Trainwreck

Stars: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Tilda Swinton, John Cena, Randall Park, Vanessa Bayer, Colin Quinn, LeBron James, Norman Lloyd

Director: Judd Apatow

Here's a starring role for new (to cinemas) comedy star Schumer that doesn't quite get there. It is, however, not far off.

Pudgy Schumer's problem is that, unlike Melissa McCarthy, who's just happy to be in your face, she wants to be outrageous and lovable at the same time. It's a difficult trick, and to date perhaps only Bette Midler has pulled it off.

Amy plays Amy, an assistant editor on a glossy scandal magazine, but she is, of course, also the trainwreck of the title; she smokes pot, swears a lot, drinks even more and has scores of one-night stands every year; she is also a bundle of neuroses.

Then she meets sports doctor Aaron (Hader) and to her horror finds that in this instance sex leads to regular dating.

Chuckles abound here, if not too many big laughs, with Schumer perhaps trying just a little bit too hard occasionally, and outshone by an eye-catching Swinton, endowed with blonde wig, leering looks and estuary vowels as her editor; this is the performance of the film and almost deserves its own vehicle.

Still, puff-cheeked Schumer has her moments too, notably when dancing with cheerleaders in an emotive finale, and it will be interesting to see what she comes up with next.

Besides basketball star James, drily on the ball as himself, there are further guest appearances from Daniel Radcliffe, Marisa Tomei, Chris Evert and Matthew Broderick.

David Quinlan

USA 2015. UK Distributor: Universal. Colour (unspecified).
121 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 1, Swearing 3.

Review date: 09 Aug 2015