Shameless Truths
August 19, 2015
Trainwreck (2015).
D: Judd Apatow. DP: Jody Lee Lipps. W: Amy Schumer. Starring: Amy Schumer/Bill Hader/Colin Quinn/Brie Larson/Tilda Swinton/Vanessa Bayer/LeBron James/Mike Birbiglia/Evan Brinkman/Randall Parl/Ezra Miller/Jon Glaser.
If you don’t know who Amy Schumer is at this point you might need to move to a new rock to live under. Whether or not you have seen her three years running comedy central show or any of her stand up specials, you will at least have seen her on a magazine cover or sadly express her condolences to the families of the two women killed in Lafayette, LA in a screening of this film. I do not want to dwell on the shooting as it’s painful being from Louisiana myself, safe to say she handled it with aplomb.
Regardless the Schumer penned first time acting film Trainwreck is the sort of modernistic romantic comedy you can enjoy. Rather than soapy clean rom coms like Something Borrowed or struggling adult ones like How Do You Know, Trainwreck barrels ahead with a lead who is messy and complex. The film follows Schumer as Amy in a period of her life where her ill father (Colin Quinn) is moved into a nursing home by her and her sister Kim (Brie Larson). At different places in their life with Kim married and stepmother, Amy struggles to deal with her father and a job at a men’s magazine where she is not writing work she’s really proud of. On an assignment to interview successful sports doctor Aaron Conners (Bill Hader) she grabs drinks with him and sleeps with him and he actually calls her again.
Schumer has publicly said she did not write the film for her to star rather for Judd Apatow to direct. This is in fact his first directorial effort on a script he did not write himself. But what Schumer is able to do is balance a touching journey with her ill father and different sister with practical 30-something trails of dating and workplace slumps. Hitting a lot of typical romantic comedy beats Schumer in voiceover makes fun of them yet uses them to expose her character’s decision to not have expectations or work through much in relationships. Rather than say Mindy Kaling’s interpretation of rom coms, here they are something to work against.
Trainwreck is similar in tone to Bridesmaids in its open humor about sex, with Schumer’s own twist on the female perspective. Schumer does well enough though her performance is derivative of her standup and her own persona. Yet she has excellent chemistry with SNL veteran Hader who is well cast here. The couple’s connection seems authentic and despite the film’s adherence to some rom com rules they seem to connect realistically. Quinn is touching as Amy’s father, but the steal away is probably Tilda Swinton as Amy’s magazine boss whose tight one liners are all the better coming from Swinton. Brie Larson is still one of my favorite young actresses out there, just see Short Term 12, just do it now.
Ultimately, Trainwreck packs most of its laughs in the first two acts and has maybe a few too many I love NY style shots. Also, the cameos border on Apatow ridiculous levels towards the end, which is frankly too much with Aaron’s already annoying friendship with basketball super star LeBron James. It’s a good first feature for a strong female voice and one that lets herself be a little bit messy and work through it. It might not be for everyone, but it’s different and shameless and that’s a great way to be.
A Love Letter to Pixar
August 7, 2015
Inside Out (2015).
D: Pete Doctor & Ronaldo Del Carmen. W: Story credit to Doctor/Del Carmen and script to Josh Cooley & Meg LeFauve. Voice talents of: Amy Poehler/Phyllis Smith/Mindy Kaling/Bill Hader/Lewis Black/Diane Lane/Kaitlyn Dais/Kyle MacLachlan/Richard Kind.
Each time Pixar rolls out a new film I think most of us get secretly excited, despite our age. No matter if you are not a fan of animation, there seems to always be a Pixar film that hits home to everyone. To sound wonderfully cliche, Inside Out has something in it for everyone.
Exploring the inner emotions of eleven year old Riley, Inside Out attempts to make three dimensional the emotions she feels. Inside her head are Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust. All aptly voiced, it is their distinct reactions to Riley’s life, memories, and choices that propel the film’s narrative as she moves from ice hockey central Minnesota to miserable San Francisco. As little Riley experiences changes so do her emotions as a crisis leads her core memories, shaped like crystal balls, up and out the wrong dispensary tube. Joy and Sadness are sucked up with them and begin their journey to restore Riley.
Much like computer animated 2009’s Up and the three Toy Story films, Inside Out animates people as well as beings. There is a wonderful contrast between the heightened features and shapes of the emotions and the world Riley experiences. Despite the brightness of the film it never reads as cheap. Joy, wonderfully interpreted by SNL alum Amy Poehler, appears to shimmer on screen, radiating the warmth and happiness she represents. She is nearly outdone by beautiful little Sadness who is voiced by NBC’s The Office alum Phyllis Smith. Harkening back to Brad Bird’s Edna in 2004’s The Incredibles, Sadness balances Joy’s energy literally and metaphorically. At one point Joy must physically drag Sadness around, a feeling children and adults can relate to.
The Inside Out journey is universally non-sentimental and has enough charm to sustain the whole film. Honorable mention must be made to Richard King’s voiced Bing Bong, Riley’s imaginary friend found in her stacks of filed away memories. Moments with him, much like Jessie’s under the bed abandonment by her owner in 1999’s Toy Story 2, are haunting. The experience of childhood so fleeting it is forgotten and must give way to the next stage. Thanks to Pixar those moments can feel a bit closer, much like the laughter and cries from the children in the audience. Fleeting, but part of the experience.