Trainwreck (film)

Trainwreck
File:Trainwreck poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Judd Apatow
Produced by	Judd Apatow Barry Mendel
Written by	Amy Schumer
Starring	Amy Schumer Bill Hader Brie Larson Colin Quinn John Cena Vanessa Bayer Mike Birbiglia Ezra Miller Tilda Swinton LeBron James
Music by	Jon Brion
Cinematography	Jody Lee Lipes
Edited by	Paul Zucker
Production company	Apatow Productions
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	March 15, 2015 (2015-03-15) (SXSW) July 17, 2015 (2015-07-17) (United States)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$35 million
Box office	$140.8 million

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 Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, Vanessa Bayer, John Cena and LeBron James.

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. Popular with critics, the film won numerous awards for Schumer's performance and was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Plot

Gordon Townsend (Colin Quinn) is telling his two young daughters Amy (Devin Fabry) and Kim (Carla Oudin) that he and their mother are divorcing because monogamy is not realistic, repeating it like a mantra. Twenty-three years later, Amy (Amy Schumer) is a party girl who drinks too much, smokes weed and sleeps around while dating a gym-addict named Steven (John Cena).

Amy writes for a men's magazine and her cold-hearted strict boss, Dianna (Tilda Swinton), assigns her to write an article about a sports doctor named Aaron Conners (Bill Hader).

Gordon has multiple sclerosis and has moved into a fancy assisted living home. Amy helps Kim (Brie Larson) pack Gordon's things, who throws away a lot of his Mets memorabilia, which upsets him. Kim resents her dad because he was a drunk and cheated on their mom.

Amy goes to meet Aaron to coordinate schedules for an interview. That night Amy goes to a movie with Steven, who is upset that she is drunk. Their loud conversation gets him into a fight with another moviegoer. Amy returns to the theater after going outside to smoke a joint, when Steven then asks her about all the guys on her phone, and Amy admits she sleeps with other guys. Steven is hurt, having thought they were exclusive. Being really stoned, Amy wants to end the conversation. Steven tells her she is not a nice person and leaves, crushed.

At brunch with Kim, Amy realizes that her sister is pregnant. When they visit Gordon to tell him, he is thrilled to finally have a biological grandchild. This makes Kim angry, since she says Allister, her step-son, is his grandchild. Kim leaves, furious.

While Amy interviews Aaron at the sports facility, she receives a text from Kim insisting they move Gordon to a cheaper facility. Amy starts to hyperventilate. Aaron calms her down, and suggests they get food. Over dinner, they begin to bond. He compliments her writing, she learns about his family. After some drinks, they go to his place and sleep together. Amy breaks her rule by staying the night.

The next day, Amy tells her co-worker Nikki (Vanessa Bayer) what happened, and 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 Nikki decide she has to end it. Meanwhile, Aaron's friend, LeBron James, is excited for him; Aaron has not dated anyone in five years. Amy goes to watch Aaron perform surgery to "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 dad had a fall. Aaron drives her to the home where he tends to her dad, who immediately takes a liking to Aaron.

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 finally doing what everyone else does. Amy goes with Aaron to a charity slam dunk contest hosted by LeBron. LeBron confronts Amy and asks her what her intentions are with Aaron. Confused, she assures him they are fine. Later, Amy goes to see Gordon, and he critiques her relationship with Aaron. He says he knows she is just like him; she cannot have a stable relationship. Amy leaves, angry.

Aaron and Amy attend Kim's baby shower. Tom makes a joke to Aaron about Amy's history with men, which unnerves him. A couple of days later, Kim calls her; Gordon has died, as he was hoarding his pain medication at the nursing home. Amy gives a speech at the funeral, asking everyone to "raise your hand if my dad ever offended you" and then "raise your hand if he was also one of your favorite people". After the funeral, she and Kim get into a fight; Amy says Kim did not even like Gordon anyway. Aaron tells her he loves her for the first time, but Amy tells him he picked the worst time to say it (at her father's funeral). Meanwhile, at work, Dianna tells Amy they cut Aaron's story because it was boring.

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 and they start arguing. They return to her apartment, and Aaron thinks they should not go to bed angry, so Amy lets him have it. She rants all night, even though the next day is Aaron's big surgery on Amar'e Stoudemire. Aaron shows up very tense due to lack of sleep, and Amar'e reschedules the surgery. Aaron goes home and tells Amy that they need to take a break. Hurt, Amy reacts by telling him that it is fine if they break up because the article was canceled. Aaron leaves.

Party-girl Amy returns and goes out drinking at a bar with her co-workers, including an intern. He invites her back to his place, and their bizarre sexual encounter is interrupted when his mom enters, revealing that he is only 16. The next day, Dianna fires Amy. Aaron has been 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 goes to Kim's to apologize. After she tells Kim everything that has happened, Kim tells her maybe it is time to change. Amy clears out all the alcohol from her apartment. She takes her Aaron story to Vanity Fair, where it ends up getting published, and sends it to Aaron. He successfully performs the surgery on Amar'e and attends his first game post-op. After the game, Aaron is called to the court, where the Knicks City Dancers perform with Amy front and center. The slam dunk guys come back, and Amy races and jumps off the trampoline to make a dunk and immediately lands on her face. Aaron rushes over to see if she is okay. She tells him she wanted to show him that she can work hard, and she wants to make their relationship work. She tells him she loves him, and they kiss.

