Trainwreck (film)


Trainwreck is a 2015 American romantic comedy film directed by Judd Apatow and written by Amy Schumer. The film stars Schumer and Bill Hader along with an ensemble cast that includes Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, John Cena, Vanessa Bayer, Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller, and LeBron James. The film is about a hard-drinking, promiscuous, free-spirited young magazine writer named Amy Townsend who has her first serious relationship with a prominent orthopedic surgeon named Aaron Conners.
Principal photography began on May 19, 2014, in New York City. The film premiered at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival on March 15, 2015, and was released theatrically in the United States on July 17, 2015, by Universal Pictures. The film won several awards and was nominated for numerous others, including two Golden Globe Awards and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Plot

Gordon Townsend tells his two young daughters Amy and Kim that he and their mother are divorcing because monogamy is not realistic, repeating it like a mantra. Twenty-three years later, Amy is a heavy-drinking party girl who sleeps around while writing for a men's magazine. She is in a casual relationship with a gym-addict named Steven, who was attracted to her because he first thought she "looked like a dude". Her cold-hearted English boss, Dianna, assigns her to write an article about a sports doctor named Aaron Conners.
While Amy is interviewing Aaron, she receives a text from Kim insisting they move Gordon to a cheaper assisted-living facility. Amy starts to hyperventilate, but Aaron calms her down and suggests they get food. Over dinner, he compliments her writing and she learns about his family. After some drinks, at Amy's suggestion, they go to his place and have sex. Amy stays the night, at Aaron's suggestion, which is a departure from her rule of never sleeping over with a man with whom she has had sex.
The next day, Aaron calls to ask if they can see each other again. Amy panics and tells him they will talk about it at the interview. She and her friend Nikki decide she has to end it. Meanwhile, Aaron's friend, LeBron James, is excited for him since Aaron has not dated anyone in six years. Amy goes to watch Aaron perform surgery to Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl", his favorite song. Afterwards, she tries to break things off. He insists they like each other and should date. Amy then gets a phone call that her father has had a fall. Aaron drives her to the home where he tends to her father.
Aaron and Amy begin dating and fall for each other. Amy is worried she is going to mess up the relationship, but Kim tells her she is just doing what everyone else does. Gordon takes a stockpile of his medication, overdoses, and dies. At his funeral, Amy accuses Kim of not caring about Gordon as she has always been more sympathetic towards him and has developed a similar outlook on relationships and life in general over the years. The resulting argument causes them to have a falling-out. Shortly thereafter, Aaron tells her, for the first time, that he loves Amy, who berates him for choosing that particular day to start saying that to her.
Aaron receives a prestigious award at a luncheon and brings Amy. While making his speech, Amy gets a call from her boss Dianna, who threatens to fire her if she does not answer. She chooses to take the call and leaves during his speech. Afterwards, Aaron is upset that Amy missed the ceremony, and they start arguing. They return to her apartment, but Aaron thinks they should not go to bed angry, so Amy rants all night. The next day, Aaron is too tired to operate on Amar'e Stoudemire and tells Amy that they need to take a break. Hurt, Amy reacts by telling him that it is fine.
Amy goes out drinking with her co-workers, including an intern, who invites her back to his place; their bizarre sexual encounter is interrupted when his mom enters and reveals that he is only 16. The next day, Dianna fires Amy for the incident. Aaron is moping in his apartment until LeBron calls, claiming he has been injured. Aaron rushes over to find an intervention for him consisting of LeBron, Matthew Broderick, Chris Evert, and Marv Albert. They tell him he has always been afraid of opening up and needs to make things right with Amy, but Aaron insists things with Amy are over.
Amy visits Kim to make amends and tell her everything that has been happening in her life; Amy is comforted by Kim and her family with a group hug. Amy decides it is time to change and clears out all the alcohol from her apartment. She takes her Aaron story to Vanity Fair, where it ends up getting published, and sends a copy of the magazine with the story to Aaron. After attending a game at Madison Square Garden, Aaron is called back to the court, where the Knicks City Dancers perform with Amy front and center, performing to Aaron's favorite songs, including "Uptown Girl". She tells him she wants to make their relationship work. They confess their love for each other and kiss, and everyone applauds.

