Without question, Amy Schumer is the golden child of comedy at the moment, and as such, her standup show Monday night – dubbed Amy Schumer and Friends – felt like an event. In its three seasons, her sketch show Inside Amy Schumer has turned the comic into an icon of funny feminism, and the crowd who piled into the sold-out show at the Beacon Theatre was younger and more female than most comedy shows. In reality, it was less of a concert and more of a marketing ploy; also called the Trainwreck Comedy Tour, it’s promoting her latest effort that will debut in theaters on Friday. All the other performers – Vanessa Bayer, Mike Birbiglia, Colin Quinn, and Dave Attell – were cast members in the film, plus its director and producer Judd Apatow. Part of a weeklong mini-tour to benefit various charities, the night’s proceeds went towards multiple sclerosis research.
Saturday Night Live star Bayer kicked the night off with an endearing if uneven set, buoyed mostly by crowd’s unwavering enthusiasm and a running gag of asking the audience to applaud more. Bayer is not a standup comic; her skills lie in her impressions, which ranged from her SNL character Jacob the Bar Mitvah boy – a true crowd pleaser – to the entire cast of Friends, as she imagined herself as one of the series’ easily forgotten “guest girlfriends”.
Next was Birbiglia, a headlining theater comic in his own right who knew exactly how to play to the packed room. Known for his storytelling shows as much as his standup, he began with strong new material about his six-week old daughter, the natural progression for a comic whose last specials have focused on moving into adulthood and getting married. The most prominent character in his set was President Obama, who he turned to for parenting advice before finding himself in a surreal conversation about baby poop.
Quinn is a comic who looms large in the New York standup scene, often under the slightly condescending “comic’s comic” label. With a naturalistic storytelling style that harkens back to another generation, Quinn and the audience found each other when he discussed how much his native Brooklyn has changed – there used to be “five stops where white people got off”, he said, now the L train “looks like a ski lift.” Quinn loves nothing more than to talk about race (his new book, The Coloring Book, bears a quote from Chris Rock calling him the “white Richard Pryor”), and his take on political correctness is far smarter and less whiny than most comics who are drawn to that subject.
Attell is maybe the classic club comic – Schumer referred to him on stage as her favorite standup ever – and he seemed slightly worried that he might offend the young, preppy crowd, but he killed with his realization that sex toys are making boyfriends increasingly unnecessary, as well as advising the young audience to not settle for squalor while waiting for their lives to start. “Your dreams may not happen, so buy a shower curtain.”
Apatow started as a standup comedian many decades ago, but he’s only begun doing it again in the last year, and despite his obvious comedic chops, he’s still finding his feet. He’s taken a page from Louis CK as he worries about his daughter’s future sex life; elsewhere in his set, he settles too often for an easy dick joke. He’s most captivating talking about his own unique life, like people complaining that his movies are too long while happily spending days binging TV shows, or his knowing non-sequitor – “What does this have to do with Cosby?” – which refers to his ceaseless attention to the sexual assault accusations against the infamous comic.
After a brief appearance from Trainwreck’s other star, Bill Hader, Schumer appeared nearly two hours into the show. She has become a master performer, giving the audience exactly the raunchy, self-effacing material they desired. As her sketch show allowed fans to see a more intellectual side to her, Schumer has moved away from the cutesy one-liners that she used to rely on and towards introspective, feminist observations. Sexism in Hollywood is well-trod ground, but she handles it artfully; positioning herself as an unlikely movie star, she recounts her uncomfortable meeting with a personal trainer who “winced” when he saw her. “I’ve never been the girl who’s like, ‘Oh my God, I forgot to have lunch today,’” she explains. “If anything, I’m like, ‘Oh shit, did I have two lunches today?’”
In many ways, The Trainwreck Comedy Tour showcases everything that Schumer has done to earn her coveted spot in entertainment. Her respect for old-school comics like Quinn and Attell, her inclusion of peers like Birbiglia, and her support of younger acts like Bayer make her a favorite across the comedy community. She’s found a core audience – white women in their 20s and 30s – but she hasn’t settled for pandering or cheap gags. She’s viral and outspoken and thoughtful.
