Manuel here to discuss one of last week’s hottest trailers by one of my favorite funny ladies. After the success of Bridesmaids ($288 million worldwide gross and 2 Oscar nominations), it’s not surprising seeing Judd Apatow partnering up with another small-screen comedy talent for her big screen debut.
Written by Amy Schumer and directed by Apatow himself comes Trainwreck ("We all know one" the poster coyingly tells us), which opens this July as a nice bit of counter-programming (it goes up against Apatow-alum Paul Rudd's Ant-Man so you know where my momey that weekend will be going to). The film will first show itself over at SXSW as a "work-in-progress" so we'll have word of what to expect sooner rather than later, though it shows great confidence in the material. It also tells us precisely what kind of demographic they're hoping to muster enthusiasm among. Both Funny People and This is 40 failed to capitalize on the success of Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin so I'm sure hopes are higher for this female-fronted comedy.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves, in true TFE fashion, let’s dive right into the trailer giving it the YES, NO MAYBE SO treatment:
YES
- Amy Schumer. If you’ve been watching Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer, you know she’s a keen eyed feminist comedian whose voice is a breath of fresh air. To see what she can do in a longform narrative is exciting. Besides, look who she’s enlisted to help her!
- Tilda “You’re pretty-ish” Swinton. The number of people who are surprised to find out that’s Tilda playing Amy’s boss just goes to show she’s a chameleonic actress worthy of all her accolades. (Related: watch Schumer toast her at the Gothams).
- Brie “Don’t get all jealous because you don’t understand the concept of monogamy” Larson. After The Gambler, it’s nice to see Brie getting back on screen in roles that (hopefully?) will tap into her inner Gregson rhythms.
- Vanessa “Hang up, obviously he’s sick!” Bayer. The role of Judy Greer will be played by Bayer, and really, that last bit with the phone had me in stitches (the green juice she’s holding is a punchline in it of itself) so we know we’re in good hands.
- That list alone would get me excited as it rivals Bridesmaids in terms of a varied all-female roster of comedy starlets. Add in Bill Hader (so affecting in last year’s Skeleton Twins) and I’m sold.
- "Monogamy isn't realistic!" Colin Quinn, continuing to deliver dry humor like the best of 'em.
NO
- Lebron James. Can anyone speak up about the reasoning behind this? That Downton Abbey reading fell flat; might he surprise elsewhere?
- No Leslie Mann? C’mon Judd! She’s your star player; where’s she at?
MAYBE SO
- Judd Apatow. Other than Knocked Up, I’ve never really warmed up to his bloated directorial endeavors though the fact Schumer wrote this gives me hope it won’t be another bloated Apatovian comedy.
- “Mark Wahlberg? Mark Wahlberg is like 150lbs! I look like Mark Wahlberg ATE Mark Wahlberg!!” John Cenna selling his lines better than Lebron, at least, though their prominent inclusion in the trailer has a whiff of straight male pandering, no?
- Because, the more you watch the trailer, the more it falls under a genre no one seems to want to own up anymore. Might this just be a slightly subversive comedy that ends up being a trite rom-com? That genre could sure use a shot in the arm and Apatow has surely given it worthy CPR in the past decade, but I worry it’ll stifle Schumer’s more mordant humor. (I will say that the shot above gives me hope that despite a well-worn story, the film will pop visually in ways rom-coms rarely aspire to. See also: the throaway gags in the magazine office)
- Schumer is great in short sketches (if you’re not familiar with her show, check her take on sexting and on Sorkin to get a taste of what she excels at). Might it grate in a full-length film?
- Might the film lean in too heavily on its raunch factor? The red band trailer toes that line well ("Where are they buried?" shows how well Schumer can sell a line) but might the film suffer from trying to stay tonally afloat?
Check out the trailer below:
I'm definitely a YES, if only to see Swinton give us lady editor realness. How is everyone else feeling up to this film? And, are you excited about the fact that 2015 (with Spy, Hot Pursuit, Welcome to Me (coming out soon, right?), Pixar’s Inside Out and Sandra Bullock’s villainess in Minions) is going to offer more than one token “female-led” comedy on which the fate of all female-fronted films will be measured by?