Movies, TV shows and novels like to dance with the line, “It’s what people do.” I’ve always liked it. It’s powerful and consistently interesting to see how the setup line changes the result. Perhaps my favorite is the adaptation from the tremendous BBC series “Sherlock” – where the title character says, “He could have died” and Moriarty yells back, “That’s what people DO!”
What people do. What do people do? That wonderfully confusing idea is at heart of the new Amy Schumer comedy, “Trainwreck.” Like a lot of comedies that have a major romantic element, the main characters come from very different worlds. Instead of one being named Capulet and the other Montague: the leads in “Trainwreck” meet in the middle from opposite ends of the “It’s what people do” spectrum. Which is a life better lived? A life in service to others? A life in service to oneself? In my experience, these concepts are moving targets.
“Trainwreck” isn’t, in and of itself, a major philosophical investigation. It’s a very strong, well-written comedy that fields innately interesting characters and let’s the relative distance between them determine the strength of their bond (I’m proud of that line, it has science, it has poetry and it even has relation to “Ant-Man”). Amy Schumer absolutely shines. For mainstream audiences, Schumer is a relatively new name. Here are the highlights you need to know: she’s brilliant, she’s hysterical, she’s not afraid to offend people and she doesn’t take prisoners.
The other members of the cast are all strong in their own right and fit very well into Schumer’s comedy snow globe. LeBron James, as in the basketball player LeBron James, is an absolute delight. I, better than most, understand how odd that sentence sounds, but LeBron is genuinely very funny. His comedic timing is impeccable. Before seeing the movie I, like many people, groaned at the idea of another athlete cameo. By the end of the film, I found myself looking forward to LeBron scenes. I am truly very impressed and would welcome more LeBron James in movies.
I think “Trainwreck” is my favorite comedy of the year, it’s definitely my favorite comedy of the summer. For a movie called “Trainwreck,” it certainly brings out the best from all parties involved, sometimes tremendously, sometimes surprisingly, but always effectively.
5 of 6 stars