My experience of watching 'Trainwreck'

Upon finally watching one of 2015's biggest comedies, I find myself feeling like a prize idiot for ever doubting it. 

Until about two weeks ago, I had never experienced any of Any Schumer's work. I knew of her and had seen short clips from various interviews, but I hadn't witnessed any of her acting or writing. That is until I sat down late on a Thursday night to watch the 2015 comedy Trainwreck, written by and starring Schumer. Now I have to admit at this juncture that I have a tendency to surreptitiously judge a film before I have seen it, a crime that I am not proud to admit to but it is an action that many of us partake in. In particular, I tend to be more critical of modern comedies, simply because I have seen a large amount of them and have subsequently been disappointed by a high percentage. It is because of this bad habit, that I feel I owe Amy Schumer an apology.

You see I sat down to watch Trainwreck after quite a shit day, I was in an awful mood and I was looking for something that was easy to watch, required little attention and would probably test my patience. My expectations were watertight; I was expecting to see a film that was mildly funny, a few chuckles here and there but no real laugh-out-loud moments, all leading to a sloppy resolution before the end credits hit and I'm left with an overwhelming feeling that I have wasted my time.  To put it bluntly, I wasn't expecting the film to be very good. And yet, I found that there is actually a lot to like about Trainwreck, and while I sat in anticipation preparing myself for disappointment, it prevails that I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Far from being the infuriating waste of time that I was expecting to witness, what I instead experienced was a genuinely well written comedy that was strangely melancholic and actually very subversive. Even from the opening minutes of the film the tone is set perfectly with a rather dry sense of humour that the screenplay persistently capitalises on throughout the film. It not only attempts to entertain the audience and make them laugh, it also provides quite intriguing social commentary. From the outset the protagonist is introduced as an easy going professional who make a habit of getting drunk and stoned frequently and whom sleeps with people on a regular basis without wanting to commit to a serious relationship, however the film doesn't necessarily seek to demonise this lifestyle. Instead it feels more as though the film is intent on showing both sides of the coin, by showing how for the individual this lifestyle is functional and enjoyable, but this may change when someone else's feelings come into the equation, and when personal life trickles into the workplace.

My concerns were largely placed in the tone of the film as I feared it may be similar to many other films and simply attempt to make the audience laugh by any means necessary, and yet this film does have a darker side. There are of course countless comedic moments that are successful, but thankfully when the film moves onto more serious topics they are dealt with in a mature and sincere manner. I found that the film really has a beating heart, and we see a vulnerability in the characters, which for me made them seem more human and more relatable. This was not solely due to the writing, although the writing is superb, I would instead draw your attention to Amy Schumer's performance. As someone who was uninitiated to Schumer's acting I can safely say she is a very talented comedic actor, who adapts very well to a multitude of scenarios. In this film we see Schumer as a quick talking confident woman who is a great source of humour both through dialogue and slapstick elements, but then we also see a weakness to her. It was wonderful to see a fantastic comedic performance, but this was counterbalanced very well by serious acting that showed real human emotion and a genuine concern for other people.

Even from my first viewing of this film, it soon became clear that it is a comedy with layers. On the surface there are the usual suspects of slapstick comedy, excessive swearing, graphic sexual discussion and playing off of cultural stereotypes, but if you peel back the layers there is so much more happening with this film. At times it is actually quite thought provoking as the films seeks to provide social commentary, and subversively mock certain elements of modern life. The protagonist works as a journalist for a lads magazine, and during the scenes in which we see her in the workplace it is clear that the portrayal of this environment is almost a pastiche because of how exaggerated but honest it is. The behaviour of her work colleagues and her manager is cringe worthy because as they discuss potential ideas of articles it is glaringly obvious that the shit they're talking about is actually what people want to read. It is elements such as this that provide some of the more intelligent comedy, as Amy's relationships with people and her actions are used to satirically explore other elements of modern life in quite intense detail, such as sexuality, relationships, expectations of women and adults, and the process of becoming a socially accepted adult. 

One of the key elements that made this film really stand out is the characters. When I first started watching this film it reminded me very much of the Bridget Jones films, and I wasn't particularly happy about that because it evoked memories of just how annoying I found those films to be. However, Trainwreck manages to move away from this because it has genuine character development. Bridget Jones has infuriating one dimensional characters that stay exactly the same and basically play off of cultural stereotypes, with a real smug self destructive nature thrown in to make the perfect cocktail of bad writing, but Trainwreck sets up its characters in a particular way and places all of them on a trajectory. The characters we see actually go on a journey and have to face the consequences of their actions, so while there is still a self destructive element to this film, it's delivered with the utmost sincerity so the characters are conflicted and aren't simply polarised into good and bad. Bridget Jones essentially presents caricatures whom would be hated by everyone if they genuinely existed, whereas Trainwreck presents actual people, three dimensional and functional humans who the audience can relate to and sympathise with.  

