Judd Apatow has had his fair share of successful movies. From Knocked Up to 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apatow has a unique way of creating a witty comedy with just the right amount of corniness along with a smart and creative story. So when it comes to wrapping up said movies, Apatow has come up with a pretty solid formula. And in working with Amy Schumer on Trainwreck he shared with the comedian his five ways to end a movie. Apatow terms them as the "happy-happy", "kind of happy, kind of sad", "sad-happy", "sad-sad" and the most unique, "David Lynch dark mystery" ending.
When Apatow signed on to direct Schumer’s screenplay, the two had an important discussion about how to wrap up a script. Apatow explained to Ira Glass (via Vulture) the five ways to end a script in relationship to 40-Year-Old Virgin. First, there’s the way that 40-Year-Old Virgin ends, which Apatow calls a "happy-happy" ending. "He says he’s a virgin, she doesn’t mind, the sex is ultimately good, and then they dance," explains Apatow. But if the film had ended with a scenario where the couple has sex, and then he dies from a heart attack, that would be the "kind of happy, kind of sad" ending. There’s also the "sad-happy version" which would entail the sex not being very good, and the couple claiming they’ll try again tomorrow. Or the "sad-sad" version where "she says, ‘I’ll have sex with you,’ he immediately gets hit by a car". And the final scenario, gets pretty dark. Apatow coins it as the "David Lynch dark mystery version, where he puts his penis inside her and like Laura Dern just goes Eeeeeeeeeeee! Fade to black."
Apatow confirms not to worry, Trainwreck does not end with the "David Lynch dark mystery version". We’ll obviously have to wait and see just where Trainwreck takes Amy Schumer and her love interest Bill Hader. But from the looks of the trailer, Schumer’s character (the epitome of anti-commitment and anti-love) is going to learn a valuable lesson about what it means to find someone you care about. Apatow is attached to direct the comedian’s big screen debut, so we’re sure the combination of a fresh new voice in Schumer paired with an experienced comedy film master, Apatow, is going to make for quite the ride. His advice on wrapping up her story a bit more cleanly is certainly not a breaking point for the script. Clearly it has some substance for both Apatow, Hader and more attached to the film to show so much enthusiasm.
As for Apatow’s five ways to end a movie. They're pretty spot on. Yes, the terminology is very simple, and mostly anything could fit in the description of these five ways to end a movie. But, when it comes to 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apatow has previously explained his "happy-happy" ending in depth to us over here at Cinema Blend. And while that dance number may seem a bit out of place, it does resonate the happiest of happys.
Trainwreck will explore yet another messy human experience that Apatow has become an expert at documenting. We’ll see which category the ending falls into when Trainwreck hits theaters July 17.
