Trainwreck movie review (trailer)

After a hiatus, he now returns to the big screen with a bright and funny romantic comedy, written by comedienne Amy Schumer, and featuring her in her first big screen role. I’ve seen her on Comedy TV dishing out the dirt in a brash and often vulgar manner. In Trainwreck, this feisty character doesn’t stray too far from the kind of material for which Schumer is best known – and those who enjoy raunchy comedy will wallow in Schumer’s antics. She’s commanding in the role of men’s magazine writer Amy Townshend, who spends a great deal of her spare time bedding a succession of males. She is sent on an assignment to interview Aaron (Bill Hader), an up-and-coming doctor in sports medicine, and falls for him.

However, Amy is a commitment-phobic individual and the question remains whether she can stay the course with Aaron, who works with some of the biggest names in basketball, including Lebron James, who plays an exaggerated version of himself. Schumer’s impressive screenplay, which includes some autobiographical details but is not strictly autobiographical, offers loads of acerbic dialogue amid highly amusing and dramatic incidents.

Fractious relationships with her dying father (Colin Quinn), who gave her a life slogan – “Monogamy isn’t realistic” – and Kim (Brie Larson), her more conventional sister, help spice up the production. An interesting aspect of Schumer’s performance is she manages to radiate self-confidence while being self-deprecating, but under everything there is the feeling she is still vulnerable.

Bill Hader, best known for outrageous comedy, is slowly becoming a serious actor of note. An unrecognisable Tilda Swinton plays Amy’s outrageous editor and there are cameo appearances by Chris Evert and Matthew Broderick, as well as a black and white film-within-a-film about dogs, featuring Daniel Radcliff and Marisa Tomei. Also watch out for John Cena who is cast against type as a sensitive individual who is coached by Amy on how to talk dirty during sex.