I enjoyed this movie, not as much as I wanted to as I entered the theater. I love Amy Schumer and Bill Hader, and I'm a big Judd Apatow fan. I thought the premise of the movie was interesting (this from Universal Pictures): "Since she was a little girl, it's been drilled into Amy's head by her rascal of a dad that monogamy isn't realistic. Now a magazine writer, Amy lives by that credo - enjoying what she feels is an uninhibited life free from stifling, boring romantic commitment - but in actuality, she's kind of in a rut. When she finds herself starting to fall for the subject of the new article she's writing, a charming and successful sports doctor named Aaron Conners, Amy starts to wonder if other grown-ups, including this guy who really seems to like her, might be on to something." It struck me as a kind of gender role reversal: Isn't always the GUYS who are commitment-phobic and just want to have fun? Here's are some of the things I enjoyed about the movie: * The actors and their performances are all top notch. Schumer is... well... Schumer and that is fine by me because she is a gifted comic actor who is extremely comfortable in her skin on screen. Lots of great supporting actors, too, including LeBron James who has fun making fun of himself and generally just acting out. * The awkward humor which runs throughout the movie is at times hysterical and even when not top notch funny. * There are some great set pieces. I don't mean that in the traditional sense, although there are a couple of big scenes like the Final Struggle (such as it is) at the very end. I mean big moments arising from what are in effect small scenes in scope. Basically comic bits. One would expect that because they are, in effect, sketches woven into the narrative, and since Schumer TV background is sketch-oriented, there is a comfort level there. However this is the basis for one of my critiques of the movie (more later). * Brie Larson. Have adored her since I saw her in Short Term 12. * Judd Apatow movies succeed when they are not only funny, but have a strong emotional core. Trainwreck has several emotional touch points: Father-daughter relationship, sister relationship, and of course man-woman romance. My critiques: * The narrative is quite episodic. Part of that is due to the several time jumps (I think the movie spanned about 8-12 months) and some of the transitions were really abrupt. My guess is Apatow and Schumer figured target audience wouldn't really give a hoot, especially if they connected with Schumer's character, that bond and concern for what happened to her carrying them from one scene to the next, even the ones with disjunctive transitions. But for me, there were so many inartful jumps, that yanked me out of the story several times. * Part of that episodic feel is due to the sketch feel to some of the humor. There is a kind of pattern where there are a few scenes which hang together in a nice flow of action, then a comic sketch bit, which is funny in and of itself, generally tethered to the Protagonist's emotional journey, but too often jumping to another scene with little thought to the transition itself. In other words, the sketch scenes underscored the episodic feel of the story. * Some of the plot machinations seemed forced. Amy getting a phone call while Aaron is receiving an award, his sudden anger about that, their argument, then her taking the whole "never go to sleep angry" line and running with it for (presumably) hours fulminating about her feelings at Aaron's expense (blown surgery the next morning), all of that came across as more about the filmmakers trying to get to the couple splitting up as part of a necessary plot choice rather than something that felt innate to the characters. But all in all, I liked the movie quite a bit. Found myself laughing a lot and enjoyed the couple's reunion at the end (Amy's dance routine really highlights her great skills at physical comedy). What did you think about Trainwreck?

HI Scott -- I saw this yesterday. And I loved it. It exceeded my expectations -- which is always a good thing when going in to see a movie, I think. I've only seen it once, and my first pass is usually just about taking the ride. I think I liked it because (a) Amy looks like a real person; (b) while I agree it appears to be a role reversal, I actually think more women than you might think have a similar experience in their 20's (and possibly later), so it has a ring of truth for me; (c) it made me feel something on many levels -- it is very funny and I laughed my ass off at times; it is also touching, especially (for me) the relationship between the sisters. And Amy evolves in a nice way. I was so excited to see many of my favorites in the cast -- Tilda Swinton is off the hook good (as usual). I'm also a big Brie Larson fan -- since United States of Tara. I was happy to see Mike Birgiblia, too. And it was fun to see LeBron James do such a fun send up of himself. I do plan to go back and see it again with a more critical eye. I'm also looking forward to reading the analysis here during the coming week. Do you know if the screenplay is out there to read? Thanks! Susan W.

