REVIEW: Trainwreck

8/10 - Is The Dogwalker also a movie? I'd watch the hell out of that. 

2015 was the year of Amy Schumer. Her show Inside Amy Schumer went into its third season, winning a Peabody Award. She hosted the MTV Movie Awards, and opened for Madonna on her latest tour. She had a stand-up comedy special on HBO, and in the middle of all that, she wrote and starred in this film. I assume in 2016 she'll take a nap then do it all again.

Trainwreck is a return to form for comedy director/producer Judd Apatow. It's about a party-girl slash commitaphobe, Amy (Schumer) who finds herself falling in love with celebrity sports doctor, Aaron (Bill Hader). It feels like a very successful marriage of Schumer's brand of raunchy comedy, and the character stories that Apatow is drawn to.

While Amy's character might seem familiar to those who watch her show, it's a refreshing change of pace for romantic comedies. Even the most die hard rom-com fan has to admit, the all-work-and-no-play trope has really run it's course for women in these movies. Turning the tables put Amy's character in the front and center as by far the most interesting person in the film.

What came as a surprise was the amount of heart in the movie. Comedies lately don't seem to even need a story, just a loosely stitched together series of events. When Bill Hader's character begins dating Amy, I was waiting for the film to go off the rails. Maybe influenced by Judd Apatow, the story stayed realistic instead of veering into improvised lines. both Schumer and Hader showed refined dramatic chops. Hader was the perfect charming boyfriend, and Schumer showed a lot of vulnerability in her relationships, especially the scenes with her father, Colin Quinn. Just more proof that these two are big movie stars in the making.

The athletes that crossed over into acting for this film were some of the funniest cast members. John Cena plays a dimwitted boyfriend of Amy's with some of the best lines in the whole film. LeBron James plays a fictional version of himself who could star in his own spin off.

One of the best takeaways from Trainwreck is Tilda Swinton. She is absolutely unrecognizable as Amy's boss and magazine editor Dianna. Apparently her character was inspired by Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld, but it reminded me of a toxic combination Anna Wintour and Janice Dickinson. Tilda has been transforming herself on screen for years, but this transformation is so dramatic it should up up there with Charlize Theron in Monster.

If Trainwreck had been a funnier movie with over the top comedy sketches it would be a great disservice to the talent in the film. It's an old story told in a new, refreshing way. Definitely a standout for 2015.

IMBd - Trainwreck (6.5)

Wikipedia - Trainwreck

Rotten Tomatoes - Trainwreck (85%)

Amazon.ca - Trainwreck

REVIEW: Ant-Man

5/10 - Honey I Shrunk the Franchise

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has really become this behemoth of films. Among the cannon, I somewhat forgot about Ant-Man and when I sat down to watch it, I was hoping it would be more of a stand alone comedy type film, something to stand apart from the usual Marvel fare. While Guardians was funny, it was also establishing a massive sci-fi universe, and Iron Man is an action franchise. Paul Rudd is more romantic comedy hero, then Avengers hero. There was this potential to poke fun at the Marvel hero franchise and make a really great movie. 

Instead, Ant-Man shrinks among the superhero competition. Ant-Man stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, the criminal with a heart of gold. He's conned into wearing the Ant-Man suit by the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). They collaborate with Pym's daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) to battle the bad guy who wants to do bad things for bad reasons, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) aka Yellowjacket. 

Ant-Man reminds me quite a lot of the 2011 Seth Rogen vehicle, The Green Hornet. Both films were action movies that should have been funny, but weren't. I couldn't help but feel like Ant-Man was a different movie being crammed into the Marvel formula. There is no reason to cast Paul Rudd other than to make that character funny and charming. I can't say Scott Lang was either. Rudd is pretty established in the types of roles he plays, which is why this film felt like there was so much untapped potential. 

Michael Douglas is a respectable mentor for Ant-Man. He makes a good straight man for jokes, because on paper Hank has the personality of oatmeal. Douglas has that enough on-screen charisma to make it work, and he seems like a guy you want in your corner. Evangeline Lilly is sports a shockingly unflattering haircut that seems to steal every scene she's in. Corey Stoll is a great

character actor, but this role is pretty silly. He's somehow the head of what can only be a massively expensive military defense experiment and yet is clearly deranged. It's always disappointing to me when movie bad guys don't have a good back story. 

I think the right path for Ant-Man was to keep the scope of the Ant-Man universe small. By referencing the Avengers, and taking the story into Spider-man territory, Ant-Man forces itself to compete with those films. It just doesn't hold up. At it's heart, Ant-Man is a heist movie, using Rudd's charisma as a cat burglar, and the size advantage of an ant to pull the heist of the century. What happens is Ant-Man ends up in a fist punching battle with a literal army of Ants riding into war. Ant-Man lost the battle with a training montage. At no point should Paul Rudd's super power be throwing a fist. I love the guy, but I just don't buy it. 

IMDb - Ant-Man (7.5)
Wikipedia - Ant-Man
Rotten Tomatoes - Ant-Man (79%)
Amazon.ca - Ant-Man