Truth In Advertising... "Trainwreck"

Trainwreck (2015)

Rated R

Starring Amy Schurmer, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, Bill Hader, LeBron James, John Cena

Directed by Judd Apatow

The Story:

Amy (Schurmer) has grown up to be an addict to booze and sleeping around. As a sensationalist tabloid journalist, she has to do an interview with a famous sports doctor (Hader) who falls for her after they have sex. The two couldn't be more opposite and yet she finds she's falling for him anyway.

I'd swear I already wrote this review weeks ago and even published it, yet could find it nowhere on my site. It was probably better than the one I'm about to embark upon, but oh well.

:)

So forgive me if the synopsis is a little short, but let's get right to the meat of the movie.

Amy Schurmer, 2015's "It Girl".

I don't find her very funny in this film.

I may have to chalk this up to Melissa McCarthyism, where there's a wonderful actress that everyone thinks is the funniest thing in the world, but I just don't get it.

Because she isn't that funny in this movie.

Or perhaps I'm a sexist pig, yet I can rattle off a list of female actresses and comediennes that I find funnier than Schurmer.

That said, I realize as I watched the movie that Schurmer can be funny.

As the writer of the film, she gives THE BEST lines to just about any and all of her co-stars.

Holy cow, this movie belongs to LeBron James! He's the best thing going in the film!!

And while that's great for LeBron, it's not so great for the leading lady who is in 80% of the film.

The other 20%, screamingly funny, but when she's around, the laughs are divided between her and her co-stars.

They get the laughs, that's 40%.

40 + 20 = 60%.

That's a D.

That's not sexism.

That's math.

:)

Then you add in the fact that a 90 minute comedy is stretched to over 2 hour runtime...

You've got grounds to fail an R Rated Romantic Comedy right there.

But I'll be nicer than that, because again, much of what LeBron, John Cena, Marv Albert, Matthew Broderick and a ton of other cameos and co-stars bring to the table is great.

Schurmer has shown me she has potential.

I just don't believe her to be the "next big thing".

Final Grade: C+