Glad you enjoyed the movie, Susan. It's certainly the kind of movie I want to support: a mid-budget ($35M) original (i.e., not a sequel, remake, etc) comedy. And you represent more of the primary target demo than me. While the humor is obviously the centerpiece of the film, I wonder how many viewers, such as yourself, found the sister storyline to be "touching". We cannot discount the importance of that emotional touch points in a story like this or else it's all just gags. As I say, Apatow recognizes this and I'm sure his work as producer and director on the movie helped Schumer in crafting the script. Speaking of the script... email me.

Hi Scott, I actually had the opportunity to see this movie twice already and I had a few thoughts on it as well. 1. I loved the character that Amy created. Being young and stupid is something I fully understand right now, and I think she captured that very well in the character of Amy in the story. This was a character I felt a sort of kinship with. 2. I am also a huge fan of Brie Larson(Short Term 12 is an amazing movie) and I think her performance was instrumental in making this movie successful. The relationship between Amy and her sister, and even her sister's family, was instrumental in constructing Amy's growth throughout the story. 3. The film tried to depend on "Star Power" to a certain extant. Whether it was Tilda Swinton as her obnoxious boss, John Cena as her overly-sensitive boyfriends, or the cast of SNL popping up here and there, there were some quit notable celebrities in the film. This wasn't an entirely negative things, such as Lebron's excellent performance, but I feel like some of the screen time could have been given to some of the character's that contributed more to the story, like Brie Larson's family. That is all I had to say about this movie. All in all, I thought the movie was very enjoyable and it seemed like Amy Schumer did a very excellent job writing it.

Thanks, Lance, for your observations. Your first point is a HUGE one, that Amy's character was one you "felt a sort of kinship with." I call this "audience identification" which is one of the most important goals we have as writers when crafting a Protagonist character: create a connection / points of emotional resonance between the P and the audience. At the base level of the process, that means script readers, agents and managers, development executives, etc, what they perceive the target audience will respond to as well as (hopefully) something in their own life experience with which they can relate. In a way, Amy's story in Trainwreck falls into the classic narrative archetype: Innocence to Experience. She begins her journey in a state of delayed adolescence, partying down and pursuing a surface level of what she perceives to be 'enjoyment'. Over time, she realizes there are deeper levels of meaning to life. We'll get into that discussion later on in the series. But you captured Amy's beginning state quite well: "young and stupid". She is, as Joseph Campbell says of Heroes at the beginning of their journey, "making do," and she needs to grow up. One cannot overlook the influence of her father and his negative message about monogamy. More on that later. Glad you enjoyed the movie and again, thanks for your thoughts!

This was a movie that I would normally never even think about watching. But you know, its actually pretty damn good :) It is full of rather "awkward humour", but it brings back a lot of memories of fumbling through dating :)

Kenny, awkward humor has always been a thing, but this current crop of young comic actors have really taken it to the next level. Perfect example: When Amy and Steven are mid-intercourse, and she asks him to talk dirty to her. He tries not once... not twice... not three times... not four times... but at least five different times (it may have been six). I'm sure they improvised dozens of different takes, then chose the best ones knowing that he would climax with the bit about thinking Amy was a man when he saw her from behind the first time. In fact if you check out the red band trailer here, there was even ANOTHER talk dirty bit -- where Steven is describing himself working out -- which did not make it into the movie. The point is one key to awkward humor is to keep going to the well, over and over to the point of extreme. Glad you enjoyed the movie, Kenny. I'm not a big rom com fan - and this is probably more a comedy with romance (this is actually a distinction development people in Hollywood actually make) - but I liked this movie, too.

