Amy Schumer, the US standup and comedy writer, skewers the double standards of modern society in her thought provoking and, more importantly, hilarious sketch show.
Schumer channels her standup material (“I’m going through a break-up. Well, he doesn’t know yet, technically I’m just cheating on him”) into a series of sketches that showcase her unique viewpoint and fresh comedic voice. Inside Amy Schumer is currently gaining rave reviews for its third series; these are the impressive first two. Episodes are divided into a collection of sketches, man-on-the-street interviews, and a segment named Amy Goes Deep, where Schumer will grill a person with an interesting, if controversial, job. These include chats with a porn producer, a gigolo and the owner of a dating website for married couples. It is testament to the quality of each section that you would happily tune in for a full dose of all three.
The word “raunchy” is often used to describe Schumer’s comedy, but that would suggest a lack of the intelligence and heart that fills these sketches and makes them shine. There is some traditional observational material, like a couple choosing a film to watch on Netflix (Her: “Read more descriptions.” Him: “in 1950s Lebanon …” Her, instantly: “No”) or visiting a pretentious hotel. But the sketches that make Inside Amy Schumer essential viewing are when she uses the divide between the sexes as a plaything, bending it to her will in order to mock and illuminate. Take, for example, A Very Realistic Computer Game, in which Amy discovers that her boyfriend’s war game unfolds differently when she chooses a female character. Where male characters get to fire guns and play the hero, Amy’s female soldier is raped, made to go through a humiliating legal process, told to “be a lady” and “take one for the team”. It’s a razor-sharp satire of the US military, and the moment Schumer elevated herself from promising comic talent into a key voice in both comedy and feminism.
It’s not all men v women; Schumer also cuts through what she sees as problems among her female friends. Take Compliments, in which a gang of friends attempt to out-insult themselves in order to look modest. “I look like Susan Boyle’s toothbrush,” says one, as the other replies: “Are you drunk? I look like an Armenian man.” Eventually one friend accepts a compliment and the women all kill themselves in dramatic fashion.
Schumer goes knives-out for herself, too, with some of the most self-deprecating humour you’re likely to see in the glass-ego world of comedy. One great scene spoofs the trend for “sexy” cartoon characters in kids’ films and shows her turning up to record the voice for a new Pixar-style animated movie in which she has been cast alongside Megan Fox and Jessica Alba. Schumer is flattered until she realises her character is called Dumpy the Frumpy Meerkat, whose special move is defecating on the floor. As with many of these sketches, Schumer makes herself the butt of the joke, while attacking the systems that establish these stereotypes.
Like any great comic, she is not afraid to go against the grain. Her standup in particular pushes the boundaries (“my mum says she drank through all four pregnancies, but I’m an only child”). She gives a voice to those who see through the bullshit, imagining a brighter, fairer world while holding the current one up to the light for us all to see the grimy stains we’re leaving.
Schumer’s next big career move is Trainwreck, a big budget film she’s written with Judd Apatow on board as producer and director. You sense her ascending star is about to go stratospheric, so get in now while you’ve still got the chance to say you saw her here first.
