Joe Fuller: Greta VS Schumer

Two films out soon from directors Noah Baumbach & Judd Apatow

It’s a good month for indie film releases, although whether or not these directors are too mainstream now to be considered truly ‘indie’ is up for debate. Noah Baumbach’s earlier film ‘The Squid And The Whale’ was a moving, strangely unsettling film with a fine performance from Jeff Bridges. ‘Greenberg’ was similarly sad but funny at times, and the kooky ‘Frances Ha’ starring Greta Gerwig was popular and enjoyable, despite an occasionally frustrating main character. In fact, Stiller in ‘Greenberg’ was also a difficult character to empathise with, so the theme could continue in his latest, ‘Mistress America’.
Gerwig returns as both an actor and also as a co-writer, so her new character Brooke has been seen by some as a maturer version of Frances. Brooke is another kooky whirlwind, whose latest adventure is trying to open a restaurant that will also serve as a community centre and a hair salon. She then tries to persuade an old friend to invest and takes 18-year-old Tracy (Lola Kirke) with her. Soon to be her stepsister, Tracy aspires to become a writer and thinks that she might have found her inspiration in Brooke.
The reviews have been good, mentioning that it’s light but with “gratifying depth” according to the Guardian; if you enjoyed his earlier films or like an indie sort of tale generally then this one could well be for you.

‘Trainwreck’ is another character study, although the director this time is Judd Apatow, the man behind hits such as ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ and ‘Knocked Up’. He was also a producer on the superb TV show ‘Freaks And Geeks’ however which had an intelligent, emotionally rich and detailed female main character as well as working on ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘Girls’, so he has experience in creating interesting female leads. Amy Schumer is known for highlighting the plight of women in the industry on her TV show and is therefore a perfect lead to play the character Amy. She also wrote the film so it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out as an attempt to revitalise the stuttering genre of the rom-com.
The fictional (or perhaps semi-autobiographical?) Amy enjoys heavy drinking and a variety of different men, whereas her sister has settled down with a husband. The film explores her new relationship with the always hilarious Bill Hader, who you might know from ‘Superbad’, ‘The Skeleton Twins’, ‘Saturday Night Live’ and much more. Schumer is also a real comedic talent and Apatow can always get the best from performers so this should make for a perfect night out for any comedy fans.

Both of the films previewed here are from innovative and talented writers and directors. It seems striking that both are written by the stars, and I hope that they prove to be successful. We certainly need as much original drama and comedy as possible in a sea of franchises and superhero movies. Although these can be great, original storylines and cleverly crafted characters are arguably the lifeblood of cinema, so let’s hope that these Baumbach/Gerwig and Apatow/Schumer joints do well.