in a performance whose entire function seems to be to skewer The Devil Wears Prada. LeBron James also shows a gift for the screen, though perhaps he shouldn't dedicate himself to the Jim Brown career path just yet.
As Schumer gains experience, I'd like to see her make another movie. Trainwreck wasn't great, but it had enough flashes of potential that I'd like to see what else she can do.
Rating: 2 / 4
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