Cast

On August 26, 2013, Universal Studios optioned an untitled script written by Amy Schumer that she would also star in. On November 27, 2013, it was announced that Judd Apatow would direct the film. On January 8, 2014, it was announced that the film would be released on July 24, 2015. On January 30, 2014, Bill Hader joined the cast of the film. On February 18, 2014, Brie Larson also joined the cast. On March 28, 2014, Colin Quinn, Barkhad Abdi, Mike Birbiglia, Jon Glaser, Vanessa Bayer, John Cena, Ezra Miller, and Tilda Swinton were cast in the film, though Abdi ultimately did not appear in it. On May 7, 2014, Method Man and LeBron James joined the cast of the film. On June 30, Daniel Radcliffe was spotted filming some scenes for the film, which confirmed his casting. On July 1, Marisa Tomei was also confirmed to appear, in scenes with Radcliffe. In an interview with The New York Times, Schumer revealed that she and Apatow dismissed their first idea for a story, and shifted to an amplified and comedic version of Schumer's own past as its basis.

Filming

began on May 19, 2014, in New York City. On June 2, the crew began filming in the area of Manhattan and Long Island. Principal photography ended on August 1, 2014. Editing on the movie began with the start of filming; the movie was finalized in December 2014.

Music

composed the music for the film.

Reception

Box office

Trainwreck grossed $110.2 million in North America and $30.6 million in other territories for a total gross of $140.8 million, against a budget of $35 million.
In the United States and Canada, Trainwreck opened on July 17, 2015, the same day as the superhero film Ant-Man. Initial projections had the film opening to around $20 million, with The Hollywood Reporter noting that it could overperform if it was popular with females or underperform given how R-rated comedies had struggled over the summer, with both Ted 2 and Magic Mike XXL failing to meet expectations. It made $1.8 million on Thursday night showings, which began at 8 p.m. in 2,363 theaters, and $10.7 million on its opening day. Through its opening weekend, it grossed $30.1 million in 3,158 theaters, exceeding expectations. This was Apatow's second-biggest debut as a director and the sixth-biggest debut for a film that he was involved in as a writer, director or producer. The film played 69% female with 66% over 25 years old, which is typical for an R-rated comedy. According to a poll conducted by Rentrak in its opening weekend, 28% of respondents said they went to see the film because of Schumer.

Lafayette shooting

On July 23, 2015, a mass shooting occurred at the Grand 16 movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana during a screening of the movie that resulted in two dead and nine injured.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 282 reviews, with an average rating of 7.22/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Trainwreck drags commitment out of all but the most rom-com-phobic filmgoers with sharp humor, relatable characters, and hilarious work from Amy Schumer." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 45 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.
Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying, "Schumer and Hader are wonderful together. Gender inequity in the world of comedy deserves all the overdue attention it's getting, and more. But there are matters of craft, wit and timing that transcend chromosomes." Richard Roeper of The Chicago Sun Times praised the performances of the cast, particularly Schumer, Hader, Quinn, and James. He also called Schumer's performance worthy of an Academy Award nomination. Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, stating, "Judd Apatow's latest is rough around the edges, but his focus on a female protagonist refreshes a genre in sore need of change". Ian Crouch, writing for The New Yorker, singled out LeBron James' performance for praise, writing that "it seems safe to declare that he has given the greatest motion-picture acting performance by an active professional basketball player of all time." Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+, saying, "Beneath all of his bad-boy shtick, Apatow's always been a pretty conventional moralist. But Schumer gives their raunchy rom-com enough of her signature spikiness to prevent it from ever feeling predictable." Jacob Hall of the New York Daily News gave the film four out of five stars, saying, "Schumer raises Apatow's game beautifully. Her biting, pitch-black wit and his penchant for character-driven comedy go together like gin and tonic." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "Sweet is not how Schumer wants Trainwreck to go down. She wants to explode rom-com clichés and replace them with something fierce and ready to rumble. Done."
Sara Stewart of the New York Post gave the film four out of four stars, saying "Trainwreck is a corrective to a lot of outdated clichés. It's very funny and sweet and even a little weepy, and it has maybe the best scene ever filmed of dirty talk gone wrong." Ty Burr of The Boston Globe gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Trainwreck serves as confirmation that a star is born, a seemingly average woman whose above-average superpowers include reminding us of our own. Where she goes from here should be fascinating to watch." Brian Truitt of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars, saying "With films such as Funny People and This Is 40, Apatow has toyed with finding the right blend of the serious and the hilarious and finally hits it here." Moira MacDonald of The Seattle Times gave the film three out of four stars, saying, "There's nothing remotely fresh about this plotline, but Trainwreck works as comedy more often than it doesn't—and that's rare enough." Alonso Duralde of The Wrap said, "Ultimately comes down in favor of mainstream girl-gets-boy in a way that Inside Amy Schumer might find a little dubious, but it never feels like Schumer is aggressively watering down her uniquely prickly brand of comedy for a mass audience."

Accolades