Trainwreck

Score:  **** out of ***** (A-)

Directed by Judd Apatow
Starring Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, John Cena, LeBron James
Running time:  124 minutes
Rated R

Long Story Short:  Rising TV comedian Amy Schumer has her feature debut with the help of big screen comedy vet Judd Apatow, and it's a major success.  Schumer clearly has both the acting and writing talent to join stars like McCarthy and while the broadness of her raunchy humor help her appeal to a wide audience, she has just begun to introduce us to some more complex, challenging ideas with Trainwreck as well.  Come also for the surprises of Bill Hader as the straight man, LeBron James as scene stealer, and laughs galore (if you can stomach them).  Highly recommended.


Amy (Schumer) is a long-form writer for a magazine who leads a short-term life, sleeping around with guys out of habit.  It seems there's just one guy she actually has an attachment to:  her father Gordon (Quinn), whose medical condition has forced him into assisted living.  As Amy struggles with this, she gets a mixed blessing at work by being assigned a cover story but one about a subject she loathes - sports.  This leads her to meet renowned athletic surgeon Aaron (Hader), whose clients are the top players in a variety of sports, including LeBron James.  Through a series of incidents, Amy and Aaron begin spending more time together and learning about each other, and they both reluctantly (for opposite reasons) begin to realize they have feelings for each other.

Of course, not all goes as planned on the way to happily-ever-after for Amy and Aaron.  Obstacles sprout up everywhere, from their family lives to their jobs.  Ultimately, they each must decide if they are ready to commit to relationship with another person - and if Amy/Aaron is that person.

Trainwreck benefits greatly from a very good comedic cast.  Of course, the leads are the man and woman trying to become a couple, Amy Schumer and Bill Hader.  I have not seen Amy's show nor any of her stand-up, though I've read several articles about her as she's become more and more popular.  Her character's "free spirit", let's say, did not surprise me at all based on what I knew, but I was impressed by its relative complexity (she also wrote the script) and her screen presence.  Amy shows a knack here for getting a good balance between crowd-pleaser and brain teaser - she avoids going too high or too low in her comedy and commentary.  Bill Hader, one of my all-time favorite SNL alums, is also very good, though I wish he had more of a chance to shine (admittedly, he's in the same passive position that the female character too often is).  Most impressive about his performance is his ability to simply be a normal, believable guy, suppressing his (hilarious) goofy talents.

There's also a fine supporting cast, providing at least as many laughs as the leads.  LeBron James takes on one of the biggest roles for a star athlete that I can remember in years, and he does a great job.  Amy wisely crafted his role to be novice-friendly, but his charisma and relaxed stance were essential.  Colin Quinn as Gordon is the stereotypical grumpy old dad, getting some big laughs; the plot involves his character quite a bit, although a lot of it is his effect on daughter Amy rather than actions on screen.  John Cena is Amy's boyfriend, doing a much better job than his cringeworthy Guardians role last summer.  He steals several scenes in a purely comedic spot.  Tilda Swinton is unrecognizable (literally) in her role as Amy's boss, although she's less funny than others.  There are several sightings of SNL actors, but my favorite cameo is one many won't recognize, a famous basketball announcer in a surprise, hilarious scene.

Known for her subversive ideas (again - as I've read, at least), I was surprised to find that Trainwreck is a fairly standard romantic comedy in many ways.  Fortunately for me, someone who doesn't exactly seek out that genre, this is very well done thanks to the already discussed cast, Amy's writing, and the directing of contemporary comedy maestro Judd Apatow.  The plot structure and its progression are the most formulaic parts of the film, I suppose providing a familiar foundation on which to build new, important (and often funnier) ideas.  Except for the "minor" reversal of the traditional male and female roles, you know pretty much where it's going, but it's OK.  Threaded into the familiar flow are major new ideas (at least, new to film) about modern gender patterns in personal behavior and relationships, about which there is enough to write several articles easily.  There are also a number of hilarious scenes.  LeBron and Aaron playing basketball, Amy discussing revolting story ideas with her magazine colleagues, Amy's boyfriend defending her (and embarrassing himself) from another couple at a movie theater.  The humor is built around these situations more than one-liners (of which there are a few), and each person who sees this will have a different line of vulgarity beyond which it's just too much.  The large majority of the humor, as previously mentioned, has some balance of gross and smart, though.  On the negative side, the film does run a bit long for a comedy (a known Apatow flaw) and some of the dramatic/serious elements are awkward or feel forced.  Small quibbles, though.

***

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record at this point:  another "A-".  But it's true, summer 2015 has gifted us with another tremendous film, and if it wasn't clear to me before, I'd now say this is the best summer for movies that I've ever known.  With the resounding creative success of her first film, I'll be anticipating whatever's coming next for Amy Schumer - who could join an outstanding list of contemporary female comedians from McCarthy and Wiig to Poehler and Fey.  Having seen only a small sample, it's hard for me to tell what kind of range Schumer possesses, in her acting as well as her comedic style.  But from this film it seems she has a good balance - like McCarthy - of body humor along with intriguing ideas.  I also got the sense from this first film that there was a priority on getting everything right (which it accomplished to a large degree) but didn't leave as much room for an organic development of the special, intangible comedic chemistry that the best comedies all have.  Still, while that and a few minor concerns hold this back from an "A" grade, the future looks bright for Schumer and this new woman-dominated era of comedy.  Highly recommended - with the important caveat that there is plenty of raunchy and explicit humor which I know isn't for everyone.


