Amy Schumer is a talented comic. i remember her from all the way back during her Last Comic Standing phase.She seems either deeply unable to match herself to meaningful projects, or no one knows how to write or direct for her. She had a really strong hit in Trainwreck, which made us all believe she could anchor her own films and become the next big female lead in comedy, but that goodwill has been squandered several times. Now, she’s trapped in a Happy Madison production, and is dragging Will Forte and Damon Wayans jr along for the ride.
Amy Schumer plays a teacher who gets her heartbroken believing her boyfriend (Wayans Jr) is about to propose, when he really just wants to have a threesome. Crushed that her relationship is going nowhere, she puts on a baby bump so she can feel the adoration of others for simply being pregnant, and suddenly her whole life isn based on this lie. She has new friends, and even a potential love interest (Forte), but they are all going to find it a bit weird when she’s in the eight trimester, and has been pregnant for years. Something has got to give, which likely will mean… the truth. Will it set her free, or will it set the audience free?
Happy Madison certainly has made worse films.This is just part of their sophomoric style of humor, which relies on the bawdy over the thoughtful. Schumer is naturally a comedian who leans into adult humor, so when everyone around her seems to thrive off an Adult Swim meets National Lampoon brand of comedy, she has the range to say and do pretty much whatever. but, when she has been challenged with better material before, not just in trainwreck, but also her short lived Hulu sitcom life And Beth, it has to feel like a step back. It’s kind of like how Adam Sandler has been working more and more on his dramatic clout, but is now expected to bring back his Happy Gilmore for another ride around the block. We love our legacy sequels, but for an actor with strong Oscar buzz for his upcoming project with Noah Baumbach, one has to wonder if continuing to walk backwards is helping the other forward momentum.
It isn’t the worst film you could watch on Netflix, and is on par with her box office failure I’m So Pretty, which didn’t make critics or audiences happy. I rolled my blind eyes at the things she seems to get away with saying to kids. She doesn’t really have chemistry with either of her leading men, who both seem oddly miscast, or just poorly written. She tries to do her brand of humor and make it work, which is the same thing she does in every film where the director doesn’t understand how to direct her. When you have someone passively saying “you do you”, she takes that to mean her stand-up, and seemingly refuses to stretch herself as an actress. So she comes across as a work in progress, who had a film built around them, rather than an actress who auditioned for and got a role.
The audio description does lean into the adult nature of the humor, Amy’s occasional use of physical comedy, and the general level of childlike make believe that permeates every Happy Madison production. that hint that they shoot on the fly, and encourage improv or just riffing through scenes. it captures what it needs to.
I’m generally a fan of Amy, and I would lean slightly positive on this, because for me, her brand of comedy works. but I can also acknowledge that it won’t for a lot of people, and her limited range will turn off those who came to see her do an actual movie.
Barely Fresh: Final Grade: C+, Audio Description: B+
