Men are usually allergic to rom-coms, especially when sitting through them means watching their significant others blubber through a box of Kleenex and compare them to the Ryan Goslings, Matthew McCounagheys and Will Smiths of the world. With Trainwreck, directed by Judd Apatow and written by leading lady, Amy Schumer, comedy’s “It” girl plays a “pretty-ish” magazine writer for men’s magazine, S’nuff, and an insatiable sexual appetite. Bill Hader takes on her love interest, sports physician, Aaron Conners, whose roster of clients include LeBron James, Tom Brady, Amar’e Stoudemire and did we mention LeBron James? Still, it’s not about one woman’s many conquests but rather, scoring that one touchdown that matters. Stay with me, fellas.
While bed-hopping through what seems like all of lower Manhattan (and that one time in Staten Island), Schumer plays the commitment-phobe and total opposite of her happily married sister, Kim (Brie Larson). She also gets dumped by her bulky halfway-beau, Steven (played by wrestling magnate John Cena), whose idea of dirty talk echos a soccer coach pep talk (not a turn-on, btw). When Conners nabs some real estate at S’Nuff the sports-illiterate Orlando Blooms fan, Amy, is assigned the hefty task of profiling him. Breaking all types of journalistic standards, Amy catches feelings for Aaron, nails him (no spooning, though) and finds herself in a different type of game than she’s used to.
The sports angle makes the date night flick a win for fellas playing plus-ones for their baes this weekend. James’ role as Aaron’s budget-conscious bro gets a few daps and more chuckles while a performance from the Knicks City dancers will have all eyes glued to the big screen for obvious reasons (#nosexism). Sidebar for the ESPN Stan: a scene at Madison Square Garden was filmed under Mike Brown’s tenure, a.k.a. pre-Phil Jackson travesty. But the real MVP is Amy, who turns her mess of a life into a bold-faced message: “F**k perfection.”
With a father who shunned monogamy since her childhood and hobbies that include smoking weed and making married prudes clutch their pearls, Amy isn’t just spewing out jokes for kicks. The explicit jokes knock sexism and fist pump for feminism and owning one’s sexuality. Inside Amy Schumer loyalists who fangirl over Schumer’s snarky yet bold sketches on real-life issues (see her bits on rape culture and oral sex) will find reason to piss their pants and boohoo at the same time, specifically when she delivers a eulogy. At its core, Trainwreck is the non-Disney version of situationships where happily ever after sometimes means giving Mr./Ms. Right Now a fair shot.