Trainwreck, the R-rated comedy from writer/star Amy Schumer and director Judd Apatow, is unsurprisingly funny. (Duh, we love those two.) But here’s what did shock us about the movie: WWE star John Cena delivers a high proportion of the laughs, despite his limited screen time.
In the movie, Cena plays Steven, Amy’s (that’s the actress and character’s name) boyfriend. Steven’s dream is to patent a workout program with Amy as his “Cross-Fit queen.” His idea of dirty talk involves giving Amy “the protein you need to survive.”
John Cena is Steven, Amy’s buff boyfriend. (Universal)
“What kind of boyfriend could she be awful to where the audience wouldn’t be very mad at Amy?… We thought, maybe (we just have a guy who’s) in incredible shape.”Wrestling champion Cena was the guy.
But the actor was more than just a muscle mass– Cena actually improvised much of his character’s dialogue, and even impressed comedienne Schumer.
“I did not write most of his lines,” said Schumer in the film featurette. “John Cena, he blew our minds.”Added Apatow:
“He said some of the strangest things I’ve ever heard.”Cena, who’s also acted in action movies The Marine, The Reunion and 12 Rounds, got to really show off his comedy chops in a movie theater scene that had him defending Amy and arguing with another theatergoer he called “Tone Loc.”
Most of his memorable comebacks are homoerotic and NSFW, but here’s a keeper:
After the other guy calls him Mark Wahlberg, Steven angrily retorts: “Mark Wahlberg’s like 150 pounds. I look like Mark Wahlberg ate Mark Wahlberg. I’m 250 pounds lean.”Good news: It looks as though we’re going to see more of Cena in comedies this year. Here he is, covered in tattoos, in the new trailer for Sisters with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey:
(Universal)