I think what hit me most about this film is just how relatable it was. Personally I can't sympathise with the character that smokes weed excessively and sleeps around because that's pretty much the antithesis of me, but I could relate to the character of Aaron, played brilliantly by Bill Hader. I didn't relate to him as the perfect heart throb, because again that really isn't me, but I did relate to him as someone who was simply hoping for love to come his way. Throughout the film we see him fall hopelessly in love with someone who isn't at all adjusted to relationships, and as a result he spends a lot of time hoping for them to feel the same way and for them to take it as seriously as he is. And while it may not be pleasant to think about, I think we have all been in that place at some point in our lives; hoping for someone to feel the same way about us as we feel about them. So to see Aaron trying so hard to make a relationship work, to a pitch of near lunacy, was actually quite relatable after recent events, having unfortunately found myself in a similar struggle before.

When I first watched this film, I admit I wasn't exactly in a good place. I'd recently reached a rather abrupt and unpleasant end to a relationship, and there were some similarities between what I experienced and what the character of Aaron experiences in the film. The immaturity in Amy's behaviour, her habit of fooling around with guys without considering their feelings and her inability to take a relationship seriously was all too familiar to me, so the film really hit me quite hard because it was tackling real life situations that I and many people I know have encountered. While Bridget Jones shows us an almost science fiction like world in which utterly repugnant, one dimensional arseholes are somehow desired by others, Trainwreck tackles genuine problems that are faced in modern relationships. This character that could in an almost sociopathic manner, play with people like toys and then run away from responsibility was uncanny. To see Amy physically unable to cope with an adult relationship and simply resort to fooling around with people regardless of their feelings is something that many people are on the receiving end of, so the film felt as though it knew exactly where its footing was, and its roots were so deeply embedded in reality it was alarming how it accurate it was. There are segments of dialogue that read almost exactly the same as certain conversations I and many other have had before, so it was clear that this film was delivering a frank and sincere message through a brutally honest narrative.

It did become increasingly difficult to watch this film as it depicts a man who is putting in effort and trying to make a relationship work, when it's obvious that it's doomed to fail if the effort does not come from both members of the relationship. It was a scenario I was familiar with, and while it is something that has been explored in comedy numerous times, I felt that this film managed to bring something new to the table and tackle the issue in a way that I've possibly not seen before. The arguing and the bickering evoked thoughts of my own experiences and that of my friends too, particularly as one member of the relationship is trying their hardest. I'm not about to shame anyone for their sexual proclivities, but I think it is somewhat seflish and hurtful for a person to engage in sexual activity with other people whilst they are in a relationship with someone, which is something this film explores with a degree of maturity and honesty.

If I am perfectly honest I was expecting this film to quite immature. I wrongly made assumptions that this would the typical 'pie in the face' comedy that America so often provides us with, but in reality it was an intelligent and three dimensional piece of cinema, that understands humans. So often we see comedies in which totally unlikable people treat other people in the most despicable way and yet still get their happy ending without actually changing as a person, which would not happen in reality. With Trainwreck there is a happy ending of sorts, but it's something that the characters have to work towards. The whole film is teeming with honesty and it makes it feel so much more mature, much like some of Woody Allen's earlier work in which we see actual breaks from the comedy that allow melancholia to seep through the cracks. There are moments of this film that actually reminded me of one of the famous quotes from Annie Hall in which the two main characters come to the mutual decision that their relationship is over, and the character of Alvy remarks "a relationship is like a shark, it has to constantly move forwards or it dies. And I think what we've got on our hands is a dead shark" which is such a mature thing for someone to say, to actually admit that their relationship is no longer healthy and to set about moving forwards. That is very much the tone that is present throughout the last act of Trainwreck as we see mature adults taking matters into their own hands and changing something they are not happy with, which was so refreshing to see.

It's strange, because I know I really enjoyed this film, and yet the melancholic elements that were relatable didn't ruin my experience or make me think any less of it. In all honesty I think it made the film more special to me, because at once it managed to speak directly to me as someone in a bad and similar place, and to cheer me up and lift my spirits. It was difficult to see a young man being far too magnanimous for his own good and for his feelings to get trampled on, but the film also brings a flicker of hope. The focus is not solely on dysfunctional relationships and people that make those around them miserable, it's far more focused on moving forwards as a person, focusing on yourself and doing what makes you happy. It wasn't quite as optimistic as films like Silver Linings Playbook or Little Miss Sunshine, but it was enough to make me think "yeah fuck it, it's not all bad news. Live for tomorrow and all that bollocks." And I know some people will be questioning my judgement of this film based on the timing, but I have watched it several times since and my opinion has only been enhanced.

I suppose I can summarise my argument by repeating what I said at the very beginning, I feel as though I owe Amy Schumer an apology. I sat down to watch Trainwreck with a horrible predisposition, and actually found it to be an entertaining and often emotional experience. It was not of the same low substance, lowest common denominator nonsense that largely constitutes modern comedy, but was instead the epitome of the diamond in the rough, a film that truly stands out in an otherwise bleak genre. There is one moment in particular that acts as something of a metaphor which shows this film's place in cinema, and it's a simple moment in which two of the characters sit on a famous bench with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. While it may not mean an awful lot to many, for me it shows a changing of times, because this shot is meant to pay homage to films such as Manhattan, showing that while once New York was the territory of comedic writers such as Woody Allen, it now belongs to new writers such as Amy Schumer.

This is the time of new writers, and it is films such as Trainwreck that will stand the test of time.