Hi everyone! Finally got to see the film today ... enjoyed it. I did feel it was missing some of the punch I normally get from Amy's show and standup, though ... perhaps in an attempt to appeal to a broader audience? Not sure. It felt as though a good number of the joke beats were off, or underplayed. There were also a decent number of throwback/"in" jokes that younger audience members seemed to miss ... the Woody Allen one, for one ... (on that note, I really enjoyed those little moments where she spoke directly to the audience). My overall feeling was that the team put together a better dramatic film, than they did a comedy. Amy's interaction with Brie's character was top notch, and the funeral scene was beyond perfect. Also, speaking of appealing to the audience, having grown up watching Colin Quinn since his MTV days, it was a bit heartbreaking to see him play a grandfather who later dies in the film. My feelings around this connection were partly me relating to getting older myself, and him acting out of "character" in a serios role. Another fine performance. All of the acting was great, and the many cameos of comedians and sports starts was fun to see. There were a few "bridge" scenes that felt a bit off to me ... the intervention scene, in particular, and the Daniel Radcliff stuff to name two. I loved the final scene ... Amy clearly had a lot of fun with it, and it was indeed heartwarming. Oh, and Allistair's line to Amy about planning out things for Minecraft instead of "winging it" was a nice "mentor" touch. So, overall an enjoyable film! Thanks for offering it up for discussion, Scott!

As far as characters go... While looking through reviews and analysis of the movie, I felt people missed so much about Amy's character and her struggles to move forward. She wasn't just “young and dumb” and she definitely wasn't a “slut.” She was struggling to hold on to a child-like love for both of her parents, when one of them felt entitled to sex to the degree where he threw away his family for it. This messed with her head. Her father took his faults and failings as a human being and insisted that he was just a natural person with a sex-drive, instead of a cheater. He was in denial of himself, and so was Amy for a long time. I think the love and connection she felt for him didn’t want to believe his short comings, so she just believed all of his excuses. Her sister Kim has a more realistic perception of her father, and this bugs Amy and puts tension between them. She doesn't only disagree with her Kim about her father himself, but the way her sister has distanced herself from the ideas that he represents. I think Kim ripping the Mets poster and Amy protesting was symbolism that Amy had more respect for her father (even though she had previously stated that she thought sports fans were stupid), than her sister. In the end Amy learns to accept her father and still love him for who he was, without accepting all of his terrible and hurtful ideas that limited her. She realizes that some people can handle monogamy, and if you’re with the right person love is more important than sex.

Good analysis, Doc. Funny, I had a similar reaction to Colin Quinn's appearance. Once he reappeared (after the "monogamy isn't realistic" intro) and I realized he was going to have his own subplot, it took me a few seconds to wrap my head around him being in the movie. But as you say, he was excellent. Glad you mentioned that intervention scene as that really did stick out. The whole Marv Albert calling the action schtick is a not so subtle 'homage' to that great scene in Woody's Allen's "Bananas" with Howard Cosell (which you can see here). In Allen's movie, it felt right in place tone-wise. In "Trainwreck"... not so much. Took me completely out of the story. Great catch with Allistair's character. Yes, a Mentor moment for sure. Glad you enjoyed the movie!

That's a strong take on Amy's psychological journey, Virginia, one I am much in line with. We mentioned elsewhere in the discussion last week how her journey can be viewed as a maturation process. She has to move to a more nuanced point of understanding whereby she can separate her father's 'propaganda' about monogamy from her feelings for her father. His death is frankly a key to her being able to do that and the funeral is a significant step in that journey, admitting both that she loved him and that he could be a real asshole. And again, as you suggest, she realizes monogamy can work for some people... including (potentially) herself. I suspect you're right, a lot of people only experienced the movie at the humor level, but quite a few of my friends and associates did connect with its emotional and psychological dynamics. Thanks for your comments. I think you're spot on!

Excellent feedback, Virginia, ... great point about Amy being torn about the vision of her father ...