TRAINWRECK

A female led comedy without Melissa McCarthy involved is something of a rarity these days. Ever since the success of Bridesmaids, McCarthy has been the biggest female comedic actor in Hollywood. With the release of Trainwreck though, there is a new name on the block and a challenger to McCarthy's reign at the top. That name is Amy Schumer and believe me, it's a name you will hear a lot more of in the near future.

Trainwreck stars Schumer as Amy, a fun-loving woman who was taught at a young age by her father that monogamy isn't a realistic way of life. With that in mind, Amy has lived her life having one night stand after one night stand, with her one rule being; never let them or herself stay over for the night.

Amy works as a writer at a magazine and when assigned to write an article on sports doctor, Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), she finds herself facing her biggest fears. Living by the lesson her father taught her at a young age, Amy has issues with commitment so when she starts to grow an attraction towards Aaron, she has a bit of a meltdown while trying to settle down with Aaron.

What I liked most about Trainwreck was that, like Bridesmaids, it wasn't your usual chick flick full of cliches and unreasonable portrayals of the ideal man. It was vulgar and full of dirty jokes, which is how I like my comedies. I also liked the way the roles in the film didn't follow the typical romantic comedy formula, with Amy being the woman afraid of commitment and Aaron being the clingy male in the relationship instead.

Amy Schumer is very good in her first lead role, showing some fine comedic chops and perfect comedy timing. Schumer becomes even more impressive though when realising that she wrote the whole thing herself. It's a very funny script with some genuinely hilarious moments so it is no surprised that Judd Apatow picked it up to direct.

Schumer is joined by Bill Hader, who I've always been a fan of, and he doesn't disappoint either. He can do the silly comedy as well as the more serious stuff and in Trainwreck, we see him lean more towards the serious side, while sharing a good chemistry with Schumer.

There is also hilarious support in the form of John Cena as Steven, one of Schumer's hook-ups, and LeBron James as himself, Aaron's best friend in the film. LeBron James had almost a natural deadpan delivery which served his character well but John Cena's two scenes had me laughing my head off.

Look out for an appearance from Tilda Swinton as Amy's boss. While her character is pretty annoying, Swinton is unrecognisable in this film.

The main issue I had with Trainwreck was that, like a few of Apatow's films, it has a pretty lengthy runtime for a comedy. There is a lot packed in, some of it unnecessary, that makes the film sag in the middle, similar to Knocked Up but nowhere near as much as the drab This Is 40. 

For me, Trainwreck is the funniest film of 2015 so far and will no doubt make a star out of Amy Schumer. Whoever says women can't be funny is quite clearly very wrong indeed.

Verdict: ★★★½