Rolling rankings of the summer's movies (click to go to my reviews):

1. Inside Out (A+)
2. Tomorrowland (A)
3. Jurassic World (A-)
4. Spy (A-)
5. Mad Max: Fury Road (A-)
6. Trainwreck (A-)
7. Avengers: Age of Ultron (A-)
8. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (A-)
9. Ant-Man (B+)
10. Terminator Genisys (C)

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Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Score:  **** out of ***** (A-)

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Starring Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Alec Baldwin
Running time:  131 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Even in his fifth go-round as Ethan Hunt (not to mention plenty of similar roles), Cruise and the filmmakers of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation continue to produce the goods.  Joining Cruise's dependable (and still thrill-seeking) hero are old pal, funnyman Simon Pegg and new, strong and welcome agent addition by Rebecca Ferguson.  If the plot is not quite as intriguing as usual (and maybe a little 007-derivative), the stunts and action are top-notch.  Recommended.


Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and co. are at it again as the film opens, stopping a terrorist group from stealing chemical weapons in dramatic fashion.  A seemingly regular mission of the top-secret IMF, it ends up having massive consequences.  The CIA argues that it proves the IMF is too cavalier for national security, and Hunt becomes convinced that the terrorists were part of a much larger conspiracy he has been tracking for a year.  Within hours of the successful mission, then, the IMF has been disbanded and Hunt is on the run.  While eluding detection, Hunt goes after the even-more-secret group, calling itself the Syndicate, by attempting to find a mysterious man who attacked him, and a mysterious woman (Ferguson) who saved him.

Hunt manages to get help from his old IMF partners, including Benji (Pegg), but this potential final mission truly seems to be impossible.  The Syndicate is always two steps ahead of the beleaguered Hunt, and while he finds the woman agent, she seems to be playing both sides.  And time is running out, for the Syndicate is after a prize that will ensure their global terrorism indefinitely.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation has a strong, entertaining cast.  Cruise headlines the action again as Ethan the daredevil IMF agent.  I've said it before, and it remains true: Cruise is one of the finest classic film heroes we have today, one of a dying breed.  Perhaps he's crazy and aloof elsewhere, but on screen he gives as much or more focus and energy as any other actor.  He's also famous for doing his own stunts which he continues here, including strapping himself to an airplane that takes off.  Rebecca Ferguson is sort of like the Bond girl (one of many 007 parallels here) as agent Ilsa, but that description doesn't do her character or performance justice.  She is cunning, strong but vulnerable, sexy but not hostage to romance (not one kiss!), and she more than holds her own whether in combat or in tense negotiation.  Ferguson's acting is a great complement to Cruise's lead, and her character Ilsa is vital to the tone and plot thread of the film.  It's great to have Simon Pegg back as tech expert Benji - mostly, of course, for his fantastic comic relief, but he genuinely fits well in the film overall.  Sean Harris plays the villain who's suitably creepy (again, in a rather Bond villain-esque way) but one-note.  Alec Baldwin is a welcome addition as the stiff and pompous CIA director, and both Renner and Rhames return but without much excitement.

As the fifth installment in the Mission Impossible franchise, Rogue Nation knows what to do.  Cruise and pals serve up intricate, usually twisty-turny criminal plots that the heroes fight with a variety of elaborate stunts; while they're not the only ones anymore, they still do it better than most.  The stunts are particularly well done this time, even having seen more and more of these types of scenes in other films.  The film's signature, Cruise clinging to the outside of the plane, is the opening scene; it's done somewhat matter-of-factly, but executed brilliantly (I think Ghost Protocol's skyscraper is still the series' best, but this one is great, too).  There are several other very well done action sequences, including a quiet, multi-threat assassination attempt at an opera, an underwater heist, and a zooming motorcycle chase (seems to be a Cruise favorite).  The plot is fine, though it feels a bit sewn together from various other films - primarily from 007.  Once we get to the final act, it almost starts going through the motions a little, albeit with some clever and/or amusing moments.  Again, with such a crowded field this isn't surprising, and at least Ilsa's character provides some crucial intrigue.  While Rogue Nation presents itself seriously like the rest of the franchise, there's effective humor in spots, almost all from Pegg's Benji, though Cruise, Renner and others chip in too.

***

The newest Mission Impossible is a strong piece of entertainment, both worthy of inclusion in this particularly excellent summer movie season as well as part of the continued success of the franchise.  I will say that this was a B+/A- borderline film for me.  I think partly that's because, once again, there's a certain saturation of this kind of movie - or elements within it - that makes it hard to feel fresh.  The villain is not that great, and because of this the finale was somewhat tempered.  I felt a stronger convergence in style between this Mission Impossible and where 007 is today; I could argue that Cruise's Ethan Hunt is now the American Bond in many ways.  But if they're both doing things well, so be it!  Rogue Nation serves up top-quality action and thrills, and it benefits hugely from the trio of Cruise's dependable hero, Ferguson's fascinating, versatile heroine, and Pegg's funny yet fitting sidekick.  If you enjoy a well-done action flick I highly recommend this (particularly as the summer calendar winds down and we get fewer of these).


Rolling rankings of the summer's movies (click to go to my reviews):

1. Inside Out (A+)
2. Tomorrowland (A)
3. Jurassic World (A-)
4. Spy (A-)
5. Mad Max: Fury Road (A-)
6. Avengers: Age of Ultron (A-)
7. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (A-)
8. Ant-Man (B+)
9. Terminator Genisys (C)

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