Cast

• Amy Schumer as Amy Townsend
  • Devin Fabry as 9-year-old Amy
• Bill Hader as Dr. Aaron Conners
• Brie Larson as Kim Townsend
  • Carla Oudin as 5-year-old Kim
• Tilda Swinton as Dianna
• Colin Quinn as Gordon Townsend
• John Cena as Steven
• Mike Birbiglia as Tom
• Jon Glaser as Schultz
• Vanessa Bayer as Nikki
• Ezra Miller as Donald
• LeBron James as himself
• Evan Brinkman as Allister
• Cliff "Method Man" Smith as Temembe
• Norman Lloyd as Norman
• Jim Norton as Carriage Driver
• Daniel Radcliffe as The Dog Walker
• Marisa Tomei as The Dog Owner
• Randall Park as Bryson
• Keith Robinson as Guy in Back of the Theater
• Dave Attell as Noam
• Josh Segarra as Staten Island Oli
• Bobby Kelly as One-Night Stand Guy
• Dan Soder as Dumpster Guy
• Tim Meadows as Tim
• Jim Florentine as One-Night Stand Guy
• Nikki Glaser as Lisa
• Claudia O'Doherty as Wendy
• Bridget Everett as Kat
• Pete Davidson as Dr. Conners' patient
• Leslie Jones as Angry Subway Patron
• Marv Albert as himself
• Chris Evert as herself
• Matthew Broderick as himself
• Tony Romo as himself
• Amar'e Stoudemire as himself

Production

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 the film. 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 Apatow and she dismissed their first idea for a story (later revealed to have Schumer as a used-car saleswoman), and shifted to an amplified and comedic version of Schumer's own past as its basis.

Filming

Principal photography 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

Jon Brion 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 over-perform if it takes off among females or under-perform given how R-rated comedies have 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. from 2,363 theaters, and $10.7 million on its opening day. Through its opening weekend, it grossed $30.1 million from 3,158 theaters, exceeding expectations. This was Apatow's second biggest debut as a director (just behind the $30.7 million debut of Knocked Up) 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.

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 85% approval rating, based on 223 reviews, with a rating average of 7.2/10. The site'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, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an "A-" grade 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 (no matter how crude the jokes) 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 (or the way Apatow, true to form, makes the movie 20 minutes longer than it should be), 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

Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
ACE Eddie Awards	Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical	William Kerr and Paul Zucker	Nominated
Austin Film Critics Association	The Robert R. 'Bobby' McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award	Amy Schumer	Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association	Most Promising Performer	Amy Schumer	Nominated
Critics' Choice Awards	Best Comedy	Trainwreck	Nominated
	Best Actor in a Comedy	Bill Hader	Nominated
	Best Actress in a Comedy	Amy Schumer	Won
Denver Film Critics Society	Best Comedy	Trainwreck	Nominated
	Best Original Screenplay	Amy Schumer	Nominated
Empire Awards	Best Comedy	Trainwreck	Nominated
	Best Screenplay	Amy Schumer	Nominated
Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy	Trainwreck	Nominated
	Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy	Amy Schumer	Nominated
Hollywood Film Awards	Hollywood Comedy Award	Amy Schumer	Won
Kansas City Film Critics Circle	Best Original Screenplay	Trainwreck	Nominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society	Best Original Screenplay	Trainwreck	Nominated
	Best Comedy Film		Won
London Film Critics Circle	Supporting Actress of the Year	Tilda Swinton	Nominated
MTV Movie Awards	Best Breakthrough Performance	Amy Schumer	Nominated
	Best Comedic Performance	Amy Schumer	Nominated
	Best Kiss	Amy Schumer and Bill Hader	Nominated
	Best Ensemble Cast	Trainwreck	Nominated
People's Choice Awards	Favorite Comedic Movie	Trainwreck	Nominated
	Favorite Comedic Movie Actress	Amy Schumer	Nominated
Phoenix Critics Circle	Best Comedy Film	Trainwreck	Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics Association	Best Comedy Film	Trainwreck	Won
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	Best Original Screenplay	Amy Schumer	Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Original Screenplay	Amy Schumer	Nominated
Women Film Critics Circle	Best Comedic Actress	Amy Schumer	Won

Shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana

Main article: 2015 Lafayette shooting

On July 23, 2015, a shooting occurred at The Grand 16 Theater movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana during a showing of Trainwreck. John Russell Houser, age 59, opened fire during a showing of the film, killing two people and injuring nine others before he committed suicide.

Schumer posted on her Twitter account: "My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana." Universal Studios, the film's distributor, also released a statement: "All of us at Universal Pictures send our heartfelt sympathies to the victims of this senseless tragedy and their families in Louisiana."

In October 2015, three months after the shooting, Schumer dedicated her HBO stand-up special Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo to her niece and the two victims of the shooting.

External links

• Trainwreck at IMDb
• Trainwreck at Box Office Mojo
• Trainwreck at Rotten Tomatoes
• Trainwreck at Metacritic