Critics: Amy Schumer's "Trainwreck" is anything but
Amy Schumer, Bill Hader and Judd Apatow have teamed up to flip the rom-com formula for "Trainwreck," a new film premiering July 17.
In the film, directed by Apatow and written by Schumer, a commitment-phobic Amy (Amy Schumer) meets her match in Aaron (Bill Hader) who makes her question if her anti-dating compulsion is making her free or holding her back.
In the movie, a hard-drinking, hard-working Amy has sex with boatloads of men yet scorns all their advances of romantic commitment. Aaron, on the other hand, is a milquetoast knee surgeon who, despite hanging out with Lebron James (playing himself) on a regular basis, remains physically and emotionally fragile. Mix in a hefty helping of Judd Apatow's storytelling and the resulting romantic comedy blend appeals to critics.
"This is definitely a more realistic take, from my point of view," Schumer said in an interview.
Here's what critics have to say about "Trainwreck":
"Schumer raises Apatow's game beautifully. Her biting, pitch-black wit and his penchant for character-driven comedy go together like gin and tonic." - Jacob Hall, New York Daily News
"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." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"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 (no matter how crude the jokes) and timing that transcend chromosomes." - Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
"If you're looking for something radical, you'd be best to stick with Schumer's television show. Trainwreck is just good fun, and a lot of it at that." - Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press
"[Schumer] takes the romantic-comedy heroine and the onscreen treatment of feminism to places they've seldom, if ever, been before." - Dana Stevens, Slate
"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." - Alfonso Duralde, TheWrap
"'Trainwreck' is a corrective to a lot of outdated clichés.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." - Sara Stewart, New York Post
"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." - Brian Truitt, USA Today
"For her first big-screen lead, the Comedy Central star has penned a perfect vehicle to show off her brazen personality and wicked tongue." - Jon Niccum, Kansas City Star