The first half an hour of director Judd Apatow’s latest comedy, “Trainwreck”, lives-up to its title. Emmy nominated Comedy Central star Amy Schumer plays Amy – a writer for a NYC men’s magazine. She’s into heavy drinking, partying and hooking-up with lots of men, with no relationship commitments. This section of the film is made up of predictably unfunny sexual references, conversations and situations, as well as evenings out with “Boy Toy” Steven (played by wrestler John Cena). Their scenes together are nothing short of terrible.
Then a savior arrives. A King. The King. Yes, everything changes when…LeBron James walks onto the court. That’s right. The NBA superstar plays himself in “Trainwreck”, a patient and friend to sports physician Dr. Aaron Connors (played by “Saturday Night Live”‘s Bill Hader). Amy has been tasked by her editor (an almost unrecognizable Tilda Swinton – seriously, the transformation is incredible) to write an article on Aaron.
It’s in the Dr.’s office where he and Amy first meet, and James pops-in looking for his lost sunglasses and wondering if he and Aaron will be watching “Downton Abbey” together that evening. “Trainwreck” becomes the movie Schumer and Apatow were shooting for once Amy and Aaron meet and start falling for each other. Their relationship feels very natural throughout the entire film – rarely does an interaction between the two come-off as forced. And the plot is pretty simple: Will Amy change her ways and allow herself to be happy with a nice guy? Some may see the fact that LeBron is on screen when “Trainwreck” takes-off as pure coincidence, while others (and I’m on this team) will believe James deserves credit for saving this movie the way his return to Cleveland saved that city.
Schumer, who wrote and co-produced “Trainwreck”, has her showcase moments, both with the script and her performance as a not-very-likable character. Colin Quinn and Brie Larson are solid in a supporting roles as Amy’s father and sister. Hader is terrific in a rare leading-man role. He’s comfortable, subtle, yet commands scenes when necessary. And James doesn’t simply have a brief cameo. He’s in half a dozen scenes delivering laugh-out-loud lines, poking fun at himself and his public persona. Fellow NBA star Amare Stoudamire has a small role, but, when it comes to both acting and basketball, he’s no LeBron. A few other real-life sports personality cameos add big laughs, particularly in a memorable intervention scene.
Apatow’s movies are traditionally criticized for being too long, and “Trainwreck” is no exception. At 125 minutes you do get your money’s worth of comedy bits, character development and narrative. He combines the typical, raunchy rom-com material with the some welcome, modern “anti-rom-com” angles. This isn’t a great movie by any means – Schumer shoots more than a couple of airballs, but she also throws-down a few impressive slam dunks. And while the ending of “Trainwreck” is right out of the rom-com playbook, it’s also sweet and funny, and with it, Schumer proves (if we didn’t know it already from her TV success) that this “Uptown Girl” is one of Hollywood’s hottest young stars – on and off the court.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Trainwreck” gets a C+.
Running Time: 125 min.