Report Card----"Trainwreck"

I had much higher hopes for this one.
I love Amy Schumer's TV show.
I think Bill Hader is extremely talented.
And the first five minutes, a flashback of 23 years where Colin Quinn, as Amy's and her sister's father, explains to them why he's divorcing their mother.
It is manic, and easily the funniest thing in the movie.
So it peaked in the first five minutes.
And went steadily downhill from there.
Not much of a spoiler alert, but Quinn's character dies half way through.
His scenes were the only things I had to look forward to.
It reminded me of "City Slickers".
When Jack Palance died the movie died.
But "City Slickers" at least had the good taste to be hilarious for the first 45 minutes.
"Trainwreck" was only funny when Colin Quinn was on the screen.
So when Quinn's character died, the movie died.
I've been reading Judd Apatow's book of interviews with comedians, which turns out to be as much about Judd Apatow as the comedians he's interviewing.
There is a running thread about how he is less than happy about his film output.
He doesn't seem to enjoy his movies.
All I can do is agree.

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

Intermittently.
C.

Compelling even?

Never. Not even in Quinn's scenes.
C-

Is it controversial?

Not at all.
D.

Is it a story worth telling?

There's nothing new here.
C-.

Is it good storytelling?

It is unnecessarily dark and painful.
D.

Is it well written?

It's a complete contrivance.
F.

Is it well cast? Well played?

They have Quinn, and Norman Lloyd. The rest are all people I like to see, but are totally wasted.
B.

Well shot?

Not particularly.
C.

Did the director put such a personal stamp on it so that no one else could have made it?

Amy Schumer wrote it, and is capable of so much better. Maybe Apatow is a bad influence on her.
C-.

How long does it take to establish the film's locale?

It's New York, and it's early enough.
A.

Is it too long? Too short?

Way too long,
C-.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

No, and no.
F.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

Totally predictable, and absolutely no surprises.
D-.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

Only about my disappointment with it.
D.

Is it funny?

Only Quinn. That's not enough.
C.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

No thank you.
F.

Is it impressive?

No.
F.

Overall grade: C-.

This movie was marketed fraudulently. They were selling a non-stop laff-riot.
What you got was a depressing downer that violated it's own reality.

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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
They are all compilations of blog entries that have since been removed from the blog.
So this is the only way you can find them.
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
They are all compilations of blog entries that have since been removed from the blog.
So this is the only way you can find them.
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.