Trainwreck is a celebration of a woman's independence. Amy Schumer is no train wreck, but a statement of a woman's right to promiscuity and not to be disparaged because of her desire for many sexual partners. Oh, heck, Romeo was admired, but a female Romeo is a slut! Not true says the adorable, talented witty Amy Schumer! Schumer's father drills into her when she was a child that monogamy was not realistic. Oh ,yeah, and Goldie Hawn has said that she does not know anyone in Hollywood who wants to be faithful.
In Trainwreck we have a modern day heroine who tries and tries to love men, but sends them out of her door when they fail to please her or to treat her with respect. Role reversal at its finest. With a 'man' at her helm. Yes, a man helps Schumer portray just how ridiculous many men are during the sex act. Judd Apatow. But it is Schumer's comedic timing and writing that is over the top. Still one must bless Judd Apatow for shining the light on a woman who enjoys many sexual partners much as men have for centuries.
This is a time for women. Dozens of women are speaking out against alleged rapist Bill Cosby and Apatow is championing their choirs. Girls starring Lena Dunham and which hauls ass in the 'let's get real and stop pretending we all want to be mothers' department is also championed by feminist Apatow. We have Taylor Swift singing Bad Blood in which she shouts about her bad relationships and Rachel Platton who sings Fight Song about a woman standing up for her rights. Strong women speaking up about abuse.
In Trainwreck Apatow directs Shumer and her writing with the softest kid gloves. The editing is gentle as one scene ends softly by just fading out. There is not the 'see I told ya so' kind of editing in too many films. Schumer takes the piss out of men in bed while she is doing the deed. She is strong and says to men what they have been saying to women in cinema and in life for years. She has her own determination, willfulness and courage sprinkled with self-esteem that makes for great comedy. A female set of balls. The laughter in the theater was so loud that many of the lines were missed. She is the kind of love 'em and throw 'em out leading lady that we also have in HBO's True Detective with that talented Rachel Mc Adams.
This is a rare time for women on screen. Let's hope the strength of these female characters continues into life. Bill Hader is smooth and does not miss a beat as the dude who finally wins the mercurial Schumer's heart. Lebron James is magical and one wonders how much of Apatow's fairy dust of champion directing made his performance the show stopper it is. But this story is about Schumer-- a "love em' and leave em' kinda gal" who finally falls long and hard for prince charming. She is a journalist for a magazine called S'nuff and assigned to interview Hader. Her editor, Tilda Swinton, kills Schumer's piece because she claims Hader is too boring for S'nuff. But after a night of debauchery during which Schumer has a disastrous one night stand with an underage fellow journalist at S'nuff, she is canned. Apatow and Schumer give us one heck of a finale during which we have one happy ending. Women now have Magic Mike, HBO'sTrue Detective and Trainwreck to cherish and flock to.