Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Colin Quinn, John Cena, Tilda Swinton, LeBron James.

Rated: R.  Comedy.  Running Time: 2 hours 5 minutes.

Maria and I certainly didn’t discover Amy Schumer, but we do feel we were in the first wave of her admirers.  Her raunchy humor and matter-of-fact delivery are right up our alley.  You should check out her show, Inside Amy Schumer on Comedy Central, if you’ve not yet discovered this American treasure.  Trainwreck is her first attempt at a starring role on the big screen (she’s had a couple of small parts previously), she also wrote the screenplay and lured Judd Apatow to direct it.  Another of our favorites, Bill Hader plays Amy’s love interest, and their chemistry carries the film.  The tale begins with Amy in a relationship with John Cena’s character, but she’s playing around on him every chance she can, after all, “he’s like making love with an ice sculpture.”  They do have a scene together where she asks him to talk dirty to her during sex, and his epically bad attempt is hilarious.  Their relationship is short lived, the break up is another pure Amy moment, and we never see Cena again which was a surprise to me.  Trainwreck just delivers from start to finish and beyond Amy and Hader, the supporting cast is great as well.  Colin Quinn as Amy’s irascible father, a nearly unrecognizable Tilda Swinton as Amy’s heartless boss and even Lebron James playing himself like you’ve never seen, blend together in perfect fashion.  The theater was packed and the laughs were constant.  Amy has a hit without a doubt, and I’m hoping this is just the beginning for her. 

The Schumes.  I love this girl.  She embodies everything I like to see in a female comedian.  Her crass, unapologetic and true humor speaks to me, and many women across generations.  I’m not saying she’s a role model, as the title infers she (or her character) is quite a hot mess.  But her act subtly filters in female empowerment, while maintaining a healthy dose of humility and self-parody.  Ross and I first saw her on HBO in 2012 when her comedy special, ‘Mostly Sex Stuff’ debuted and we instantly liked her style.  The fashionably short, yet proper looking dress she donned coupled with her understated delivery & coarse wit caught our attention.  And we knew she had that something.  We were pleased when Comedy Central offered her her own show.  One of my favorite skits from ‘Inside A.S.’ is titled “12 Angry Men”, you should look it up on YouTube when you get a chance.  It is hilarious and packed with big stars that will both shock you and make it even more enjoyable.  I would suggest giving the show a test run before going to view Trainwreck, because Schumer definitely has a distinct flavor of humor.  You will either love it or hate it.  And frankly, if you hate it – then we would probably not be a good match up for friendship.  Basically everyone I know loves her or has found something to admire in her quick rise to stardom.  And as she noted, “I’m not really a slut.  I’ve only had sex with four guys, and that was a weird night.”

Beyond the bawdy humor, I was truly shocked at the acting chops displayed by Amy and Bill Hader.  The latter has made a career playing weird, off the charts, cartoon-like characters.  Beyond his numerous SNL bits, check him out in Clear History or 22 Jump Street, or even his voice over work in several animated films.  All quirky, but funny.  He plays it pretty straight here, and as I mentioned before, he and Amy have great chemistry.  Trainwreck grossed $30 million it’s first weekend, just behind can’t miss movies Ant Man and Minions.  Thirty mil for an R rated movie is big business these days when the kiddies are taken out of the equation, and word of mouth has to keep people filling the seats for the foreseeable future.  One final note, here’s hoping that fucking sick prick that shot up the theater in Louisiana doesn’t hurt the films business.  Our country has these types of incidents far too frequently, and I wish there was a quick solution to the problem, but in the meantime we all just need to keep living our lives.  Stay alert for sure, but don’t let them effect where you go or what you do, otherwise they win.  And I for one say, fuck that!  Sorry for the sermon, go see Trainwreck, it’s two hours well spent.

It’s sad that you have to ‘stay alert’ nearly everywhere today.  You can’t send your kids to school, you can’t go to the mall, you can’t even go to the movies without worrying about some self righteous asshole attacking you for no apparent reason.  But those unfortunate human specimens will never keep me from going to do what I love.  You can’t live like that.  It’s just a shame that in the U.S. we seem to harbor so many of these selfish psychos and have to read about a new shooting every other day.  But I digress.  Trainwreck is a guaranteed fun night out with lots of laughs and captivating entertainment.  Schumer delivers a smart and funny assessment of the dating scene in our current culture.  She completely shatters the stereotype that ‘women can’t be funny’, which I’ve heard one too many times in my lifetime.  Men and women alike seem to enjoy her brand of humor and she is redefining what it means to be a woman of comedy.  I wish her all of the success in the world, but I know she doesn’t need it.  I’m a fan Schumes, you keep doing you girl.

Ross’ Rating: 4.25 Gummy Bears out of 5.

Maria’s Rating: 4 Gummies.