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I would be interested in knowing what made the distributor, after two overlooked Apatow films, buy Trainwreck, which requires a certain knowledge of American sports and is built entirely on the person of a comedian who is practically unknown in this country. The film’s uniqueness and most of its shortcomings lie in the degree to which the title reminds us of Amy Schumer’s previous work. ___ The narrative has a conspicuously sketch-like nature. The overabundance of supporting characters, comic scenes that go nowhere and cameos of famous athletes fundamentally disrupt the rhythm and the film, already short of supporting plot conflicts, lasts a good half-hour longer than the plot would need. Of course, all of Apatow’s films (and most of the films that he has produced) have the same problem, giving priority to improvised scenes over the cohesiveness and focus of the narrative. Trainwreck is the only comedy-drama work put out by Amy Schumer, who bases her humour on being brutally honest to everyone around her, mainly to herself. ___ The concept of a sexy blonde in a miniskirt who has her sex life completely under control and is not unwilling to talk about it at length is used less imaginatively than in some of the sketches in Inside Amy Schumer, but it is still a pleasurable stirring of the stagnant waters of romantic comedies. Contrary to convention, the sexual predator here is not a man, but a woman whose dilemma consists in whether to continue to resist monogamy and dread the thought of marriage and children or to start behaving less promiscuously and more responsibly. Similar problems are usually solved in films and the “seduce and destroy” method is much more commonly applied by men. What is also likable is the fact that the film does not excuse the protagonist’s manipulative behaviour, tendencies towards alcoholism or lack of empathy, nor does it glorify them. That’s just how she is. ___ The film submits to conventions only in its climax, which also works with the idea that Amy is not ashamed of her sexuality and does not hesitate to use it to get what she wants, even if that involves her sweating and embarrassing herself terribly. She doesn’t become a completely generic female character. Despite that, Trainwreck has a significantly “softer” ending than many pre-Code films about passionate and wilful gold diggers who are so rotten that redemption and reform are no longer a consideration for them. ___ Unlike Amy, the men are very transparent and predictable from start to finish. Whereas in Steven’s case this serves to play with stereotypes (the bodybuilder with homoerotic tendencies), Aaron remains Mr. Perfect throughout the film, so there are not many obstacles to overcome in the relationship between him and Amy. The chemistry between Aaron and LeBron James paradoxically works better, as their relationship has such a functional dynamic that I wondered if the film would break down into another Apatow bromance. ___ Trainwreck is not as sure of its own genre identity as its promotion as a risqué comedy would suggest. The storyline with the sister (whose name is Kim, like Amy Schumer’s real sister) and the father (who, like Amy Schumer’s real father, suffers from multiple sclerosis) is definitely not secondary or negligible. In fact, it has much more emotional impact than the coming together of Amy and Aaron, as it shows us the protagonist without her defensive cynical mask, thus revealing her as a vulnerable, emotionally insecure woman. The scene in which Kim’s stepson Allister is momentarily transformed from a comedic character into an extraordinarily empathetic human being is one of the most moving that Apatow has filmed to date. The film has more such sober, though not cheaply sentimental moments and it’s regrettable that they don’t comprise its focal point instead of dialogue about penis size and pulling a condom out of a cervix. ___ Trainwreck thus turns out to be more honest in the area of emotion than in the area of sex jokes, some of which are a bit forced. Unlike in other romantic comedies, real people with authentic feelings appear in it (at least for a moment here and there). I consider this to be screenwriter Amy Schumer’s main contribution to Judd Apatow’s filmography. For her own film career – and I don’t write this gladly – the actress Amy Schumer would do better to stick to shorter and preferably comedic projects for the time being. 75% (2015.08.08) (kevesebbet) (több)