Review of Trainwreck (2015) by Dawdlingpoet — 23 Nov 2021

This is a comedy drama film with romance elements and it covers themes including funerals, arguments and father and daughter relationships. Perhaps a better term to use to describe it would be a 'relationship comedy drama', as it isn't really big on romance but its very much about one persons relationships, just not in a sentimental way for the most part. It is a quite contemporary , somewhat slick comedy/drama - I suppose you could say its a rom/com style of a film, only (as you might have guessed) its not exactly full of sentimental romance, featuring more of a 'ladette' character. Some of the comedy I didn't particularly find funny but other instances I did. The comedy is sometimes quite observational based and its fair to say that a number of characters are quite sharp and 'to the point', including the main character, Amy. Her boss, Dianna, reminded me of the **** boss in 'The Devil Wears Prada', Miranda Priestly. I wasn't convinced this film would especially appeal to me, as I don't tend to particularly like films featuring loud and brash female US comedians, usually but I'd read good write-ups of this and having found it to be on Netflix, I obviously gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised. I suppose it is a little reminiscent of Sex & The City, although perhaps slightly less explicit. There are some cringe-worthy moments present, as you'd probably expect, with some awkward situations depicted.

Cast wise, Amy Schumer plays the main character, Amy Townsend. She is quite outspoken and assertive but her mouth gets her in to some problems at times, which made me laugh at times. She looks like quite an average sort of a person but the character she's depicting seems like the sort of person most everyone has encountered at one point or another - someone so brash she gets the better of herself at times. Other cast members include Tilda Swinton as her boss Dianna, Colin Quinn as Gordon, John Cena as Steven and Brie Larson as Kim. Content wise, the film contains partial nudity, male nudity (no female nudity), sex scenes with nothing graphic visually shown and numerous sex references, plus strong language and multiple drug references (including references about the taking of drugs). There is a minor element of violence although its pretty mild. The film has been given a 15 rating to reflect this.

All in all, I found this equally cringe-y and a bit embarrassing at times (the prude that I am(!)) and also surprisingly funny and amusing at other times. It is silly, a bit wacky and it most certainly isn't original from a plot/script point of view, plus it became a little cheesy towards the end but I can't deny that I enjoyed it, got a few laughs and was glad that I'd seen it overall.

Unsurprisingly, yes I would recommend this film. Ok I wouldn't recommend it specifically for watching in front of your parents or anything like that, as it is quite saucy in parts but its not as sexual as some shows/films and I did find myself laughing at times. The main character is somewhat relatable and endearing perhaps, at a pinch but in any case, the cast is decent and I was surprised that I enjoyed watching it as much as I did but I did, so, obviously due to this I would overall recommend it, yes.