Trainwreck: Amy Schumer's Anti-Heroine Triumphs
Ella Downing| 18th August 2015
Judd Apatow’s latest movie, Trainwreck, is an interesting juxtaposition of classic rom-com and not so classic heroine.
Written by Amy Schumer, who also plays herself as the lead role, Trainwreck is the story of careless, party-girl journalist Amy- who does not believe in monogamy. Needless to say, this belief is challenged when successful sports doctor Aaron (Bill Hader) comes along, who is entirely her opposite.
Schumer is one of the biggest comedy names in America right now, so Trainwreck was a big move for her and she carries out the role with immense likeability and honesty. It is more than refreshing to firstly (because this is more important) see a female lead character who shuns every possible female stereotype and cliché. Amy drinks too much, sleeps around, is crude, outspoken and often rude and completely rejects the idea of marriage, children and commitment. Secondly, it’s important to see a female lead who is rejecting all these stereotypes without looking like an actress whose just walked off the America’s Next Top Model catwalk. Without becoming a Rebel Wilson or Melissa McCarthy, Schumer’s covered the middle ground. Her appearance is imperfect, but not unattractive and this makes her relatable and all the more believable in her role.
Gender roles and stereotypes are challenged all over the place in Trainwreck. While female characters Amy and editor Dianna are crude, hard-edged and dismissive of love, the male leads, Aaron, LeBron and Steven (John Cena) have more sensitive, caring and soft sides. In a world where all we seem to be reading about is how traditional gender roles continue to make things unfair for women, the LGBT community and men in many circumstances, Trainwreck presented a world that I’d like to see more of. Where traditional gender assumptions are challenged and broken.
On the whole Trainwreck was pretty funny. Perhaps not as funny as some of Schumer’s stand up work and many of the jokes I’ll admit were getting more laughs out of the female members of the audience (the Quentin Tarantino tampon was one of my personal highlights). But from Amy and her homophobic, racist father’s vulgar and offensive gags to more subtle pieces of comedy, the discussion about how to ask for the cheque for example, Trainwreck catered to many comedy pallets.
Perhaps where Trainwreck fell was that it set itself up to break the traditional rom-com boundaries and present something new, yet ended up being pretty cliche. Amy is somewhat reformed, she ends up with Hader and all is well. Call me a cynic but I would’ve preferred it if the two of them had gone their separate ways, adding to the reality of the film. But for a wider audience who aren’t familiar with Schumer’s comedy background, Trainwreck's ending catered for the traditionalists wanting their slice of juicy happy ending.